There’s a distinct trend in fashion that has been extremely noticeable around the office these past few months. Employees are embracing their feminine side with a look marked by retro-inspired blouses, peter pan collars, and oxford shoes. The flouncy shirts of the 40’s and 50’s are getting their second life – coming back styled with the coolness of inspirations like Alexa Chung. The retro look couldn’t be more refined and sophisticated, yet adventurous and hip at the same time. We like to pair the lady-like retro pieces back to jumpers and floppy hats for a look that we love so much, we’ve launched a new FP Girl inspired by the trend. Stay tuned next week to learn all about her, but for now, here’s a bit of ladylike and cool inspiration from around the Free People home offices…
I have been into really thin rings in a big way lately – I keep spotting them on blogs and tumblr, and I love how delicate they look. Rumi rocks two little gold bands in the left photo, and on the right are a set of three that my dad gave me for Christmas (it’s crazy – he has the best taste in jewelry). Read More
Whenever Paris Couture starts running I get giddy over fashion and the excitement of fashion weeks starts running through me. Paris Couture is what fashion dreams are made of, a traditional love and lure for craftsmanship and fine details, it’s fashion design at its very best and you can’t help but show true respect for it. The level of workmanship from the ateliers is especially inspiring. From Karl Lagerfeld’s tribute to shades of blue for Chanel, Valentino’s key to the eighteenth century’s Age of Enlightenment and “real” values to Elie Saab’s easy to digest rainbow of shiny, beautiful pink, peach, yellow, mint green and baby blue gowns.
Paris Couture shows true love to fashion “Fashion needs culture or it becomes empty” said Pier Paolo Piccioli and that’s so true. Now I’m looking forward to the ready to wear shows to begin 9 days and counting!
We’re getting sick of pants. All winter long its pants, pants, pants. Now, in the name of fashion, we’re rebelling. We’re pulling on tights for an extra layer, and getting out stowed away women’s shorts, skirts and dresses. For the last week in January “vs.” office style, I want to know – which winter rebellion look do you like best? It’s the shorts vs. the dresses….
“In this modern age everything, everywhere seems to lead the senses outward and away from oneself. Don’t be afraid of quiet. Find the time for peace and introversion, and life will have new meaning.”
Decade Diary is an illustrated diary chronicling past, present interests and future perspectives of a decade lived in New York City, by Illustrator Bernadette Pascua. The second I discovered her site, I knew I had to feature her on the blog. She has a wonderful creative eye, and is a very talented illustrator and collage artist. Her creations convey not only a sophisticated style but a unique take on fashion and the world around her as viewed through New York eyes.
Bernadette was kind enough to create this amazing New York themed collage just for us! Read on to learn more about her and see more of her lovely work.
City lights photo and all watercolor by Decade Diary.
Film still from Andy Warhol’s “Empire”
Press photo of the Neue Galerie
Patti Smith on the Bowery, photograph by Godlis
Press photo of Saturdays Coffee Shop
Press photo of Diner in Brooklyn
I live in Brooklyn, in the Southside of Williamsburg, right along side the bridge. It’s such a great location – the city is just a ride across the bridge and most of the buildings on our street are turn of the century cast iron, dating back to the 1800’s. The street is quiet but with a little liveliness that comes from having a row of favorite restaurants like Diner and Marlow and Sons (plus their amazing grocery store Marlow and Daughters).
What do you love most about New York?
I love the constant flux that the city is in. It keeps a great balance of feeling like you are in your own world yet it brings people together in the most odd ways. There’s something magical about the way New York serendipitously brings people into your life. I love those moments of camaraderie New Yorkers can have, all of those chance encounters. Everyday is a big surprise.
Describe a typical day in NYC:
Each day is never the same for me, but I think the most typical day in NYC has to be the Sunday Brunch Day! It’s like an unspoken holiday of sorts that every New Yorker celebrates on the weekend. Waking up later, reading the paper and then going to a brunch with your boyfriend or friends. Then taking a walk around wherever you find yourself going.
What is your favorite coffee shop in the city?
Right now my favorite coffee shop is Saturdays Surf in Soho. It’s on the way to my subway station going back into Brooklyn. It’s a surf shop that has a small counter in the front where coffee can be ordered, there is usually only one attractive guy working the coffee who spends a really long time making your drink, so it always turns out good. They have a casual backyard with simple benches for hanging out which is great in the summer. In the winter looking at all the Surf memorabilia sort of keeps your hopes up for some sun.
Describe New York City fashion in three words:
Of the moment.
Where do you go in New York to get away from the crowds?
I love going to a museum or a gallery for some quiet time. The rows of galleries around 9th Avenue in Chelsea are along some very calm streets. My most favorite museum ever is the Neue Galerie by Central Park. It’s a small and uncrowded museum devoted to early twentieth-century German and Austrian art and design, housed in a beautiful townhouse. So it feels like you are looking at art in someones home. Downstairs it has a Café inspired by turn of the century Vienna, its like being transported out of New York for an afternoon.
How long have you been doing Decade Diary, and how did it come about?
