Dad, Is it True?

Dad married Mom on the first day of Spring in 1965. Mom had no idea she was getting married. There was no engagement party, let alone ring. There was just a business trip to Miami where she tagged along with Dad and his partner, Hugh Auchincloss. There was however, a quick stop over in Sanibel Island to go sea shelling at dawn before meetings in Miami later on that day. It was in Sanibel at dawn that a minister came bounding out onto the beach and performed the ceremony, and Dad married Mom.

Mom and Dad Wedding Day, March 21st, 1966

Before the surprise nuptuals at dawn in Sanibel, Dad had courted Mom in NYC and escorted her to many a party...but ONLY during the week. Though he was quite taken with her, he was pretty convinced that his weekend escape routine was something that would make her run.

One day Mom asked where he went on the weekends. So she got the invite and a packing list. (blue jeans, sneakers, etc..)Dad would have bet she didn't own blue jeans, and the only sneakers she had were for tennis, but wanted to warn her is wasn't going to be a trip to Southampton or Litchfield.

So he picked her up on a Friday afternoon in his Mark VII Jag
(I have such an affection for cars...and thought a visual here was crucial considering what is to come)
And to his surprise, she was dressed perfectly for the weekend ahead...

Dad had decided to put this fancy girl to the test. They drove 2 hours out of NYC to what is now Minneswaska State Park, but was then a cabin on remote Awosting Lake, that was Dad's weekend retreat. They parked the Jag, loaded up groceries into woven basket packs and hiked for 45 minutes before arriving at Lake Awosting. THEN, they loaded up the canoe, and paddled across the lake to Dad's cabin (still actually there, but in severe disrepair). All in all, an hour and a half trek from car to cabin. (Dad didn't let on that you could actually drive the whole way to the cabin, because that would ruin the test)

And then, he made her sleep in a tent.

The next morning, Dad awoke to the view of mom casting her fly rod into Awosting Lake. He chuckled, as the lake was a 'dead' lake, meaning no fish could survive in it due to excessive minerals. But no need to stop her artful routine. After all, it's not often a guy is pleasantly surprised that his seemingly citified love interest is talented in the ways of the fly rod...


A bit later he smells something cooking on the open fire.

After getting no bites in Awosting Lake, Mom took to the stream nearby and guddled for trout. She'd learned this technique with her father in Canada on fishing trips as a girl...and, well, imagine knowing trout so well that you find their hiding spot in a stream and they LET you pick them UP!

Yes, mom caught a trout with her bare hands. I'm surprised Dad didn't propose right then and there.

But, soon after, the once social couple in NYC...

got married at dawn on the first day of Spring, and the rest is history.

Dad in lederhosen (don't ask) and the boys a decade or so before I came a knockin' at the same cabin on the same lake where Mom won over Dad after guddling a trout.

-Dad, I know It's True,
Bradley.

How Many Knee Socks...

Can I fit in my duffel that must last me 3 months on the road?

'Like' our Apres FaceBook page for updates and discounts.

The Bambi Airstream that we are renting for 3 months is smaller than my closets at home. Now, I KNOW I don't need dresses, curling irons and all my boots: high heeled, flat, over the knee etc...BUT I will need some 80's Prom Dresses and a full bin of bikinis and hair pieces JUST IN CASE. Can I tow a trailer BEHIND a trailer for the sake of costumes? Hmmmmm.

If I can't bring an extra trailer with a quiver of costumes...I may just have to wear knee socks (always room for those) and a Mogul Masher Vest.

and a Pom Pom Hat. It's all about keeping your upper body warm anyway, right?

And since I haven't even left the salty state of Rhode Island for snow capped mountains YET, I have had to resort to having 'shows' indoors...great for stripping down for try on sessions, bad for getting action snow shots. Here's a bit of action:
I'll keep the updates coming...we may even have a website soon for pre-orders! For those of you too eager to wait, email: ckbradley13@gmail.com with questions.

-Still Salty, Soon to be Snowy, Bradley

A new adventure begins. CK Bradley Ribbon Belts brought endless scavenger hunts, contests, and dapper belted boys. CK Bradley Dresses brought fun and frolic to the everyday cocktail party, and the ever growing desire for me to do things in my CK Bradley Dress that hadn't been done before. I have been getting restless with the confines of a dress, and have found another design realm that NEEDS MY HELP.
Ski Mountains.

I'm SICK of not having ANYTHING to wear skiing. I don't want to look like a boy in baggy snowboarding pants, or some technical genius in the latest in high tech gear with reflectors for search and rescue teams when I've probably fallen right beneath the lift. I don't want the cougar look with some getup that's tight in the rear and poofy up top covered in embroidered dragons, leopard print and tassles. Don't get me wrong...I like animal prints, but way better hidden beneath my ski suit than splattered all over it. And vintage stuff is great...but old and cold.

So enter my next adventure:

There are bibs beneath which are actually the HOTTEST part of the suit

OK, so not that hot on me, but give me a D cup and these things start flirting on their own.

The navy blue racing stripes down the sides also are also throughout the Jacket back and arms...and are Spandura - a heavy weight Spandex. A size Small fits a 4-6 and is so darn comfy you might want to replace your bathrobe with the bibs. In fact you don't need to ski to own one of these...just live in a cold place. I tend to think these bibs (pants) fit me better than my favorite pair of jeans - which means I might be wearing these out to bars this Winter.

The colorful outer fabric is Nylon Rip Stop, and there is a layer of insulation as well. Comfy, warm...SEXY!!!!

I am taking pre-orders now. The Bibs are $550, Jacket $450. Ready to ship beginning of January, 2011.

I will be hitting the road starting in Vermont, then headed West to every big mountain January 1st. If you are going to be skiing this Winter, Apres might just be there. Any leads on trunk shows in different mountain towns, let me know so we can set them up. Otherwise look out for us on the slopes, and on the road. I will update as the adventure expands.

-Hot Dog, Bradley

Interested in investing in Apres? Email ckbradley13@gmail.com

Ta-Ta for Now, CKB

After 11 fun years of living and creating CK Bradley, I am closing our doors for now. Later is another story, but rest assured that I have something brewing...

What an incredible trip it has been:

from our first photo shoot at Hammersmith Farm in the bridal collection circa 2002
to many run ins with the law during the shoots....

to belting the boys
the girls
and myself.
We had impromptu photo shoots on random afternoons in NYC,
and hot afternoons in farmers markets,
at the beach,on the dock,
on beautiful boats,
off beautiful boats,
and up the mast on boats.
We had run ins with people ALL wearing CKB at summer clambakes (ooops)
out an about at night,
outside the Whomper,
on random sunny afternoons,at wedding receptions,
and in our NYC store.
We've had fabulous Punch parties
Dorrians parties,
tailgate parties,
race to Tennessee parties,
wear orange Dickies parties,
and fake wedding parties.
We've had Cheerleaders,
cheer boys,
and bowling boys testing out CKB boxers.
There have been stores in Charlottesville and Richmond,
in Newport, NYC

and at temporarily at the Javitz center.
We've had belt contests with entertaining entries: Beach Bum
Banana Hammock,
and the winner, Beer Goggles.

We've had incredible CKB girls...(Vieve and Ebbie and MANY more)

Vieve, thank you for inspiring me to keep going and sticking by all my crazy ideas for so long!

-When One Door Closes Another Opens, Bradley

ps. the blog is stayin:)