Here, Juliedarling is wearing a custom necklace designed by Catabella. Don’t know if you can read it but it says,’Original Darling’. The MerGirl stretch lace top with open neckline is perfect for showing it off.
How do you wear your indie fashion? What do you pair it with? I would love to hear. Email me trish(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.
What actress said this?
I will give you a hint, she is quoted saying this in a June 2008 issue.
“Being around water makes you feel so good. I like the ocean - the wilder and wavier, the better. I swim until the end of October, and in the spring I’m the first one in. When you get out, you feel like a different person. “-?
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.
Post by Jean Voute Pratt of Style Observer
Remember the days when you were a child, walking down the boardwalk, licking an ice cream cone, and being entertained by games like kick the can and hopscotch? It was a time when businesses were owned by locals, and the quality of the product was a reflection of pride in ownership. Now, during a time of mass produced merchandise, we find a bit of old fashioned authenticity in a local artist. Steven Dana is an artist with a real appreciation for quality, and embraces the world of American charm. He seems to understand that there is something magical about childhood, and the importance of nurturing the artistic side of our children. Steven has taken his artistic ability to the TEES. He has designed a line of t-shirts for children that are whimsical, and have distinct youthful charm. They are intriguing, and bring forth thoughts of childhood imagination. As a mother of boys, this is exactly the type of t-shirt I want my boys to represent. I’m hoping it will balance out the video games and light saber battles. I want them to take a minute to paint a little pottery, savor some unbelievable taffy, and just breath. Let the little ones be fashionable in an “indie” way, visit www.patritot.com.
SMASH UP XIII - Butterflies in the Mass - On Sale Now!
A big thank you goes out to Elijah Heake in Philly for our latest limited edition SMASH UP tee: Butterflies in the Mass. Elijah is currently a student at Community College of Philadelphia and plans to attend Tyler School of the Arts in the fall to major in graphic design and minor in printmaking. Raised in Thailand, Elijah gives credit to his parents for his artistic expression, and is inspired by everything around him, as well as: textiles, woodblock prints, and dreams of the future.
Click here to see a full Darling year of SMASH UP tees!
Elijah sent over his amazing portfolio for me to peruse full of funky designs for local music events and promotions. So of course I wanted to know what a day in the life of this student was like…read for yourself:
“-waking up-walking my girls (pitbull)-frosted mini wheats- maybe contact clients-take photographs -work on new designs -then school-and then more designs-and then sleep.”
This is completely a necessary tee for the summer wardrobe, and our first SMASH garment that is 100% organic cotton from Alternative Apparel. I like to think Elijah considers us as the lovely indie butterfly darlings out here in the mass. JulieDarling models it perfectly with a pair of jeans, MoDarling likely would throw on this Boom chick-a-Boom wrap skirt with favorite summer sandals, and TrishDarling may throw it on over her sexy DOT dress - all of us heading out the door with a smile to show the world a little bit of Smashing Darling!We hope that you will too!
If you are in the West Philly area this month head over for some eats at http://www.caferx.com/ and see a show of Elijah’s photography work from the past year as well as some of his graphics. Learn more about the Student SMASH UP project here - and spread the good word to any printmaking students you know!
We’ll bring you a new SMASH UP, landing here from the west coast, on July 3rd!
cheers ~ the Darling’s
Venuszine is pairing up with Smashing Darling. You subscribe to the magazine and you will be automatically entered into a drawing to win a $25 gift certificate to Smashing Darling. There will be 25 lucky winners for the gift certificates. Some lucky winners will also receive Necklaces from Rock Love & Albums from Santagold, Atmosphere, Free Kitten, and many others. Plenty of good stuff to go around.
Show your support for this creative, emerging, indie lifestyle by subscribing, you will be glad you did.
Venus Zine is the leading source for coverage of women in music, art, film, fashion, and DIY culture. Venuszine.com is the daily updated companion to the quarterly, internationally circulated magazine. Venus Zine and venuszine.com feature interviews with legendary artists (Yoko Ono, Patti Smith, and Kim Deal) in addition to edgy and up-and-coming musicians, designers, writers, actresses, and DIY entrepreneurs.
Check out the behind the scenes video getting ready for the summer issue. Also in this issue is A Timeline of Women in Hip Hop and Sex and the Purse, Pumps and Penthouse. Look into the events to see the Madewell Event recap, where Venuszine editors showed shoppers how to deck out their denim.
For those of you with businesses:
They are giving away a half-page color ad to the Web site that refers the most visits to venuszine.com between June 1 and July 15, 2008.*
Today’s interview is with Cecile Moreau designer of Recycled by Hyena. I wanted to start the interview with a bit from her bio. Who better to tell her story than her own voice…
I am a french artist and I live in America since several years now.
In everything I do, my main goal is to achieve perfection. Even though I know it is not really possible, I tend toward it the most I can. I don’t make compromises and I have a really strong sense of ethic.
It is why I work hours and hours on each of my creation.
SD: How did you get into fashion?
CM: Even though I always have been interested in costume history and fashion in general, I never really planned to become a clothing designer. I have a degree in visual art and I consider myself an artist. When I arrived in USA 5 years ago, I was totally broke and I ran into some problems to find clothing my size. So I bought a sewing machine and started to teach myself how to sew.
SD: What inspired you to start designing with pieces that already exist, by reconstructing them into beautiful one of a kind items?
CM: When I started to make clothes for myself I figured out fabric yardages could get expensive too.
So I turned to another solution: second hand clothing.
I always have been really preoccupied by pollution and waste and the way our beautiful planet is more and more littered and destroyed.
When I arrived in the USA, I got troubled by consumerism. A lot of people buy a lot of things they don’t even use. At the Goodwill store, I often found “second hand” clothing brand new with stores tags on.
