Chelsea Kehne

Glimpsed: Little Italy

By Sloane Brown | Special to the Sun

February 17, 2008

Lemongrass is one of Baltimore's newest and hottest nightspots. And we do mean hot - as in the spicy Thai food served there. But the crowd of people it attracts includes some of the area's coolest. That includes members of the staff, like bartender/manager Chelsea Kehne. This 25-year-old knows how to go with the flow - and her workplace dress requirements - while getting the job done in style.

Chelsea Kehne

Age: 25

Job: Lemongrass bartender/manager

Self-described style: "Fairly laid-back"

The look: Cropped brown hoodie. White cotton camisole. Jeans. Brown leather belt. Brown leather and green suede boots. Brown leather armband.

Where it came from: The Sparrow hoodie, the cami and the boots are all from Anthropologie. The belt was a great thrift-store find. And the Seven For All Mankind jeans came from South Moon Under. She found the brown armband at a flea market in Seattle.

There's work... : "You have to incorporate [the color] brown and jeans if you work here. So, that's easy. ... I love a nice pair of jeans. I'm tall and skinny, so I like nice designer jeans. Jeans, a cute shirt and a nice pair of shoes."

And there's play: "If I'm not here ... and I do go out, I usually get pretty dressed up: in high heels, dresses, skirts. ... Shoes do it for me. I think they make an outfit. ... I have tons and tons of crazy earrings. If I'm not going to wear earrings, I'll wear an awesome dress, maybe backless."

Home away from home: Anthropologie. "I could live there if I could have all those clothes. I think my life would be better."

One thing remains the same: "I wear my brown leather armband every day, with everything. I just love it. It still makes me a little punky. I don't want to get too glam."

Not trendy: "I'm definitely conscious of passing trends. But I don't like to get stuck on them. I like to keep it simple. ... I stay away from the mod thing. I like to be a little more classic."

It's not the clothes: "I don't need my clothes to be perfect. Even when I get dressed up, I'm very, very unassuming and down to earth. I'm never over the top. And I'm not at all conservative. I never seek to stand out in a crowd, but I always do. So, there's something catchy about my look. I hope it's my personality. Not that my clothes are cooler than I am!"