Button Front
Miniskirt
“A high-waisted skirt is one of my
favorite things. The silhouette is super
feminine,” Melissa Coker says. By
crafting one from a collared shirt, you
preserve the buttons—a cute detail,
sure, but one that comes with a perk:
You don’t have to sew in a zipper.
Melissa Coker for
Wren
WHO
Bright-color-loving blond
bombshell Melissa Coker
WHAT
Wren, for girls who like
This Side of Paradise as
much as The City
WEAR
Feisty librarian ensembles
of playful patterned skirts
paired with slouchy tops,
oversize cardigans, and
in-your-face tights
Melissa Coker isn’t a girl you
want to be friends with—she’s a
girl you want to be. After
putting in her time at magazines
(including Vogue) and clothing
companies such as Helmut
Lang and Abercrombie & Fitch,
she got the itch to create and
started dabbling in dye and
gemstones. She showed her
at-home efforts to one store, and
bam! Her on-the-side pursuits
became a full-time job. Now in
its fifth season, Wren speaks to
Coker’s love of literature: The
line is named for a character in
Dickens’ Our Mutual Friend.
Fitzgerald is also an ongoing
inspiration. “He was a mess but
super glamorous, really refined
but rough-and-tumble,” the
wide-eyed designer says. -E .C .
