Happy New Year

Photo by Tommy Ton

So long 2012!  Some highlights:

-our 9th birthday and our mini store makeover
-11th annual Clothes Exchange
-you can now find us online - Shoptiques
-the annual summer sidewalk sale and Free People sweater sale
-voted Best Women's' Casual Clothing store in Burlington
-Fashion's Night Out
-French Connection fashion show
-going to see Clover Canyon at Lincoln Center
-getting the opportunity to work with some talented people; Jennifer Kahn, the Shiny Squirrel, Nicolette Baron, Jess Friedman and the wonderful staff of Sweet Lady Jane.  Love you guys...x

It was great but we are ready to move on.  Here's to 2013 and the exciting adventures it will bring.  Cheers! xoxoxox

One of my favorite things about traveling is packing.  I love going through my books, favorite blogs and notes , to come up with ideal outfits.  And then if all else fails - I just start throwing my favorite pieces in the bag and hope for the best.  This seems to happen all to often...

French Connection show 2012

We had our annual French Connection fashion show this month.  We transformed the store into a mini runway, offered unique pieces that were exclusive for the weekend and brought a slice of NYC fashion to Burlington.

Rachel and Robin

Meet Robin (on the right)!  She is the one responsible for all of our trunk show treasures and is our representative for French Connection.  She literally stopped traffic in those sequin pants.  

From left to right: Kat, Jackie, Kelsey, Sara, Taylor.  Center: Erica

We had a talented crew behind the scenes; make was done by Makeup by Kirstin, hair was by Hannah Wall and our very own Erica did the styling.  The models were local friends of the shop. 

Kat, Sara, Jonathan, Jackie, Kelsey, Taylor

When the show was over, we took the party to the streets.  Here is Jonathan Couture, our talented photographer for the evening, enjoying a moment with the models.  

Coterie and spring 2013

Let's skip winter and go right into spring!  Wouldn't that be great...  Jess and I attended Coterie a few weeks ago and had that exact sentiment.  We were blown away by French Connection, Clover Canyon, Free People, BB Dakota, and our new favorite line, Maison Scotch.  

This French Connection dress will be in my closet.  Oh yeah.  They had some pretty amazing dresses, perfect for weddings and graduation parties.  

Free People was bohemian as ever...

Maison Scotch...sneak peek...

Fashion's Night Out

Tonight is the night - Church Street celebrates Fashion's Night Out.  We are planning some special treats for our guests - Spielpalast cabaret girls, circus snacks, giveaways and 20% off everything!  Hope to see you tonight...

The 10th annual daysie awards

Thank you to everyone that voted for our ninth "Best Women's Casual Clothing" store daysie award!  It's an honor to be recognized for the hard work my staff and I do through out the year.  Thank you! xoxoxxox

The Shiny Squirrel and Elizabeth Knight

Jessica and Elizabeth

These are two of my favorite NYC ladies.  Jessica aka The Shiny Squirrel, is a genius at spotting new talent, is an awesome stylist and has overall amazing taste in everything!   We discovered Elizabeth Knight through Jessica and she was an instant hit with us and our customers.  Her work is fabulous and she couldn't be a nicer person.  It's such a treat to get to meet the your favorite artist in person and discuss their work and the direction they see their jewelry going.  


p.s. they are both on Instagram if you want to follow some great people

Gypsies and Debutantes

Summer time - when I was growing up, summer meant going to the beach, making life long friends and writing to them all winter until you saw them again the next summer.  Sometimes we would seal the friendship with a bracelet.  Forever friends.  The friendship bracelet is back and better than ever!  Check out these beauties from Gypsies and Debutantes. 

I'm back!!!  I had such a great time on the west coast.  The weather was amazing, the people were so friendly and I got to explore the great city of San Francisco.  The picture above was from the day that the lovely Rebecca took me to the Japanese tea garden, located in the Golden Gate park.  The key to dressing in San Francisco is layers - it can be scorching one minute and then freezing the next!  I'm wearing a dress from All Saints, leather jacket from Emu and pyrrha necklaces.  I also treated myself to some new frames when I was in NYC (McQueen - swoon)...

Here are my awesome hosts - Rebecca and Scott in Sonoma.  The California style is truly laid back - I'm wearing a Scotch & Soda linen top, a French Connection bikini top and Kersh shorts.  This was considered "dressed up".  I can't wait to go back...SLJ branch on the west coast?!