That level of waste got me thinking and I looked for a way to create clothing without hurting the planet more. For me, the best way was to recycle what was already there.
There is also a social dimension to it. Now I try to find if the thrift stores I shop in are for profit or for charity. I have suppressed of my list the for-profit ones. I want my purchases to be eco friendly and socially friendly too! I think Goodwill stores have a very neat system empowering people to access a decent job.
SD: Can you describe your process for the pieces you make?
CM: I start by taking apart the whole garment, most of the time the inspiration goes along while reaping the seams which is a quite long process.
I sometimes draw the pieces before to help me to have an idea when I look for materials.
SD: If your clothes could speak, what would they say?
CM: That a lot of work went into each of them, that they are as unique as individuals. That they don’t care about trends because they are the result of fun and creativity, that they are free, but comfortable and very well made!
SD: Did you study fashion or are you a self taught designer?
CM: I am a self taught designer but having studied art my whole life, it really help me with shapes and colors.
SD: What does your average day entail?
CM: Working from home is such a pleasure for me. I can do what I want of my day. I am not an early bird at all. So generally the morning I sleep. I work in my studio most of the afternoon and sometimes at night. I spend a lot of time with my fur kids: a cat who think she is a dog and a greyhound who is like a big cat! When I can’t stand anymore to be at home, I go for a long walk in a park with my dog.
SD: Describe your personal style?
CM: I am not sure I have one! I like stripes, I like rave pants with straps. I wear skate shoes. I only wear natural material. I can go with one piece of clothing for years. I prefer quality over quantity.
I used to dress all in black (gothic, punk, new wave) for 15 years. I changed totally when I arrived in USA. I experimented with colors a lot at that time. I had an “all pink” period. It was really fun. Now I am going toward earth tones, olives and kaki.
And I never wear skirts.
SD: Who are your fashion icons (past or present)? Do you think they influenced your personal style?
CM: I don’t have any icon. I used to really enjoy Marc Le Bihan’s work. I don’t follow trends. I pick up my inspiration in my everyday life, readings, movies etc.
SD: Do you have any current fashion obsessions?
CM: I am obsessed with Japan and its culture since a very long time. I love everything zakka and linen fabric. Lately I have discovered bamboo fabric after an extensive search of a sustainable fabric. I can be obsessed with a color or a material – linen, orange for example – but rarely with a trend or shape.
SD: What advice would you give someone wanting to start a line of clothing?
CM: Follow your heart. Work hard. Be perfectionist.
This week we have the pleasure of turning our eyes towards Thistle Downs Wool Design, a very cool store featuring unique woolen items made from sheep that this designer has raised herself!
When volunteering to be critiqued, this designer asked a very specific question: to model or not to model? Specifically, she wanted to know whether or not to use models in her store’s photography. In general, our answer is a very emphatic YES!!! Models are a great way to show how products look on a real person, and are an excellent way to add an element of style to what might otherwise be just product shots.
Here are a few things for everyone to remember when choosing models.
• Make sure the models are helping, not hurting. Models should compliment the style of your designs and show your products exactly as you wish them to be seen. So make sure your models fit the products (and appeal to the market you’re trying to reach.) Is your work fun and youthful? Reflect it in your choice of models and the attitude of the shots. Designing elegant evening wear for socialites? Seek out models that fit the look to a tee.
• Keep the focus on the products. When shooting with models, be sure to keep the focus on your products. Don’t let the model overwhelm the fashions themselves. It’s a delicate balance, but the goal should be for the model to enhance your designs, and exude the the type of personality that best describes your work.
• Models have to look incredible. Ok, it may sound a tad shallow but the final hint we have for choosing models is that they have to be amazing. Your models have to be attractive, enjoying the fashions and themselves, and very comfortable in front of the camera, or they will not be working in your favor.
So, on to Thistle Downs. We think her use of models is great - they’re very attractive, suit the items well, and inject a nice human element without drawing focus away from the fashions themselves. Nicely done, and we say the more the better!
We also feel that Thistle Downs does a very nice job of shooting with natural light, and it suits the feel of the wool products very well. For the most part, there is a nice selection of alternate views for each product.
As always, there are a few areas that could benefit from some new approaches. In the handbag shots, we’re not sure that the dark backdrops show the bags in their best light. They feel a little overly heavy, and perhaps could benefit from the outdoors, natural light approach that works so well in many of the shots (the “Saddle Bag” shots do an excellent job of moving in this direction.) These could also benefit from some alternate views, perhaps inside shots of the bags that show the lining or handle details.
We also see a little bit of focus issues in a lot of the shots … many don’t seem quite as razor-sharp as they could be. This could be a matter of the camera itself ( maybe changing the image quality setting) or possibly even as simple as experimenting with a tripod. Technical issues can be very easy to overcome, and can help image quality tremendously.
As a whole, we feel that Thistle Downs’ images could benefit from a bit more consistency across the whole line, perhaps a theme-based approach that reflects the origins of the products themselves and give a bit more of a glimpse into the background and processes involved. We love this designer’s work, are fascinated by her profile, and want to know MORE!! We want to feel the coast of Maine and the scenic Litchfield hills in the photographs.
Thanks for reading, and now we want to hear what you think! Please leave your comments and constructive criticism below, and we always love hearing from everyone. What do you think about this boutique? We know you have something to say … let us know what you think by either commenting below or emailing directly at julie[at]smashingdarling[dot]com. We are also running out of volunteer’s for the critique. Anyone interested in being next?
Love these close up images of Juliedarling wearing her Barbarella ring by Go Robot. I think she would agree with me, it is a perfect accessory for summer.
