Ace & Jig Fall 2012

Ace & Jig has stolen my heart these past few months. I'm always thinking about this label and how simple, consistent, and beautiful it is. The fall line is no different. The ladies behind Ace & Jig have a real knack for selecting perfect yarns and dyes for their collections, and they really know how to work a stripe too. I only recently read about the design process on their website. I enjoyed it so much that I choose to include a small excerpt of it below.

A main drive behind ace&jig was focus and clarity. We wanted to create a seasonless women's collection loosely based on one fabrication. Not denim, tees or knitwear, we wanted to create our own yarn-dye woven fabric. A fabric that could lead many lives, and tell many stories. We wanted to create effortless clothes where the fabric could speak for itself. Read more. . .

Library Visits

Photographer: Starr Crow w/ Vintage Canon TLb
Model: Katy Tipton
Designer: Lauren Kemp
Art Director: Heather Canterbury & Starr Crow

I'm sorry I've been gone all week. I got sidetracked with an art history presentation that I was incredibly ill-prepared for. I've still got quite a few photos of Lauren Kemp's collection to share, but these seemed like the best segue from my life lately. Lots of books and long library visits. . .  I'm counting down the days until I'm out of school for winter break and I can finally start hanging out and having fun again.

UPDATE: Lauren's got a new blog! She's got some close up shots of her designs and lots of photos from the runway show, and I've got my fingers crossed that she'll do some awesome DIY's real soon. I've been wanting her to start a blog for ages, so I'm incredibly excited about this news. Pretty please go show her some love and welcome her to the wonderful world of blogging.

greens aw2011

I had another post ready for today, but a last minute change of plans turned it into a Sync article instead. It's good though, because now I can press forward with the article, which I was having a little trouble with before. I promise to share it in a few weeks, once it goes to print, but for now I'm going to be weird and cryptic about it.

I was short-handed on a backup post, so I freaked and went to a winter collection. As much as I try not to post winter collections in the grossest part of summer, this is what backup looks like. Plus, I'm really excited about this collection! It's from Argentinian label, Greens, which I also posted about in the spring. The good part about this label is that they're in the southern hemisphere, so all these pieces are on sale right now as they get ready for spring; the bad part is that they don't have an online shop!! What a tease, huh? It's pretty frustrating when you see something you love and can't even look at the price tag on it, but for some reason, I keep returning for inspiration. It's clear that they have an unwavering love for Brenton stripes, which may be the best part about them.

South America is a mystery to me as far as fashion goes, but Greens makes me want to know more.

Steven Alan AW2011

Here's a few looks from Steven Alan's fall collection that I really like. It's never really a question as to whether I'll like what he puts out; his collections are always so consistent to my taste. I'm happy about the tan flats, most of all, and the pretty prints and the hats! I could use most of this stuff in my summer wardrobe too, minus all the knits and the blazers. If you are still looking for summer essentials and you're a sale shopper like me, you should definitely check out the sale section of their shop. I've been dying for both the Libby and the Sophia dresses all summer and they're finally on sale!

I'm off to work now, but I did shoot an outfit yesterday that I'll try to have posted tomorrow!

Masscob Fall Collection

I discovered the Masscob fall collection while working on my recent article about the 70s trend. The colors and materials matched all the things I was picturing in my head perfectly. I wondered how I missed such a fantastic collection until now?

After a little more digging, I discovered the film that went with the collection. It brought a whole new life to the clothing, and added a personality that couldn't be translated through photographs. It's one of those films that your heart attaches to just seconds into the piece. It reminded me of a brilliant video I saw in the school art gallery last semester.

The film from school was very personal and poetic. It's called Outpost and was shot in Super 8, and it touched on the idea of how landscape defines a place and a people. It's based on a true story about a 22-year-old Icelandic fisherman who survives a shipwreck in the middle of the North Atlantic in 1984, and it's one of the first pieces that really made me want to pursue film.

Every time I see a good collection video, my love for story-telling though film is reinvigorated. I usually watch them over and over again!

Masscob Autumn-Winter 2010-2011 from be-poles on Vimeo.

Swedish Hasbeens: 70's Wedding

How authentically 70s are these shots from the latest Swedish Hasbeens campaign? I've spent the evening working on a project that pertains to the current 70s trend, so naturally, this set of photos was of particular interest to me! I think I'm most fascinated by the girl in the chocolate brown mini dress in the big family shot, and the groom in his unbelievable velvet blazer and over-sized bow tie. The shoes aren't so hard on the eyes either! I'm glad I waited on my first Swedish Hasbeens purchase when everyone else was getting them this past Spring, but I would eventually like to get a pair. They totally won me over with their story. . .

