FOF fashion designer Camilla Olson is giving away her signature chiffon scarf (retail value: $98) in the color of your choice. Enter to win by checking out all the scarves, here, and leaving a comment below about the color you’d choose.
When Camilla Olson’s teenage daughter told her that she wanted to become a fashion designer, Camilla thought, “that will be the worst thing in the world for her. That’s no career!”
“I didn’t have respect for the fashion world . . . then,” Camilla remembers. She was 53 and had recently retired after 20 years in the very serious world of biotechnology and venture capital. After starting five different biotech firms--4 sold and one went public--Camilla had turned her focus to running the local PTA and volunteering in her community in Palo Alto, Calif. Still, she agreed to take her daughter to an open house at the Academy of Art University. “I thought, with any luck, she’ll hate it and move on to something else.”
As it turned out, Camilla was the one who changed her tune. “I was totally romanced by the whole thing,” she says now. “I thought, there’s so much more to this than I ever knew!” So while her daughter did ultimately lose interest and move on to other things, Camilla applied for an MFA in fashion design. “It was the most joyful decision I’ve made in my life,” she says.
Today--at 60--she is the founder and head designer at Camilla Olson Collection, a line of beautifully-tailored scarves, tops and dresses all made from her signature, hand-printed chiffon. “It’s an an environmentally sound printing technique that’s centuries old--no harsh chemicals. We figured out how to do it commercially,” Camilla explains. She admits that school was incredibly challenging: “After our first class review I cried. I thought, what am I doing here? Everyone was so much better than I. But my teacher encouraged me. She said, ‘I see what you’re trying to do, and I like it. Keep going.’” So Camilla did, eventually graduating cum laude and sending several of her designs down the runway at New York’s Fashion Week in 2009.
In 2010, after designing “$5,000 dresses in a size 0” for the runway, Camilla started her own line with a more realistic woman in mind. Specifically, an FOF woman. “I design for what I want to wear--for women who want to feel comfortable and confident but also look chic--whether a size 2 or a size 12. Women around here love it.” Camilla has developed a cultish following among Palo Alto FOFs in the know. This March, her longtime client, Betsy Franco--James Franco's mom--was photographed wearing one of Camilla’s creations at James' Star ceremony in Hollywood.
Betsy Franco wearing a slip dress designed by Camilla Olsen to son, James Franco's, Star ceremony.
So far Camilla’s biggest challenge has been persuading department stores to get on board. “We finally had meetings with the top stores, and they said, ‘we love these prints. If you showed them to us on a younger body, we could buy them.’” Camilla learned that the stores were “pretty much eliminating” square footage focusing on FOFs. “I was appalled,” she says. Now she’s focusing her energies online, where her research says FOF women are making the majority of their buying decisions. She’s also starting a trunk show series, where FOFs can sell to other FOFs in the comfort of their own homes. Interested in hosting a Camilla Olson party? You can contact her at Camilla@CamillaOlson.com.
Enter to win a Camilla Olson signature chiffon scarf (retail value: $98) in the color of your choice by leaving a comment below, with your favorite color.
One FOF will win. (See all our past winners, here.) (See official rules, here.) Contest closes March 28st, 2013 at midnight E.S.T. Contest limited to residents of the continental U.S. 
Jewelry designer and FOF, Marleny Gonzalez, is giving away one a signature crocheted chain bracelet (retail value: $85) from her company, Tierra Dulce Couture.
FOF entrepreneur, Debbie Meyer, is giving away several of her world-renowned kitchen products, from the Debbie Meyer™ line. Once you live with any of her innovative solutions to everyday problems, you’ll never want to live without them again! Enter to win by leaving an answer to this question: WHAT’S YOUR BIGGEST COMPLAINT IN THE KITCHEN?
A few years ago, long-time FOFriends, Gayle Mills and Patti Lee-Hoffmann realized eyewear companies were not seeing eye-to-eye with their customers. They knew this, because both Patti, owner of a multi-million dollar earning, San Francisco healthcare consulting company and Gayle, who worked in Northern California’s biotech industry, are eyeglass wearers themselves. “Sometime after I turned 50, I stopped having perfect vision. I went to CVS and was turning the carousel with readers, and kept turning and turning. Everything looked like my grandmother’s glasses,” says Patti. She began looking online for her perfect pair, but again, became frustrated. “Everything was so small. I felt I needed a pair of glasses to shop for glasses.” 
FOFriends Jayne Drew (right) and Kelly Daugherty (left) are giving away the “Kate” skort and “Jean” top (retail value: $163.75) from Smashing, their slimming athletic wear collection. Enter to win by answering this question in the comments below: Do you play golf or tennis?
FOF Eyvette Manigault and Dan Koch are overachievers when it comes to undergarments. The team works together at The Town Shop--an iconic New York City lingerie store that has been around for over 120 years. Dan Koch's great-grandfather started the store in 1888, which has been past down through four generations of his family. Expert bra and shapewear fitter Evyette joined the team in 1971, and has honed her skills for the past 45 years. She can size a woman for a bra just by looking at her--no measuring tape necessary! The duo sat down with us to tackle four common FOF body issues, and suggested shapewear that will turn flab to...fab! Read on for their suggestions..
{FOF Homework} Then & Now 
{Giveaway} Another shot at intimacy! 
{Bedroom Confessions} He wouldn't put it down!