by trish on November 28, 2008
I definitely had Holidays in mind while picking my favorite Smashing Darling items. We are just a few weeks away, and although everyone is trying to find the perfect gift for their friends, family, co-workers and kids, I decided to dive into the dreamland and find the gifts I would absolutely love to get these Holidays, for myself! Luckily, there were lots of items to choose from, so here is my “smashing” wish list:
First, I would love to wrap myself in this Lara Miller Marla Wrap – it’s a dress, a cardigan and a top in one. After all our recession times are all about versatility and comfort. For comfort and warmth I’d get the STRIPE scarf by Thistle Downs wool design -the hand-felted super soft Merino wool piece with chocolate brown, white and lavender stripes looks stylish and warm at the same time. To add some delicate piece to my winter wardrobe I would chose the super trendy hand-crocheted Bye Bye Birdie dress from Dahl, a label created by Project Runway’s Alison Kelly (confession – I’m a fan). To add a touch of modern design I would chose the galactic ring by Go robot!, and balance it out with a nature inspired Loyalty Leaves necklace by Mushka Designs. To sexy up my wardrobe I’d opt for the Blazing Star Nightie by On The Inside Lingerie, a retro looking nightgown that is definitely coming back to style these days. Now that would be my perfect Holiday gift set – just fyi, my friends 
– Yuli Ziv My It Things
by trish on November 26, 2008
Simply put the French word atelier means studio or workroom.
Some photos from some of the most famous fashion studio/workrooms.
Christain Dior
Chanel
Christian Lacroix
Christian LaCroix
There is a whole slide show of photos the New York Times ran with the article titled, ‘The Best Hands in the World‘ by Cathy Horyn
by trish on November 21, 2008
Anne Fritz had been to every continent (except Antarctica) by the time she turned 30, but her favorite trips are anywhere she goes with her girlfriends. She is one of the Jet Set Girls now helping others discover new and great ways to travel. Here she shares her editors picks from her favorites on Smashing Darling.
The only thing better than vacationing in a warm weather destination in the middle of winter is rubbing it in with all your friends who are stuck in frigid temps. But an airplane ride from cold weather to warm is every snowbird’s challenge. If you dress for your island destination, you’ll catch pneumonia before the plane’s wheels are off the ground. Dress for the city you’re escaping, you’re in for a hot and sweaty ride from the airport once you reach your destination. What’s a jet set girl to do?
* Dark jeans or white? Black jeans don’t work in tropical locales—you’ll be too hot and worse, you’ll be labeled as a tourist just as quickly as if you had a guidebook glued to your forehead. But forget about wearing your favorite pair of white jeans on a plane—you’ll spill that soda you just plunked down $2 for and then they’re ruined for the trip.
The solution? This striped pair is two jeans in one! The brown stripe is still city-appropriate while the white has beach bum written all over it.
*A sunny yellow tank will keep you in good spirits, even if your luggage gets lost. This one is extra long, so no worried about your whale tale slipping out. Love the owl too. Can you ever get enough of these sage birds?
*Layering is key to comfort en route. This cozy scarf can double as a wrap if it’s cooler at night on your trip than you had anticipated. I would top the entire outfit off with a vintage denim jacket.
*Leave the Marc or Miu Miu bag at home. Instead, opt for this hobo. Not only is it big enough to double as your carry on, the turquoise accents practically scream “Pina colada”. Plus it’s microsuede, so you won’t be devastated if your bottle of sunscreen springs a leak.
*Colorful accessories are a must! This ring is playful, yet understated.
*Flip flops are an instant vacation. Keep these in your carry on, then trade your shoes as soon as your wheels down. Now your trip has officially started!
by Mo on November 20, 2008
Around the Site
Hey there Darlings new, and tried and true. We thought you might want to know some details about those coming to investigate our unique fashion destination. Here are some factoids for you:
- 70% of our shoppers are women between the age of 20-40.
- The average price of an item sold is $130.00, and typically it takes only 7 page views for a shopper to find what they are looking for.
- Most shoppers purchase on their first visit….Nice!
- Google organic is our #1 traffic source, with direct search for “Smashing Darling” coming in a close second. This means people are searching for emerging/independent fashion. That is truly great.
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…and one more.
Last, but certainly not least, we have a major change in the works here at Smashing Darling.
We will no longer be requiring users to create an account to buy – shop – purchase. This will make it so much easier for shoppers, and likely mean more sales for you.
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how to – Be Featured
Some products are definitely spotted quickly by shoppers visiting the site as they are featured prominently on the home page and item category landing pages. Want to get your products there? Make your boutique cutting edge in all respects: hot fashions, stunning images, strong identity, and lots of products to choose from.
Email us if you would like to be considered.
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Don’t Miss This
We were happy to recap Fashion Wars LIVE in the blog with ZooZoom online mag. Read more here, and be sure to go vote for Darling Brooklyn Royalty
while you are there.(Here’s how.)