"Her name was Anita and she was the hottest mum in all of southern Sweden in the 1970’s. While smoking Camel she screamed at her kids until her curlers fell out and just looked fabulous in her white high-heeled clogs."

"One summer day in 2006 we found the shoes she wore (300 pairs of red, white and black beautiful clogs from the 70’s) in the basement of an old clog factory in the neighboring village and brought them to Stockholm. So for all these people that shared our love for Anita’s wooden shoes and for ourselves we started Swedish Hasbeens."

Animal Sweaters

I think I've confessed my love for animal print sweaters enough here lately. After bringing them up in several different posts and spending a few different afternoons digging through google images for them, I figured I'd just shut-up and show you guys a few of my favorites.

Though my thrifting luck has been good the past few weeks, it hasn't been good enough to bring home one of these bad boys. I've gotten so desperate at this point that part of me has been tempted to spend the $88 that Urban Outfitters is asking for that Peter Jensen bunny sweater. But the practical part of my brain always stops me before I make it that far. I figured if I couldn't get my hands on one, I'd at least live vicariously through these photographs.

1. Caitlin Bellah 2-3. Tiny Owls Magic Attic 4-5. Peter Jensen 6. Mad Girl Vintage 7. Liebemarlene 8. Jean-Charles de Castelbajac 9. Tiny Owls Magic Attic

Mitzi & Ernie

Do you remember a couple weeks ago before leaving for  New York I mentioned a shoot that I styled for my friend Mitzi? Well, the photos are finally back from photographer Ernest Rice.

The shoot was initially scheduled with a different photographer at a location of my choice, but when he couldn't make it to town until 10 PM the night before I left for New York, we decided to cancel and wait for better day. Shortly after I started putting everything away, Mitzi called to tell me about a random phone call she got from photographer/friend Ernie Rice who wanted to do a shoot with her the next morning.

Once again, I put my suitcase to the side and started styling clothes for a shoot! Ernie wanted to shoot the photos at an old abandoned school, and as expected, I was totally in love with the theme.  I really didn't know what to expect of the school, so I just loaded Mitzi up with my favorite liberty prints, school books, nerdy glasses, and pixie boots and sent her on her way – not without iPhone photos of all the looks, of course.

I think it ended up raining that morning, so they didn't get a whole lot of shots in, but we were satisfied with the few that they did get, especially since it was thrown together so last minute. Thanks to Mitzi, I have a few different local photographers requesting to work with me! Even if I don't get paid, styling shoots is still something I really, really enjoy doing!

The Chungs: My Madewell Purchase

I know I already snuck these into a shoe shot with the Annie's in Central Park, but I wanted to give a proper introduction to my new go-to oxfords, 'the Chungs'. I was practically acting like a giddy third grader with a crush when I bought them, writing Madewell all over twitter like a little girl with a sharpie and a bathroom wall, but I'm pretty sure they were my most expensive purchase of all time so you can understand where the excitement was coming from.

I tried on the fringe clogs first and walked around the store for a bit and loved them, I absolutely did, but they just didn't seem so practical for my every day life. First off, I wear oxfords every single day. I wore one pair until each shoe had a large hole in the bottom, another until the sole started flapping, and yet another until the little weaves started peeling apart! I wear oxfords to the grave!

The second strike against the clogs was that they were heels and I just simply do not wear heels to class – which is pretty much the only place I get dressed for anyway. The final factor that I weighed out just before I made my final decision was the fact that clogs may not be "in" next season but oxfords are classic enough to be "in" until the end of time! I'll be getting these babies resoled for the next ten years.

Needless to say, I'm verrrry satisfied with my choice! I'm not sure if they're Alexa for Madewell since they're not under that section of the Madewell website, but they previewed with her lookbook earlier this year, so I appropriately titled them, the Chungs, as in "baby, have you the Chungs laying around anywhere today."

Eve Gravel Dress Giveaway

A while back a Montréal based designer named Eve Gravel contacted me and a few other bloggers to see if we would be interested in helping introduce her clothing line to the states. She's no stranger to the business as her label has been around in Montréal for 16 years, but for this fall season, she decided it was time to spread her creations to the south.

To make sure the collection was something we'd even be interested in, she sent over her fall lookbook for us to browse through. Of course it was filled with the prettiest dresses, skirts, and jackets made of the most beautiful fabrics and textures, all with charming details that I couldn't help but adore. We were able to pick out our top five favorite pieces and from there the Eve Gravel team narrowed it down to just one. I wasn't able to get my favorite piece, but they did their very best and sent over one of my other favorites, the Edgy Kate dress.

