Style Setter Preservation Road Nanette Lepore visits the capital to defend New York’s
Garment District and to check in on her local boutique.
Above: Nanette Lepore in her local store (5449 Wisconsin Ave., Chevy Chase; 301-657-1515).
ON A RECENT FRIDAY ON CAPITOL HILL, Manhattan designer Nanette Lepore took the
podium in a Rayburn House Office Building reception room. In her sparkling mini-dress, platform
shoes and statement necklaces, she created a glam contrast to the chilly marble columns — and the
stern-looking statue of Sam Rayburn (the late Speaker of the House) lodged in the wall above. She
may not have sported a serious suit like the long-dead lawmaker watching over her, but the femmeclothing
queen meant business: She was in town to talk to Hill types and fashion pros about her
quest to save New York’s Garment District. We chatted with her about how development threatens
this Big Apple landmark — and why she thinks D.C. is morphing into a capital of chic. JENNIFER BARGER
Above: Nanette Lepore in her local store (5449 Wisconsin Ave., Chevy Chase; 301-657-1515).