One more day and I'm heading out on vacation!  I'm going to NYC first to order the Giles and Brother fall collection.  I've seen the line sheets and it looks AMAZING!  The first group is called Dark Glamour - think sirens, sorceresses and goddesses.  Oh yeah, I might be placing a lot of personal pieces in this order.  

After my showroom appointment, I meeting up with The Shiny Squirrel (Jessica) for lunch.  Her showroom is responsible for all of the new fabulous pieces we've been carrying.  If you don't follow her on facebook or instagram, you should.  Her pictures are to die for.  

Jessica suggested that we meet at Freemans for lunch - yes please! 

Now all I have to do is pack.  I'm planning on bringing mostly black and white, some denim, and layers, since the second half of my trip will bring me to San Francisco!  I have to bring the Corey Lynn Calter jumpsuit pictured at the top of the page -it's too cute to leave home!

Trends

Isabel Marant Wolf via leeoliveira.com

"But when it comes to navigating your everyday wardrobe, oversize coats and boxy boyfriend pants may be the best bets of the season. "  Elle - June 2012

I've been catching up on my reading pile and one thing that keeps popping up is the over sized pant for fall.  I'm not a huge trend follower and I would consider myself more of a classic girl with a naughty accessory twist.  I am interested in seeing this extreme boyfriend pant trend progress but it seems more suitable for the girls in the street shots and fashion blogs. 

April showers

Vermont weather can be tricky - they say wait a minute and it will change.  We went from 80 degree days earlier in the month to snow showers today - yes snow.  A perfect day to write about bikinis!  

 We have such a great selection of French Connection bikinis in right now - a style for almost everyone!  I've been using some self tanner - so I braved it and tried one on.  I loved the triangle top but the bottoms were a bit scandalous for this Vermont girl.  I can't see myself rocking them out down at North Beach!  Now if I lived in South Beach...

Happy Birthday Sweet Lady Jane!

This is Mary, one of our biggest Sweet Lady Jane fans.  She is someone that truly loves fashion, appreciates fabulous fabrics and likes to explore her creativity through her appearance.  Mary is someone that I think of when people ask - "where would I wear this?"  You just do.  In this photo, she paired a Quicksilver dress with a Corey Lynn Calter vest and obi belt.  She even took the time to explain to a group of customers the many ways in which she can style the vest - as a scarf, use the collar as a hood, as a wrap dress...


Mary also makes a point of stopping in to wish us a happy birthday every year and always brings us a treat! xoxoxo

Happy ninth birthday, Sweet Lady Jane! 

Paper Wings

Molly, Rachel, Jenn and Erica

These are two of our favorite jewelry designers - Molly of Molly M Designs and Jenn of Paper Wings.  Erica and I were so excited to meet them in person at the last gift show.  We just got in our order from Paper Wings and would like to introduce you to her latest fiber and metal collection:

This is the sari rope necklace - it's made from recycled Indian saris.  

This is the bar necklace in indigo- these are woven and hand dyed by Jenn.  She was telling us how much the dye stunk up her studio.  

This is the braided silk necklace - also woven by Jenn.  These are some very special necklaces - hand crafted in the US, one of a kind and a great way to make a statement in a lightweight piece.  Come check them out!

Cha-cha changes

To celebrate our upcoming ninth birthday, we did some minor store renovations. Say goodbye to the vertical rack/shelving system and to our green on green interior.  

Here is a picture from a few years ago - notice the wall and trim color and the shelving behind the counter.  

All gone.  We have a new built in unit to display products.  We're featuring hand poured soy candles in vintage glassware and on the counter is our new handbag line - Allibelle.  The walls are coventry grey and all of the trim is now white.  Clean and simple.

And here are the new wall units.  I love not having the flow broken up by the racks and it feels so much roomier!  Now we're just waiting on the new dressing room seating and lights...

 

ONE fashion event

The ONE fashion event took place on the 10th and it was a huge success for The Boys and Girls Club of Burlington.  Rachel H. styled our models this year and she did a fantastic job.  This was our hair and make-up inspiration photo.  

What they are wearing from left to right:
Kelly- Tulle polka dot chiffon top, lace Corey Lynn Calter pants, Hobo clutch
Kat- Corey Lynn Calter dress and obi belt
Sarah- Yarnz scarf, French Connection blazer, Quicksilver striped top, lace Free People shorts
Emily- Quicksilver dress and French Connection belt
Grace- French Connection ombre sweater, BB Dakota skirt and Roost necklace


Thanks for a wonderful job, ladies! xoxoxo

Thank you Mirror, Mirror and Indigo for the make-up and hair styling. 

