Gift Guide!

This holiday season I wanted to shine a much deserved spotlight on some of my incredibly gifted friends in hopes that folks will be drawn to seek out handmade (or local) presents for their loved ones.

1. Alexandra Grecco: (no stranger around these parts) Alexandra's whimsical floral crowns and sparkly hair accessories would make for most beauteous present toppers, girlpal gifts or special somethings for the brides-to-be in your life.

2. I am in such awe of Anja Verdugo. This year she has managed to start her own clothing and accessories line while maintaining a popular vintage shop and blog and still finding time to nurse a very promising photography career. Anja can honestly do no wrong right now. Pop over to her shop to find leather kitty head coasters (seriously), phone cases, clutches and more.

3. Fieldguided: Kitty calendars pretty enough to frame! What more can I say? DREAMCATS!

4. This one is near and dear to my heart as I've had the privilege of watching this extraordinarily talented young lady grow into the artist she is today (yay livejournal friends)! You can find both prints and originals of Caitlin Shearer's artwork at her shop (and even request a custom portrait).

5. Another dear friend, Tara-Lynn (also no stranger around here). Tara-Lynn's deliciously soft, incredibly unique, one-of-a-kind knits would make the perfect gift for any northern dweller (she has goodies for warm weather folk too).

6. The candy hued jewels from The Vamoose slay me. I want to eat her website.

More handmade goodies to investigate:

Ambit, for stunningly structured handmade apparel, hats and jewelry.
Frances Baker, for adorable handmade dresses and underthings from down under.
We Never Sleep, for gorgeous handmade jewelry (she'll be selling at the Holiday Sale this Saturday, see flyer after the jump for more details).
Nadinoo, I just want everything for myself!

Vintage Shops to investigate:

Vintage Shoe Love, for an incredible selection of vintage shoes.
Golden Fur Vintage, Emily's sherbet hued collection of vintage dresses and separates.
Kennedy Holmes, for an affordable collection of hand selected goods put together by the beautiful Kennedy.
Heart City Vintage, one of a kind goodies from the 50s up selected by my Philadelphia twin, Hannah!
The Exhausted Etiquette, a sweet selection of vintage attire. (That star blouse, I want it!)
Shop Lawrence, beautifully curated by a beautiful lady.
Fancy Fine Vintage goodies selected by the charismatic Ashley Ording.

Local Shops to investigate:

Catbird, the best gift shop in the neighbourhood! For perfumes, candles, jewelry and much more.
Dalaga, lovely sister owned shop with a beautiful selection of apparel, purses, jewelry, footwear and more (including The Loved One as of last Friday)!
End of Century, for locally made apparel and jewelry along with vintage furniture and monthly artist exhibitions.

More...

Worn Fashion Journal, a fantastic, Canadian run publication that discusses fashion in a way that I've not seen any other fashion magazine do (more on them coming up as I review their latest issue :D).

Vegan Secret Supper, a Brooklyn supper club hosted by the best vegan chef I know!

I'm sure I'm forgetting some pretty spectacular people, feel free to share links to your own small business/handmade creations in the comments!

Please consider supporting your local business owners this holiday season :).

FW Part 5: Alexandra Grecco

Last but certainly not least we have a rather familiar face around these parts, Alexandra Grecco! She first popped up here last year when I had the pleasure of modeling her line of cheeky rompers and has since made a few more appearances (she is the other bum in The Loved One pictures)! This beautiful and motivated women is another one of my buddies who will no doubt be rocketing to fashion stardom in the coming years! Alexandra has just launched her latest line of scrumptious creations and I once again had the pleasure of playing dress-up and stuffing my face (I think it was a bit more of a smashing onto my face) with extravagant pastries. Landon also got involved and snapped these pictures of her decadent designs!

1. What was your first fashion-related creation?

Well, it was a paper shoe, or shall I say "bootie", with stapled seams. I was six, and I gave them to my sister for her baptism ceremony thinking she may need shoes for the event. To make them fancy I added a cross in pencil and called them "lordy boots". The craftsmanship was breathtakingly beautiful (har har har).

Sadly, they went unworn.

2. What or Who inspires you?

Lots of things! I get really inspired when watching some of my favorite films like, Valerie and Her Week of Wonders, Lolita, Pandora's Box, Rosemary's Baby and Badlands. Lot's of 70's horror films too.

Sexy ladies inspire me. Briggitte Bardot, Anna Karina, Ann Margaret, Hannah Metz.

Traveling and getting out the city for the weekend is necessary for good inspiration as well. Music, hikes, books, train rides, crisp autumn, all that good stuff!

3. Biggest sartorial blunder?

Probably when I styled my bedsheets into a gown and wore it to school.







4. If you had to have a uniform for this season what would it look like?

Naked with some floral hats. Maybe a velvet blazer, too.






5. Any words of wisdom for people wishing to follow in your footsteps?

Plan as much as you can before you start, and ask lots of questions! Set goals for yourself and set up the proper funds. Lists really help too on an everyday basis, BORING! But true...





Alexandra's Shop!
Alexandra's Website!
Alexandra's Blog!

That's it for this round of fashion week interviews! I hope you enjoyed them as much as I did! I hope more that you discovered a few new names to keep your eye on but most of all I hope that you find the perfect something created by these talented women to make your very own one day (now I am fist pumping and saying "support independent business! handmade yeah!"). If you know of a designing lady that you think I should interview for next fashion week let me know! I've already spied a few ladies that I'd love to get on board for next time. To the amazing young women that I interviewed: Thank you so much for your time, I wish you all the very best! You are all so incredibly talented and I feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to watch your businesses blossom!

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

and still with a bad toe

landon and i are presently bed-ridden with flu symptoms (not those of the dreaded H1N1 however) after a glorious weekend spent canoeing and eating an early turkey dinner with family in the great north. prior to succumbing to a horizontal state i was tempted with lavender chocolates and black bean and avocado pizza into donning wonderful Alexandra Grecco's fall line for her etsy shop. I cannot praise this wonderful lady's work enough! her fall line is brimming with silks, wools and velvet, clearly she knows the way to my heart (through my tummy and velvet). i promise a more lucid update later this week - on a topic of your choice! my keys are dry!

All photos taken by Alex.

a grecco goddess

I recently had the great privilege of meeting enchanting Alexandra Grecco, the designer behind Lulufinder. Alexandra is one of those rare creatures who can make you feel immediately at ease in her presence, she is warm and bright and has most excellent taste in chocolate and cheesy treats. It has been such a pleasure getting to know this vivacious Brooklyn talent. Below are two shots from her upcoming lookbook of deliciously feminine designs shot by lovely lady Lucia Holm.

First and last photos of the beautiful Alex, see more at her inspiring blog gludafindslulu.