Valentine Leung's naively charming dresses are as girly as they come—so it's hard to believe that it was a pair of Vans that launched the fledgling designer's career. While working as a stylist's assistant, Leung started customizing the slip-ons during downtime. A model on a shoot requested a pair, wore them out shopping at the trend-setting L.A. boutique Satine, and voila! The owners tracked me down and placed an order, says Leung, who used the vote of confidence as incentive to start a full-blown collection. Needless to say, her ruffled tudo tops and eyelet-trimmed cotton frocks have been a runaway success. As for how to style them, the choice is yours: The nice thing about my clothes is, you can dress them down with sneakers or chic them up with heels. —JANE KELTNER
Valentine Leung
