how to style: the lace maxi

one of our interns from the summer (in the blue shirt and floppy hat) has done some modeling for us, and she was in the studio last week to do some special shots for our website. she asked her college roommate to come along and we just so happened to be doing a how to style session and thought… why not use both of them? they looked adorable and had such great energy together :) here they are showing different ways to wear the directions in lace maxi slip!

left: here the lace slip is worn over top of the point d’esprit maxi slip, with the familiar chambray shirt and disordered fur vest over top. accessorized with the janis brimmed wool tall hat (which our stylists added some feathers to – i love!), sullivan suede belt and roper field boot.

right: for a more “lou” look, pair the skirt with a plaid shirt and some stripes tied around the waist for an added clash.  she’s also wearing the thriller moto boot and slouchy beanie. pile on some cuffs on the wrists to toughen up the look!

5 WAYS SKIRT 1516

left: the lace maxi is worn over top of the patterned diamonds dress, accessorized with the beaded beanie, vintage obi belt and fatale platform boots.

right: you can never have too much lace! pair the maxi with the lace mock neck top and treasured days cardigan, with the lacey layering skort under the slip. she’s also wearing the sovereign crystal pendant. boots coming soon.

RESHOOT FP1 SEQUIN VEST GOLD 1342

here the slip is again worn over the point d’espirit maxi slip, with the seamless tupelo honey top and fp one season’s sparkle bralette, topped off with the fp one shimmers of holiday vest. she’s also wearing the lennon topper hat, sullivan suede belt, all dolled up anklet and solvang clog.

5 WAYS SKIRT 1538

and last but not least, the slip looks amazing as a dress! worn here over top of a seamless tube, with the twisted in chains necklace, adjustable admiral belt and velvet crusher peeptoe.

can you believe these girls aren’t real models? they look gorgeous!

november catalog chapter four: wee people

chapter four of our november catalog features our new line for little girls, wee people! as mentioned, this line is the baby of our director of design, who wanted to create a line of clothing for her daughter with free people’s unique aesthetic.  her daughter was her muse, and is also one of the models in our catalog. Read More

wednes-diy

if you’ve been on our website lately you may have noticed these really cute little hand drawn frames that our graphic designers did. i love how they look, and then today i saw this post on design sponge and i was inspired! these hand drawn frames are a cute and cheap alternative to the real thing.

what you need: scissors, a glue stick, a black pen, paper and cardboard or a thicker type of paper (i used a manila folder).

1

i glued a piece of paper to the manila folder – this will be the frame – so it would be a little sturdier.  take another piece of paper and fold it in half, then fold in half again, as pictured on the right. this is what you’ll use to make the frame shape.

2

the frame can be any shape you want – i wanted it to be round, so i used a paper plate and traced the edges onto the folded paper, about an inch or so apart.

3

cut along the black lines and unfold the paper to reveal the frame shape.  tape it to the manila folder, or whatever you use, and cut around it so you’re left with your frame.

IMG_0590

now for the fun part! put on some music and start doodling.

IMG_0593

i used it to frame an image from our catalog and i think it looks really cute! i definitely want to experiment with this some more though – i think it would be really fun to do for christmas cards :)

IMG_0594

with a little love from our fans

one of our fans reached out to us on facebook to share her connection with free people, and had this to say:

“I just wanted  to say that I personally love the free people philosophies. Not many clothing  brands tend to inspire you as a “person” but free people does a great job at  inspiring their consumers, daily. Through the art and photography in the  catalogs, to the clothing materials themselves, they allow you to DREAM to be the person you feel you are to be, without restraint, without holding back, to have the FREEdom to be who you are, and for that to be a beautiful thing. To live and love in the moment. To dare to be more with your life and to not worry about what others may perceive. Be you, be beautiful (that is  my personal motto) and I believe free people does a wonderful job capturing that specific essence. Great job. Much love,  Candice.”

that is what it’s all about! thank you for the inspiring words, candice, it means so much to us. xoxo.

the unbearable lightness of being – final post

“i used to admire believers”, tomas continued. “i thought they had an odd transcendental way of perceiving things which was closed to me. like clairvoyants, you might say.”

“it is completely selfless love: tereza did not want anything of karenin; she did not ever ask him to love her back. nor has she ever asked herself the questions that plague human couples: does he love me? does he love anybody more than me? does he love me more than i love him? perhaps all the questions we ask of love, to measure, test, probe, and save it, have the additional effect of cutting it short. perhaps the reason we are unable to love is that we yearn to be loved, that is, we demand something (love) from our partner instead of delivering ourselves to him demand-free and asking for nothing but his company.”

han_river

“what about the country…we’d be alone there. the people there are different. and we’d be getting back to nature.  nature is the same as it always was.”

nastya pirate2

“missions are stupid, tereza. i have no mission, no one has. and it’s a a terrific relief to realize you’re free, free of all missions.”

“we all need someone to look at us. we can be divided into four categories according to the kind of look we wish to live under:”

Diltz_Grace_Slick

“the first category longs for the look of an infinite number of anonymous eyes, in other words, for the look of the public. that is the case with the german singer, the american actress.”

2vmczvd

“the second category is made up of people who have a vital need to be looked at by many known eyes.  they are the tireless hosts of cocktail parties and dinners.”

4246217836_562ea2e5e7_b

“then there is the third category, the category of people who need to be constantly before the eyes of the person they love.”

tumblr_lb9w78YNVj1qzv83io1_500

and finally there is the fourth category, the rarest, the category of people who live in the imaginary eyes of those who are not present.  they are the dreamers.”

click on images for sources.

i really enjoyed reading this book – i think kundera has a beautiful way with words and some great insight into the human pursuit of happiness and that ever elusive “lightness.” those of you who read it, what did you think?

november catalog chapter three: the sketchbook

“beauty begins when pencil hits paper… the sketch comes alive with swatches and trims, transformed into an enchanting ensemble. the muse is awakened. each design idea is created with the beauty of the free people girl in mind. she’s special, one of a kind.”

this is my favorite section of the book. i love the simplicity of the layout – studio shots against a white backdrop, highlighted by sketches of the designs and swatches of fabrics to draw you in.  i adore the little sketches – i wish i could draw like this!

swatches

this section features models suvi koponen and jessica mau, who were photographed in a new york studio by the amazing dan martensen – he also shot our february 2010 catalog in california and our april 2010 catalog in morocco.  these are two of my favorite shots in the entire book:

fave

his portraits always manage to exude so much grace and simple beauty.  here are some from his portfolio that i love:

dan

view the entire november book here.