Fall Fashion 2011: Emmy nominated Costume Designer Dawn Baker's Essentials collection

By April MacIntyre Aug 24, 2011, 22:22 GMT

Baker uses cashmere too in her more luxurious wraps and jackets, and even has branched into jewelry design that is a perfect complement to her neutral palette of clothing that works for all shapes and sizes of women.

Stripped down elegant and unfussy comfortable and easy to care for clothing is a California birthright.

The climate makes the desired clothing style one of layers that build a look or reveal a simple pure fashionable silhouette in natural fiber fabrics.

Emmy nominated Costume designer (The Ellen Show) Dawn Baker has taken the "less is more" idea and created a highly wearable chic line of affordable clothing, made in the USA. Her style was adored by Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, who each hired Baker to style them for key award events.

Baker is also frequently sought after for her “closet therapy” service in which she helps women and men streamline and up their fashion game.  Dawn assesses and organizes complete wardrobes, advising clients what to keep, what to have tailored and what to let go.

Her service results in user-friendly, refreshed and functional closets, and then provides each client with a look book of the existing clothes in the closet where they can reinvent their own wardrobe.

In the boutiques, Baker also carries unique clothing, jewelry and accessories - collections that cannot be found in other Southern California stores, including pieces from local designers as well as from some of Dawn’s personal favorites.

Dawn Baker’s line of Essentials for fall 2011 is loaded with star pieces that combine for sexy understated looks are also machine and hand-washable.

Baker keeps her lines simple, and she uses cashmere in her more luxurious wraps and jackets, and features jewelry designs that are a perfect complement to her neutral palette of clothing which works for all shapes and sizes of women.

A New Yorker by birth, Dawn Baker has over 10 years experience in fashion merchandising and took her design knowledge and experience working with some of the biggest retailers like J. Crew.

Dawn’s collection is also available at her stores: dawn baker in Manhattan Beach and happy LA in Pacific Palisades, CA (www.happy-la.com), which recently celebrated a four year anniversary.

Baker's website www.dawn-baker.com features many must own items, including her classic cotton slub tank dress in black, a perfect core wardrobe piece that is easy to pack and travel with.  With just a few flourishes of accessories, the dress can go from daytime walking around easy/casual to evening glamour depending on the jewelry, shoe and perhaps wrap or jacket.

It's one of those dresses you slip on and feel like a supermodel, with flattering lines and cut just right up top, so that you can wear it with or without a jacket. The waist is curved in for a subtle and sexy fit, and the back sports her signature silk stripe trim Happy LA tag. You can literally throw it in a suitcase and go.

Season-less, summer through winter, under $100.

Another must-own is her luxurious Cashmere wrap. This cashmere piece really is the everything sweater with an attention to detail like a drape collar and open armhole you can layer it over any type of sleeve. The back detail was made and designed to wear belted or not. Office, play, evening, it is a stunner. Classic and chic like all the Dawn Baker pieces, and made to be layered. $358 (Dry Clean Only)