she wore blueee velvet

Taking a little break from the "fashion week" interviews to share some photos I took of Miss Emily last Friday. After taking photos for the shop Emily rummaged through my personal collection and pulled out a few things to dress-up in for a more exciting than standing against the wall looking serious shoot. It was such a pleasure to photograph her and to turn the camera on somebody else for a change O_O. Before the shoot I met Jessica from Seychelles who generously supplied the gloriously tall shoes Emily is wearing. I am genuinely excited about these two new shoe additions as they are the first new shoes (not second-hand that is) that I've had in heaven only knows how long (erm nearly two years), had forgotten how comfortable it is to be the first owner of a pair of shoes!

In other (very sad to me) news the countdown to the end of our pop-up is on! Only seven more days to visit the shop! Nooooooooo. Such a tease it is, though now I am more determined than ever to open up our own brick and mortar shop.

FW Part 3: Wray Serna

This next interview is with a friend near and dear to me, Wray Serna. Wray and I met on this magical place (where I meet all my favourite people) called LiveJournal many years ago. She and her partner Amber Jimenez founded their company Ambit just last year and are already working on putting out their second collection, available soon for pre-sale. Their beautiful streamlined collection is handmade locally with as much love as there is attention to detail (those buttons!). Yay Wray (sorry, the temptation to cheer and rhyme was too strong for me to resist)!

1. What was your first fashion-related creation?
My first Fashion-related creation would have to be a dress that I made out of a 1950's lady cotton swimmingsuit fabric. I was 16 and an avid flea market goer. I had no idea how to sew and as a result, lots of fitting pieces of fabric to myself and pinning ensued. After a while the pieces of fabric slowly morphed into a dresslike item. I don't know that I would proudly display my creation, but I do still have it (and wear it) !

2. What or who inspires you?
I am greatly inspired by both photographers and designers. I have always been a fan of Stephen Shore and William Eggleston for their clean lines, composition, and beautiful colors. I also greatly admire Dries Van Noten, Comme Des Garcon, Mason Martin Margiela, and Maria Cornejo.

3. Biggest sartorial blunder?
Oooo there are quite a few. My biggest sartorial blunder (and continues to be) would have to be my 1970's print floral dress which is cut so short I sometimes wonder if it is meant to be a top. I will start off by stating that I am a shapely women (derrier in specific). The dress looks fine and proper in the front. However, be there ever so slight a breeze or movement in the back and people get an eyeful. There have been so so so many instances where people will walk right up to me and tell me they can see my backside. I am pretty sure I have walked 10 plus blocks, ridden 3 subways, had lunch, and traveled home, all with an exposed behind. Despite its treachery, the dress is cut so lovely and nice that I cant get rid of it ever.

4. What job/project would you consider "a dream come true"?
I can honestly say that the job I have now is a "Dream Come True" and working with my partner Amber helps (A Lot). I get to think about fabrics, colors, photography, growth, and the fashion world of New York City every day. I honestly can say that I dont think I could survive without having a job that involves a large amount of creation. Individuals need creation, society needs it, I love it.

5. Any advice to those wishing to follow in your footsteps?
My personal advice I would give to someone following in my footsteps would be to develop a strong identity for yourself, organize your goals and how to obtain them, understand that everything is a learning process, always treat the people you work with, with respect, and most importantly smile, you are your own boss!

Wray's blog.
Ambit's website.
Ambit's blog.

Keep your eyes on their website as they are planning a pre-sale for their latest collection shortly!

All photos courtesy of Ambit by Landon Metz (and yep that's Emily)!

In Review: Elvia / Nicole / Tara-Lynn / Kathryn / Alexandra / Kelsey / Victoire

FW Part 2: Victoire

Today's interview is with Regine and Katie, the lovely ladies behind Victoire, an adorable boutique in my hometown Ottawa. Victoire is exactly what Ottawa was missing while I lived there (was so tempted to say "during my youth" but that sounds decidedly grandpa-ish). Their beautifully curated shop caries a host of Canadian talent including previous interviewee Tara-Lynn! I'm enthralled to have had the opportunity to meet these two and to watch their business grow. I want to thank them for giving me a place to shop when visiting (their neighbour) my pops in Ottawa!

1. What was your first fashion-related creation?
In 2002 we participated in a Ladyfest craftsale selling glued on lyrics on cut-up sweatshirts, wallpaper and spray paint on 80's purses. It kind of makes us cringe now and was definitely 'crappy crafty' but we just soooo wanted to be a part of this craft sale/DIY movement that was bubbling up at the time.

Though we now sell beautifully made pieces by other much more talented people, this time in our lives got us into this part of the fashion industry that has nothing to do with capital F "fashion". It's about appreciating beautiful things and getting excited about things made by your neighbour, or your friends, or someone just like you. Being a part of a creative independent community as a consumer is just as fun and rewarding as producing things! So even though we spend a lot more time now selling and promoting the works of other designers and not as much time making our own things anymore, it's still really rewarding and we love being part of an independent economy of sorts.