Shoptique

I'm going to NYC again- the catch is that this trip is only for the day. Yipee?!?!  I'm not so sure about it.  I'm leaving on the 6am flight and returning at midnight.  Am I crazy?

photo from style.com

 

The reason for my trip is to hand deliver merchandise to Shoptiques.com.  It's a members only, multi-boutique web site.  You can shop some of the best boutiques from all over the country, in one convenient location - your home!  We're really excited to be of the shoptiques family and hope that you check us out. 

Mardi Gras 2012

Nicolette's Mardi Gras windows were inspired by an image of a flying Pegasus.  She recreated them using her childhood horse collection, some donated scraps of fabric and some help from a sculptor friend (he designed the wing armature).  They're lovely and have wowed many who pass by the shop.  

Photo from Seven Days

Since they (and who gets to decide) moved the Mardi Gras parade to Main Street, it's a much quieter affair on Church Street.  Not that we're not thankful but we still get the drunk crazies in the shop.  We just don't get to watch them from the safety of our windows anymore.

Coterie

I spent three days at the Coterie show - fall is going to be fabulous.  There's a whole new color palette - burgundy, teal and gold.  Gorgeous.  French Connection is always my favorite and you can see that they got the memo on the colors.  

BB Dakota also looked amazing.  They had some rich textures, with shots of fur.  I was equally impressed with their sister line Jack.  

Free People was cute - they were really into the peter pan collar and nerdy school girl chic.  They didn't leave their bohemian girl in the dust but updated her with some edgy pieces.  

Overall, this is will be a lux fall filled with yummy sweaters, gorgeous bags, sparkle dresses and to die for accessories. xoxox

(capsule)

It's been a whirlwind of shows for the last two months.  This was my last trip for awhile and it was filled with outstanding goodies for the shops.  This is an image from the (capsule) show.  It's a high end, contemporary show and that features cutting edge designers.  This section was the "outdoor" part.  There were some outdoor gear vendors, wool and the gang and of course, your friendly woodland dj. 

Here's a shot of the main selling floor.  As you can see, it differs from other trade shows in that it uses an open air booth set up.  I find it to be very friendly and easy to shop.  It's almost like you've just walked into the most amazing shop ever but you can't take anything home that day. 

Gift Show

We had a great time and the gift show!  Can't wait to share all of our finds with you.  The picture above is of a line that we use to carry at tribeca, Nervous Systems.  The new collection, cell, cycle, was "inspired by the complex forms of radiolarians, these shapes derive from a simulation of spring meshes.  We created interactive software to morph, twist, and subdivide each design, transforming a simple mesh to a complex structure.  The final design is built up layer by layer in a rigid, durable nylon plastic using Selective Laser Sintering, a kind of 3D printing.  These forms would be impossible to create by traditional manufacturing methods."

This a new line, inspired by a gift from a friend, Carolina by Carol Workinger. She uses brass, nylon cording, and leather to make her lovely but rugged creations.  Needless to say that we each placed a personal order here.   

We also did a little personal shopping for the store - check out the petal light.  You may be seeing them in the dressing rooms sometime soon!  Can't wait for the next show!

Travel

This is trade show season and I'm on my second trip of the year to NYC.  This trip is for the gift show - one of my favorite shows.  It's the most like "real" shopping because it has everything there - jewels, stationary, design, lighting, furniture...  They also really take it the next level in their displays.  I mean you have to to, the gift show is the entire Javitis Center and a section of the piers!  You really have to shine to catch a buyers eye.  


After nearly killing my feet at the Intermezzo show, I decided to take it easy/casual at this one.  There is a lot of walking ahead of me. I packed simple, easy outfits and shoes that are feet friendly.  I also have my flat boots as a back-up.  

I also hope to get some personal shopping in.  I just got this jacket from French Connection and I need some pieces to go with it.  I'm off to the show!

On trend

So it appears that I'm either ahead of the game or one step behind - depending on how you look at things.  The above announcement is from Kate Spade and no doubt has been planning the year of pattern way before I announced my pattern mixing goal.  I will be strong and push ahead.  I have to admit that I have so far been unsuccessful in my attempts.  I had serious intentions of mixing patterns for my recent buying trip to NYC.  But the shoe/hurting feet situation combined with the fact that every single woman at the shows seemed to decide to bust out her animal print, I opted for some old standbys.  

My latest love is neon!  Again, I may be one step behind but it will be new to Burlington.