Wow I’ve been doing Decade Diary now since 2009, so four years now! It seems like a really long time but I’ve actually been doing projects similar to Decade since my teenage years. In High School I used to make a lot of xerox copied zines with my Illustrations and stories, and would send or trade them via snail mail. So blogging only seemed like the natural thing to do!
I wanted to give you guys a heads up about a cool new section on our website where we feature our favorite accessories – handpicked! Out of our selection of bags, jewelry, hair pieces, belts and more, these are the items you’ll find at the top of our wishlists :)
Pull your hair back in the chic Lasso Pony Holder. Braids and Ponytails no longer bore with this grommet studded stunner!
Jazz up your hands with this collaboration of colorful stones and intricate banding – The Hermoso Stone Ring is our favorite way to showcase an everyday dose of color block pop!
With its heavy metal ridges and statement shape, the Hyde Ridged Cuff is one elegant piece of armor.
This jewel tones and contrasting sunset hues of the Bright Nights Crossbody are transporting us to a tropical paradise far, far away.
The Aggie Chain Wrap Bracelet is edgy yet simple with its unique wrap style and contrasting metal band detail.
The Western inspired Pastel Fields Belt won our hearts with its perfect pastels and striking pattern.
Whether long and layered or short and sweet, the Northridge Necklace strikes the perfect balance of texture and tribal-infused design.
With equal partsfunction and fashion, the Geo Print Turban is our go to for adding a bold dose of graphic to a simple outfit.
Wear it as a necklace, choker or wrap, the San Pedro Turquoise Wraphas got you covered!
If you look at our accessories collection online right now, you’re sure to notice a trend – we’ve gone crazy for bracelets! This season we are all about piling up the wrists with wrap bracelets, friendship bracelets, charm bracelets and cuffs. What I love about this trend is that you can literally wear your personality on your sleeve – fashion sense, friendships and meaningful symbols are all on display, and the combinations are endless and always somehow work.
Chelsea Beaded Bracelet, Lizzie Stone Ring, Studded Zip Clutch coming mid-January. Other bracelet is a store-only style – get it at your local Free People!
Lastly, these adorable little neon friendship bracelets are the coolest! They are only available in our stores so make sure you stop in and snap one (or several) up!
I’ve always thought that our Senior Graphic Designer has amazing style, but for some reason I was under the impression that she was one of those who aren’t a big fan of having their photo taken. I’ve since discovered that I was wrong, and so to make up for lack of showcasing this woman’s amazing style, I decided to feature her as this week’s Style File.
One great aspect to our Graphic Designer’s fashion is her keen eye for texture and pattern. She understands pieces, and how to show off their interesting features. For example, she’ll layer a fun color underneath to show off a top layer’s loose knit, or she’ll call attention to a bold, retro-inspired pattern by stacking it up with basics. Either way, she’s great at creating a balance so that her looks never look like too much.
I’m also a HUGE fan of this woman’s ring collection. She has a great assortment of chunky knuckle decoration full of cute animals and edgy cuts. She’s not afraid to pile on the rings, and will often pair them back to a sweet choker.
Equally as impressive, is her awesome shoe collection. She’s a big heel girl, and her shoes always have attitude. The good sturdy heel gives her look a nicely confident spin.
Overall, her wardrobe of fun pieces is gutsy and playful. It never gets boring seeing what this girl is going to wear to the office.
…and us bloggers got to go to our shoot with Sasha Pivovarova in NYC – definitely a highlight of the year!
We worked with so many beautiful models…
We debuted FP Spun and Vegan Leather, and launched a special line of Limited Edition Dresses! We celebrated with pop-up shops in NY and LA, where Jade Castrinos performed at our store.
We fell hard for extreme flares, monochromatic dressing, birkenstocks, turbans, sweater dressing, fancy collars, western boots, friendship bracelets and bright nails, flatforms, mixed prints, color pops, polka dots and more…
We were influenced by decades past…
…and by trends like mod and grunge.
We brought you festival coverage from Pitchfork and Outside Lands…
We shot our July catalog with Alexandra Valenti and the Happen-Ins, and we had such a great time we went back and threw a party to celebrate the catalog release! We also threw a party at our 5th ave store for Fashion’s Night Out and had a blast.
We made so many lovely blogger friends!
Many crafts were made, and we held our first crafting events in Cambridge and NYC!
And, some new furry faces popped up in the office :)
2011 was a good year :) Here’s to making the next one even better!
“In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.”
~Coco Chanel
Coco Chanel was a pioneer when it came to elegance and sophisticated French fashion.She gave women that breathtaking allure with her attention to simplicity and her trademark Little Black Dress, which has become a staple. Chanel has made an impact on my life and Karl Lagerfeld has continued to do so, one of my favorite shows to date is the Fall 2011 runway show. So when our vintage buyer sourced some rare Coco Chanel vintage jewelry, I was a little bit taken aback. They sure do dazzle with elegance!
Cora Keegan was our model today she’s American born and raised. Her home town is Las Vegas. She has been on the runway for Jason Wu and various other designers. She reminds us of Gemma Ward meets Arizona Muse, and we love how she transforms the clothes at Free People with her edgy attitude. Her favorite snack is Banana and she loves Led Zeppelin.
You can read a beautiful interview with her here at Elle and her top is by A.S.I.S