2. What or who inspires you?
You do Hannah! Not only are you adorable and nice but we love your entrepreneurial spirit and your work ethic. (oh gosh :D)

We also love love love Oprah's wisdom, Dolly Parton's sense of humor, In God We Trust's perfection and inspiring merchandising, and Dace's longevity in the business.

Complexgeometries, Audrey Cantwell and Norwegian Wood inspire us to be more adventurous. Our feminine cutie-pie look comes more naturally but we admire the risks these designers encourage us to take. It ensure we live in a rock'n'roll tea party duality.

3. Biggest sartorial blunder?
Trying to be Electro-clash in the early 2000's in a small Canadian city. We were having fun but boy we must have looked silly. Stage get ups looked awesome on Le Tigre and Karen O but never quite worked in the school cafeteria.

We are thankful we took these fashion risks and played with different looks, but we wish there weren't any pictures!

4. What job/project would you consider "a dream come true"?
Though we love to sell new Canadian designers, we have an out of control passion for vintage dresses. We host 2 vintage dress parties a year but it is not enough to satiate our hording impulses. We would really like to start an etsy store this year. Any words of wisdom, and lessons learned from selling on etsy would be most welcomed.

We would also love to see Victoire beat the odds and stick around for a very long time. Doing what we do right now is a dream come true, and doing it for many years to come would make our hearts very happy.

5. Any advice to those wishing to follow in your footsteps?
Just do it! Ask anyone and everyone for their advice and never forget that it's a good thing to find people who can do things better than you. That way you can learn and improve. Every day you meet people who can teach you something. Don't be afraid to ask for help and advice, even people who may intimidate you. People like helping others!

Victoire's Blog
Victoire's Online Shop

Visit them in Ottawa at:
246 Dalhousie St (closest intersection is St-Patrick)
(613) 321-1590
&
1282 B Wellington Street (near Holland)
(613) 421-0089

All photos courtesy of Victoire by Arden Wray.

In Review: Elvia / Nicole / Tara-Lynn / Kathryn / Alexandra / Kelsey

FW Part 1: Kelsey Genna

As nyfw draws to an end I thought I would share with you a few interviews with inspiring women working in the fashion industry.

First up is Kelsey Genna, a young woman based in New Zealand. Kelsey's handmade dresses are deliciously dreamed up with generous floral references, pastels and sheer fabrics (all of which are presently my weakness)! Very much looking forward to seeing her collection, erm, blossom O_O.

1. What was your first fashion-related creation?
When I was fourteen I started getting into sewing. The first thing I ever made was a pair of pyjamas; I was a little more ambitious on my second project and decided to make a prom dress. At this time I truly knew nothing about pattern making or sewing. I didn’t even know rules about grain lines etc. so I just placed all the pattern pieces on the fabric wherever I wished. You certainly do learn from your mistakes!

2. What or who inspires you?
I find inspiration in many places. Photography / Film / Art / Nature. I am very interested and influenced by fashion history particularly trends from the 50s / 60s… but then again who isn’t, it was such a wonderful and exciting time in fashion. For my final project at university I worked around flowers, one of my great loves. I studied some of my favourite flowers and translated the colours, shapes and textures into each dress.

3. Biggest sartorial blunder?
Gosh, I’ve made many mistakes over the years… which I don’t think is too much of a bad thing, it is good to experiment while your young! The memories that make me cringe the most are from homemade videos my friends and I use to create. There was a time through my earliest years in high school where all we did was make fashion videos. I can remember wearing blonde frizzy wigs and dresses out of crochet blankets, pillow cases and bubble wrap. I would share photos but I think my friends would kill me!


4. What job/project would you consider "a dream come true"?
I am so lucky to be doing what I have always dreamt of doing. Everything is very exciting for me right now; I have finally finished studying and getting to work on Kelsey Genna properly. I could honestly say, what I am doing is ‘a dream come true’. Of course there are so many exciting projects and plans I have for the near and distant future. I would really love to travel and create pop up stores… even more so after seeing photos from The Loved One’s pop up store!!

5. Any advice to those wishing to follow in your footsteps?
Follow your dreams and never give up on them.

All photos courtesy of Kelsey Genna. Visit Kelsey here!

In Review: Elvia / Nicole / Tara-Lynn / Kathryn / Alexandra

The Loved One Pop Up Shop!

Nicole Eymard takes a swing!

The Loved One's first ever pop-up shop! Big thanks to all that helped steam and build and tag and flower the spot. I am so extremely happy with the finished product and wish now that I could spend every day in the fantasy land that we created! I'll have to post a more detailed account of the last three weeks as they were absolute madness but after the 4:00 am wake-up call and 12 hours of travel I have to say that I am completely pooped and ready to catch up on kitten cuddle time O_O!

For pictures of our opening night (complete with lingerie clad model swinging in daisy chain brassieres and loads of "bees knees" induced shenanigans) click here and here!

If you're in Los Angeles visit the space yourself for all of February at Space 15 Twenty!