I'll admit, when I first saw the collection I was thinking, "Oh no. Leopard and black. Can I do leopard and black?", but the more and more I scrolled through the looks, the more and more I began to love it. Despite the fact that the pieces seemed a bit more edgy than my typical style, the silhouettes and textures seemed so very feminine. To be honest, it's not that I don't like urban looks, it's that the shapes don't usually work on my curvy body. This girls' got too much ass for skin tight booty shorts and body con dresses–which is why I love free flowing vintage dresses–but finally there's a collection that meshes the edgy aesthetic with a more girlie style. The whole time I was wearing the dress I kept thinking, "oh my gosh, Allison Mosshart would TOTALLY approve of this look"–um, yeah, so that girl crush is still going strong! 

I suppose the best news out of this whole Eve Gravel collaboration–for you guys, at least–is that each one of the five bloggers participating will be giving away their special Eve Gravel piece on their blogs. That's right. Five Eve Gravel pieces are up in the air, and I seriously think I might cry once I have to ship this dress off! The fabric is soft and sheer and the sleeves have just a bit of puff in them to help hold their shape. There's ruffles, there's lining, and it honestly is just about the best piece in my closet right now.

To enter, all you have to do is visit the Eve Gravel website and share your favorite piece from the collection. Make sure to leave your email address so I can get a hold of you and to increase your chances of winning at least one thing from the Eve Gravel line, be sure to check out Lulu Letty, Selective Potential, Sally Jane Vintage, and Liebemarlene throughout the week as they will be giving away their selected pieces too. Good luck!

Photos by my friend Corey.

Alexa Chung Madewell Commercial!

(Refinery 29)

Well, since I didn't have a real post scheduled for today, I thought, why not another fall collection video instead! No more Orla Kiely this time. Instead it's a commercial from the much-anticipated Madewell collection by Alexa Chung, coming out in stores tomorrow! It's super short but reaaaally sweet.

Venetia Scott For Orla Kiely

I guess if there's one good thing about Monkeycat sitting on my pillow, purring up a storm and begging me to get up at 6 in the morning, it's that she led me to this gorgeous campaign by Orla Kiely. Did I really just make a connection between Monkeycat and Orla Kiely? Weird.

Monkey wakes me up like that every morning, but on this particular day I got up and started reading through my twitter timeline. I think there were 197 missed tweets, most of them from people overseas who were awake while I was sleeping, but there was one specific tweet that caught my eye.

I've been waiting for the Venetia Scott photos of the Orla Kiely collection to come out ever since reading a different tweet about it a while back. I waited and waited and even posted about it with a completely different set of Venetia Scott photos a few months ago. And finally the day has come, another Orla Kiely tweet announcing their release.

To say I love them would be an understatement. Orla Kiely has a way of creating the most authentic 60's and 70's scenes with all the beautiful prints and colors she uses, and Venetia Scott is just an unbelievable photographer that really knows how to make a connection with the viewer and her subjects. I just love them both! Seeing these photos actually reminded me of a video I recently watched about the designer. It's the Orla Kiely for Target commercial which I don't remember from back in the day (2007), but I think it tells a lot about the designer.

TBA Love Affairs.

I've had a secret love affair with TBA ever since I first saw this nude colored, silk, peter pan collar dress floating around on someones flickr photostream. If I remember correctly my jaw literally dropped when I saw it. Not only is it the perfect color done in the perfect material with the perfect details, but the collar's sorta perfect too and reminds me a lot of the beaded broad collars the pretty Egyptians would wear to spice up their outfits (only rounder and much more my style). It's one of those dresses that keeps popping up on random blogs reminding me of how much I love it. I finally found out that it's TBA for Urban Outfitters, and it has a bunch of friends in the shop too (Urban Outfitters U.K., that is). That's way more attainable than I originally thought, but (unfortunately) I'm a true thrifter at heart and even a $150 dress (with conversion numbers on top of that) is something I feel sick at my stomach spending money on. So here I am left with an imaginary love affair and a ton of lovely TBA dresses that I'll only get to touch in my dreams.

Oh. And while I'm dreaming, I might as well throw the TBA fall collection into the mix too.

LOVE-ly.
Must recreate one of these looks soon.

Photographer: Saga Sig
Stylist: Linda Marina Portman
Make up: Lucy Bridge
Model: Katy Dron
Designer of TBA is Adorably Cute Binbin.

Source:

Alice In Wonderland

Alexa Chung stunned me again.

hold your hats. alexa chung for madwell.

whoa. i'm in love. i'm gonna have to make a major thrift store shopping list based off this collection. lots of grey socks, maybe even another caitlin shearer shirt. alexa always makes me want to wear tees.

source: Coutorture tipped off by a Who What Wear twitter update.