Also it’s not too late to design an “It” holiday dress and win over at MyItThings.com. The winners dress will be carried at, Ilus, a dress rental boutique in NYC.
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Give thanks and be smashing!
cheers ~ the Darlings
by trish on November 19, 2008
Haute Couture: The original meaning is “high-class” dressmaking. In 1911, the Paris Couture Union was established, setting the strict qualifications for it’s members. Haute Couture is the highly skilled craft of dressmaking using quality fabrics; the dresses are sold to individual clients or store buyers. Charles Frederick Worth is considered to be the founder of Haute Couture. -excerpt from Madeleine Vionnet
Madeleine Vionnet evening dress spring/summer 1938
The Technique: The fringe for this dress was created by taking individual graduated lengths of silk threads passed and looped through the fabric with each thread forming two drops of fringe.
by trish on November 18, 2008
TRISH: WHAT IS A FASHION WAR?
XENIA: Put simply, a Fashion War is a competition between two apparel looks. But beyond that, fashion is self and cultural expression. And a fashion war is a battle between two different messages.
WHERE DID THE IDEA COME FROM?
At ZOOZOOM, we were playing kitten wars, which is a game in which choose between two cute kittens. We thought we could bring the quick-paced concept to New York Fashion Week runway shots, and take something really silly and fun to the world of fashion which is very sexy and can be incredibly serious sometimes. It’s a fast, fun and simple way for people to see what’s going on in fashion without having to go on a wild internet goose chase.
WHY A LIVE FASHION WAR?
ZOOZOOM wanted to do fashion wars in real life because fashion is an expression of individuality. We know so many people with amazing style, and their style is unique and inspiring, and we wanted to create a community to share those things in. Beyond that, fashion sends a message : Polished, utilitarian, neutrality, confrontation, danger, sex… you could convey anything. So in that sense a live fashion war is a battle between two unique tactile and visual expressions.
And over time, these images will be even more telling; Fashion Wars are way for us to capture a spirit of a very specific time in very specific niches of culture.
THE MOOD
The mood on Friday night was high octane to say the least. We projected Fashion Wars on a wall at 3rd Ward, which is a venue that brings a certain type of person, because it’s in Brooklyn and it’s a shared art space. Voting live on a huge wall over who is better dressed in front of the very people you are judging is really interesting because we all do that anyway…
And the diversity of the crowd was really amazing. We had models come looking very polished, and a designer who created a dress out of recycled umbrella. We had people in marketing and Public Relations and some very conservatively-dressed people, and also a guy running around in a leather thong.
The experience as also enormously communal because we had such a great team working with us. Artisan Collective working on Fashion Wars installations all day with real bullet casings and a chandelier they made of guns. The Dig and Except After Sea played great live sets. And Trent Wolbe & Small Change both of WFMU did an amazing job DJ’ing so it really did feel like a community of people were coming together to celebrate individuality. Let’s just say it was the definition of ‘Friendly Competition.’
WHO WON?
The winner will not be announced until December 17th. We want people to be able to vote until the holidays and the winner receives a spread in ZOOZOOM. Right now it’s always changing but people are still voting so it’s nearly anyone’s game at this point.
ARE YOU PLANNING ON ANOTHER OR WILL IT BE AN EVER CHANGING VENUE?
We are definitely not declaring a cease fire on fashion wars anytime soon. We love 3rd Ward and hope to do other collaborative projects with them in the future, but changing the venue keeps Fashion Wars interesting. Eventually we can do venue versus venue, neighborhood versus neighborhood, city vs. city. Country vs. country even! And that’s really appealing to us, so we’re not exactly sure what our next battleground will be, but this war is not over. We will definitely keep you posted.
ANYTHING ELSE?
If you’re into innovation in fashion, check out Don the Verb.
The New York Times actually wrote a spoof piece about us we’d like to share. A sense of humor in fashion! Finally :: http://www.zoozoom.com/press/new_york_times_story.html
The Photos of the event were done by amazing photographer Dan Stein. Click on events from his homepage.
Dan Stein
by Mo on November 14, 2008
Darlings, meet fashion blogger Jaclyn Johnson, who picked out some Smashing Darling favorites for us this week.
Check out her blog, SomeNotesOnNapkins.blogspot.com, and be sure to check back. Next week she is launching a new site with three friends, real conversations between three friends living in NYC working in social media, loving fashion, culture, etc. Click here and preview for yourself.
Decisions, Decisions… My picks from Smashing Darling go like this:
This striped scarf is so cute and can instantly dress up your black winter coat. I am obsessed with these crop pegged pants, perfect tailoring and totally stylish. Plus they are organic! I love simple jewelry. Wear this ring everyday for instant bling without over doing it. I am jumping on the wide leg train and nothing is better than high-waist combined with wide legs for a chic look–don’t forget heels! Know me, and know I love nightgowns, this one is so elegant. This cocktail dress caught my eye because it is this season’s it color- purple! And, chiffon is super feminine.
