where to stay in kent

while shooting our september catalog our team stayed in the gorgeous chilston park hotel, a historic manor house in lenham, kent, that has been home to politicians, writers and lords.  not only is it located in the heart of the scenic “garden of england,” the hotel is full of history, with rooms that still have their original fireplaces, four-poster beds and antiques. here are some photos our team took…

i love all the cool old cars!

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after a long day of shooting they walked through the fields at sunset to the pepperbox inn – england’s oldest brewer.  how cool!

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the rainbow braid

a lot of you have been asking about the amazing technicolor fishtail braid in our september catalog.  well lucky for us, our videographer was on hand to film the process! check it out…

How to do Amazing Rainbow Fishtail Braids by Free People from FreePeople on Vimeo.

it’s actually pretty simple! our team bought colored extensions at a hair/beauty supply store and glued them into model karolina’s hair, then carefully braided them into the fishtail.  the rainbow effect is stunning!

the song in the video is “woh woh yea yea” by the dynamos.

Other related posts: Dip Dye Hair DIYDip Dye Hair Love

 

yoga month – guest post!

in honor of yoga month, please enjoy the first in a series of guest posts from one of our awesome fp girls :)

Hi there! I am former blogger “fp girl” and now I work on the accessories buying team. This spring I got certified to teach yoga, and being that September is Yoga Month, thought I’d share a bit about my yoga journey.

I first started practicing yoga about 5 years ago as a way to stay in shape and decompress after work. I hear a lot of people get frustrated finding a studio they like.  I was very lucky to find a studio right away that I connected with. The teachers were  knowledgeable, friendly and caring. The space was simple and beautiful. The regular students that went there seemed to really enjoy their practice, and that enthusiasm helped me to instantly feel at home. I continued practicing there in the Jivamukti style for the duration of my time in Philadelphia.

I later moved to New York and have tried several different types of yoga. Some classes feel like a tough strength-building workout you’d get at a gym, some feel slow paced and peaceful, some concentrate on stretching and flexibility, and others require more thought, meditation, and reflection. And sometimes, when I’m lucky, a yoga class perfectly blends exercises of the body and mind that leave me feeling alive, creative, peaceful and full of energy all at the same time.

My favorite thing about yoga is how curious each new learning and experience leaves me. This curiosity sparked my desire to complete a 200-hour Yoga Alliance Certified training in New York. Training taught me a little bit of everything including the history of yoga, Sanskrit, anatomy, meditation and how to practically instruct a class. Over the next few weeks of Yoga Month, stay tuned for more posts from me including inspiring web sites, people, and products. And feel free to ask questions!

Namaste,

Katie

It’s that time again… fashionshow time

Fashion Week kicks off tomorrow in New York City!

It’s an exciting time of year when Fashion is celebrated; the fashion pack is out in full force with some serious style.

I’m excited to see what trends the designers will be showing this time around. I will be pulling together my favorite shows and street style to show you guys and hopefully inspire.

Stay tuned for Fashion week show reports!

wednes-diy

i wanted to bring some special attention to this lovely little decorative touch from our september catalog shoot.  these little floral arrangements decorated the tables where our team hung out during breaks from shooting – using jam jars! i think it’s such a sweet little touch, and a great way to re-use the jars too.

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september catalog – the photographer

our september catalog was shot by the talented iain mckell, whose editorial “kate and the gypsies” was a huge inspiration for our team. they even got to see his art book first hand, with outtakes and notes from the shoot. here are a few shots from that editorial, as well as some photos from his amazing series called “the new gypsies.”

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i’m so fascinated by these new gypsies…i would love to spend a week with them.

Sock inspiration

Fall is coming close and socks seem to be trending lately, I scoured through chicatopia to find out how girls out there are wearing these cosy little gems.

Come October when it gets a little chill in the air and you don’t want to go full out and wear tights, then just keep your ankle warm and I’m sure it will be just fine.

Little ankle socks with heels is the cutest way to dress down any va va voom vibe and over the knee with flat shoes.