The first person to comment on the blog and tell me who said or wrote this wins a Student Smash Up item from Smashing Darling.
Who said this?
“Zest is the secret of all beauty. There is no beauty that is attractive without zest. -?
Now the only thing left to do is go peruse the store to feast your eyes on all the delicious choices and make your selection.
Good Luck!
These 4 are still up for grabs. Check them out and give it a shot.
Silver is the perfect accessory to show off your summer glow. Choose one of these from the editor’s picks or take some time to browse the site. Send me a link and show me your favorite.
Multi Wrapped Bracelet by Connie Pfieffer
Lotus Blossom Pendant by Stone Soup Jewelry
Leaf Impression Earrings by Dina Varano
Modern Link Necklace by Cynthia Jones
Furl Hair stick by Julie Lake
Lara miller is having a fantastic sample sale that ends Saturday May 31. Here, just a few of the dresses you will find. Click here to see all. Before you are done browsing, see all of the her latest designs for this season in her online boutique Lara Miller.
The Details:
The perfect little black dress worn your way. Wrap around the straps to create dozens of different looks. This dress can be worn casual or dressed up for a special occasion. A very popular dress-get it while you can!
The Details:
A must have simple dress which can also be layered as a slip. This staple is great under may of the bamboo sweater dresses.
The Details:
Dozen of looks in one! This garment can be worn several ways as a dress, skirt, or top! Use the strings to tighten at the bottom of the dress or around the neck as a tube top. This is a great garment to play with and wear with as many different looks.
Don’t forget to stay tuned in to watch Big Ideas for a Small Planet on The Sundance Channel June 10th When Lara will be highlighted for her eco-friendly designs. You might want to check out the contest they are having to win $10,000 for the next big idea to save the planet too.
I wanted to share the amazing photos from the SCAD Senior Fashion Show. SCAD is Julie darlings alma mater. Lucky for us she still has great connections. These photos come to us from a very good friend of hers Russ Bryant, a photographer in Savannah.
The Senior Fashion Show was held on May 14, 2008 to a sold out crowd. 120 seniors from the Atlanta and Savannah campuses competed for the 50 spots available to show that evening. Also in attendance that evening was Andres Leon Tally, Vogue editor-at-large and John Galliano.
I can remember my senior fashion show as if it were yesterday. It was so much crazy, nerve racking fun. Maybe it is time to throw a thought out to the universe…Is it time for a Smashing Darling fashion Show?
Last touches before the show
It looks like it was a great show.
Watch a cool video about preparing for the show senior year.
Growing up in Tripoli, Iowa, where fashion is of little concern, KahriAnne Kerr broke the mold. She was tired of generic mall clothes, so KahriAnne started to make her own clothes. Having no previous fashion/sewing experience KahriAnne taught herself how to sew and design. It was in the spring of 2002 (KahriAnne’s freshman year at BYU-Idaho) that Kahri clothing was first showcased on the runway. You can view her collection here, on Smashing Darling.
Daisy Baby Doll Halter Top by KahriAnne
SD: When did your love for fashion design begin?
KK: Hmm…must have been from the womb. Although I didn’t start designing clothes till High School, I used to do my own fashion shows for my Grandma when I got my new school clothes each Fall in elementary school. And my mom tells me I was a picky dresser since I was 2 yrs old.
SD: Where does the inspiration for your designs come from?
KK: Mostly from music. I love music, all kinds, except country. But most of all Rock ‘n Roll. Sometimes I’m inspired by poems I write and I’ll use them as part of a screen print design on my clothes.
SD: Did you study fashion design, if so where?
KK: Yep. I studied fashion design for one year at BYU-Idaho, one year at Iowa State, and 2 years at FIT
SD: Where and how did you first start your business?
KK: June 2002 at the Market Place in Waverly, Iowa. I opened a 10×10 space in a market near my hometown in Iowa, where I sold artwork, quilts, and clothing. I called it Kreations by Kahri though, and have since changed to just Kahri.
SD: What does your average day entail?
KK: Well I get up at 7:00am, get ready (I’m slow) and get on the L train at 8:30am. Then the L train is super slow and keeps stopping so I get to work at 9:30am instead of 9am. And then I spend the next 9 hours designing Juniors Jeans for a crappy company in midtown. Then I go back to Brooklyn and spend the next 6 hours working on my own business. Its just as fun as it sounds.
SD: Describe your personal style.
KK: Hip, funky, rocker chic. and original.
SD: Who are your fashion icons (past or present)? Do you think they influenced your personal style?
KK: I love Gwen Stefani. She probably influenced my style more in High School. I mean I even wore a bindi in 9th grade, like she used to. People thought I was a foreign exchange student but I swear it looked so cool.
SD: Do you have any current fashion obsession?
KK: hmmmm…. I’m kinda into shoes now but who isn’t?
SD: What advice would you give someone just starting in your field?
KK: Work your ass off, don’t wuss out, and if you can have rich parents or rich friends, it makes it much easier. I wish I could have those luxuries. But it seems that farmers don’t make all that much money.
