summer getaways – the city

she’s the body conscious party girl who always seems to find herself with an occasion to dress up, put on some heels and flutter her lashes. her coolness exudes confidence and she and her friends draw attention from every corner. a night on the town, dinner and drinks with girlfriends, and daytime shopping are her favorite pastimes, mixed in with a drop of boy fun. sometimes it’s a mystery where you’ll find her, but she’ll catch your eye when you do.

she is ginger and her summer getaway is the city that never sleeps – new york. she is in her element among the crowds and stops traffic wherever she goes.  a day of shopping is capped off with drinks with her girlfriends overlooking the sparkling city lights.  she only returns to her suite as the sun comes up. located in chelsea, the xx suite is stylish yet affordable, with plenty of room for her to bring back some friends for a late night dance party before tired heads hit the pillow, in need of a good beauty sleep.

ginger3

for her getaway ginger makes  sure to pack plenty of body con items to wear out on the town, with killer heels and eye catching jewelry.  the only other thing she needs are some skinny jeans and a cute top for brunch and daytime shopping excursions.

ginger2

1. rainbowed druzy ring; 2. solid dinner time dress; 3. solid poison ivy tunic; 4. golden sunburst cuff; 5. chiffon and mesh slip and siwy hannah crop skinny jeans; 6. dallas studded side sling; 7. fontana platform wedged heel; 8. easy corset slip.

shop all our temptress items here!

this week at the home office…

there was office style…

two

new 105

sam wanted to be in the photo.

P1010051

we voted for our favorite photos for the august catalog…

new 008

there was a birthday celebration for one of our visual display artists…

new 004

fritz looks up from his comfy bed…

photo (26)

this requires some explanation. we had a sample sale today (when employees can purchase old clothing samples) and sometimes they have leftover samples that they package into “mystery boxes” that we can then buy for $5 or $10. what you’re seeing is some mystery box styling!

new 110

…and an orange flag appeared in our lobby :) go flyers!!!

i still love you new york

30th street station

last thursday jemma and i took a trip to NYC for the day to visit a couple of our free people stores! it could not have been a more beautiful day to walk around the city and we had a blast meeting the girls who work in our stores – they are so sweet. it has been quite a while since i’ve been in new york and i forgot how much i love it.

here’s a little run down of what we saw!

the 5th avenue store manager gave us a run thru of their store which was really exciting and interesting.  the theme for the front area is capetown, currently featuring cooler colors and lots of blues.  we asked about their customers and learned they see a lot of gingers mixed with lou! the geo shapeless dress is the perfect city girl’s dress that she can wear on its own or cover up with the centered pullover and a fedora for a cool night.

store2

store4

we loved this inspiration wall in the back room!

store3

the adorable girls of our fifth ave and soho stores… our fp girls always have the best style :)

nycnew

stroe5

she also loves the arrowhead wedges – she told us taylor swift came in and tried them on too. also it’s a little hard to see but she’s got on the sequin slip under the chiffon one – such a cute idea!

and of course we couldn’t resist trying on a few things…jemma snapped some pics in the dressing room of her favorite items:

store1

she loved the chiffon slip, the horse waist belt and the trench. i loved the centered pullover, straw fedora and the super tank mini dress! all in all it was a great day and i can’t wait to go back again :)

thursday poll – edition 96

memorial day weekend is almost here! it’s the first unofficial weekend of the summer, and you know what that means…time to hit the beach! which of these bathing suits would you love to wear this weekend and all summer long?

the printed v wire bikini:

the ruffle triangle bikini:

the patch printed one piece:
17509464_066_a

the solid high waisted bikini:
18536292_001_a

the modern haze printed bikini:
17509225_011_a

or the patchwork triangle bikini:
17610296_030_a

vote on!


the winner of our tribal jewelry poll was the porto santo necklace :)

summer getaways – road trip!

lou is our tomboy all american girl who loves the great outdoors – so there is no better summer getaway for her than a cross country road trip.  she is inspired by being on the road and the vast American landscape that sprawls out before her.  from lush green forest to open plains to desolate ghost towns and sand dunes she drives with the windows down and the music blasting, the wind whipping her hair across her face.  she has a bad habit of stopping at western gas stations and rest stops where they sell cowboy hats, dream catchers and native american woven blankets that she picks up as souvenirs. the white topped mountains in the distance take her breath away.