SD: Do you have a question or a comment for anyone one Smashing Darling?
KK: Nope. just rock on! and Be Rebellious!
There’s much to commend in the Broken Teepee Designs Boutique from Montana … we don’t know about the teepee, but we don’t see much that’s too broken here!
First, we love seeing this much product in a boutique - there’s lots for shoppers to see here and plenty of places to look to find something special. We also absolutely love this designer’s item descriptions. They have a very personal feel and are colorful, fun, and engaging - the perfect complement to the style of the jewelry. The photography has a good degree of consistency (especially on the main images), and the designer has made very good use of alternate views - almost every image has LOTS of alternate shots to look at.
In terms of the photography, there are a few things that pop into our minds here at the SmashingDarling world headquarters that could help to set this boutique apart:
1. Carry the style though - As we mentioned, we feel that this boutique has a great thing going with the intertwining of the style of the jewelry with the marvelous descriptions. These two elements working so well together creates a colorful personality for this boutique and lays the foundation for some excellent branding opportunities. To that end, the first thing that we would recommend is to carry that style through to the photos themselves. To us, the jewelry has a fun, colorful look with a strong connection to nature that we feel could be continued into the photography more effectively than it is. Many of the images use a gray backdrop with a fade to black that just seems a little somber for these vivacious little gems.
Our suggestion would be to really play up the personality of the jewelry in ways that start to create a unique branding for the store. Don’t weigh colorful pieces down with heavy, dark-toned backgrounds. Get them out into light, try higher key shots that are brighter and more airy. Maybe even try more earthy backgrounds that relate to Montana and reinforce that strong tie to nature - think stone, sun-bleached wood, rough-hewn fabrics, and other simple, natural elements. Remember, though, that the key with backgrounds is not to go over the top - they should always enhance the shot and create a stage for the product, not overwhelm it.
2. Show us your softer side - In terms of lighting, many of the images in the boutique seem to be just a bit of harsh side … hard edged light, strong dark shadows, and often a very angular light quality that appears to come from a small light source. While hard light and deep shadows can certainly be used to create drama in a shot, we’re not sure that they’re very well suited to the jewelry’s personality here. What we would recommend is using a large light source like a softbox (B and H Photo is a great start), or otherwise diffusing the light that’s falling on the jewelry to help create more evenness and soft shadows.
One inexpensive way to get that soft light quality without a ton of special lighting equipment is to photograph jewelry in a light dome or PortaCube. These products essentially create little pockets of soft, diffused light for you to set up your products in (almost like having a tiny, all-white studio.) Check out Calumet Photo’s products: Click here
3. Sharper Images- Lastly, we notice that a fair number of the images are not especially sharp. This could be a very, very easy fix - as simple as shooting with a tripod or making sure that you’re shooting at a narrrow enough aperture. If you find that you just can’t get those razor-sharp images that you’d like even with a tripod, you may find it’s time to upgrade your camera. All lenses (and cameras) are not created equally!
Again, congratulations to the great start that Broken Teepee Designs is off to, and we hope that these ideas might really help to create a unique identity for this boutique. So what does everyone else think? Give us something good! As always, we can’t wait to hear from you and hope that our ideas are helpful. Let us know by either commenting below or emailing directly at julie[at]smashingdarling[dot]com.
The first person to comment on the blog and tell me who said or wrote this wins a Student Smash Up item from Smashing Darling.
Who wrote this?
“Failure or success seem to have been allotted to men by their stars. But they retain the power of wriggling, of fighting with their star or against it, and in the whole universe the only really interesting movement is this wriggle. -?
Now the only thing left to do is go peruse the store to feast your eyes on all the delicious choices and make your selection.
Good Luck!
These 4 are still up for grabs. Check them out and give it a shot.
Posted on:
Thursday, May 22, 2008 - Smashing Darling
For years I’ve admired the personal style of actress, Sienna Miller, and model, Kate Moss. Oh how I wish I had their ability to create a look that is completely their own, while being totally modern, chic, and pulled together.
Experts say that the key to achieving this look is by incorporating one-of-a-kind pieces with mass produced basics. It’s a simple concept, but where does one find these specialty pieces? I’m guessing these fashionistas spend a lot of time in vintage shops, but another option is shopping online at indie fashion website, SmashingDarling.com. Read more…
Poppies are the inspiration. Photo by Sarah of Thistle Downs Wool Designs
Who can resist a splash of hot orange on a sunny summer day.
The hat and earrings are just enough to make a sun kissed statement with the dress.
City Pretty Hat by Anne De Pasquale
Short Pleated Dress By Boaz, as seen in Instyle Magazine
Carnelian Calla Lilly Earrings by Beadiful Things
The dog days of summer will be here before you know it. Dressing smart for summer heat will help you keep your cool. Now is the time to shop. Here are 5 dresses that I can’t resist.
Aelisheva’s White Dress
Reddoll bytm’s “Sunshine” Silk Georgette Dress
Kahri’s Safari Belted Dress
Misile’s Delancy Dress
Krelwear’s Thick Strapped Dress
Katie Flip Tube