00120013

lou doesn’t reach her destination until she can’t go any further – she has reached the pacific coast, and drives up highway one to big sur, one of the most beautiful spots in the US.  Here she hikes to a campground to meet up with others and share stories of the road. she swims in the river and takes hikes down to the beach, coming back in time to cook a campfire dinner and go to sleep, exhausted from the day’s activities, under a canopy of redwood trees.

4427080755_34a3746b2e

banner_directions

campground

localinterests_1

banner_home

BigSurBridge800

big sur

Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, near Big Sur
waterfall at julia pfeiffer burns state park, near big sur.

in her trunk…

loucase

1. we the free sleeveless scoop tunic; 2. we the free horizon line hoodie; 3. sausalito boot; 4. graham & spencer distressed satchel; 5. straw fedora; 6. cord cargo short; 7. we the free collectors tee; 8. we the free lace bottom boy tee; 9. monrow vintage sweatpant; 10. we the free graphic wings tee and fp vintage cargos.

shop all our tomboy picks here!

click on above images for sources.  big sur campground info and images here.

we want to be your friend

we need your help! we are trying to reach our goal of having 100,000 facebook fans by the end of may and we are getting close – so we want to make it interesting. become our fan (or “like” us) on facebook and if we reach our goal we have a special treat for all our facebook fans :)

head on over now and tell your friends too!

free people facebook.

image source.

a tour of our new home

as you may know, our home offices are located in philadelphia’s navy yard, an old navy ship yard that is home to some really cool, old warehouse buildings that urban outfitters renovated to house our offices. building 15 has been our home for the last few years but next month we will be moving to the neighboring building 25, which is bigger – and has two floors as opposed to one!

on friday we were treated to a special tour of the new building (it is still under construction) and i snapped some photos to share with you all! i think we are all very excited for the move, especially after seeing the amazing new space- and the fact that it is right on the water makes me very happy :)

read on for more photos of our new home and to see the special treat waiting for us at the end…

Read More

wednes-diy

one of our stylists saw this fun DIY idea on bleach black and sent it along – i can’t wait to try it! all you need are some sharpies and an old blank tshirt or sweatshirt. then just look up some of your favorite band logos and draw them right onto the sweatshirt!

valerie of bleach black googled the logos for her favorite bands and sketched them onto her sweatshirt right in front of her computer. for some of the more difficult ones she printed them out to better replicate at full size. use a fine point sharpie for outlines and shading and a king size for filling in large areas!

i would love to try some of these logos…

summer getaways – the beach

she loves the sand between her toes and salt water in her hair, and the sun brings a sparkle to her eye.  her style is easy and effortless- soft materials, solid colors and silhouettes that can be sexy when dressed up.  the most important thing is comfort because she never knows what the day will hold- it could end cuddled up in blankets by a beach bonfire or with a night on the town so versatility is key.  she’s all about the layers upon layers in the winter but she lives for spring, summer and splashing in the surf.

when thinking about sandy the lyrics to the beatles song “julia” always come to mind.

sandy’s summer getaway is the beach, whether that be a tropical destination like vieques in puerto rico or the california coast.  she always packs light- easy pieces that can be worn as beach cover-ups during the day and then dressed up if she goes out at night, and a warm sweater or jacket is a must for evenings when the breeze chills her sun burnt skin.  in her beach bag are definitely a few items from – what else? – our beach line; sunglasses and a big brimmed hat to shade her eyes, sandals and some accessories to throw on at night time.

1. portman top rimmed wayfarer; 2. straw and leather tassle tote; 3. modern haze printed bikini; 4. printed towel; 5. north beach wrap sandal; 6. siwy madeleine cutoffs; 7. giant brim straw hat; 8. ruffle sleeveless tunic; 9. ammonite cluster necklace; 10. fp pull on jean; 11. green almond druzy ring; 12. zulu dress; 13. black sands tunic; 14. centered pullover.

shop all our sandy items here!