Every day in our cafeteria here at Free People they offer the most interesting soups. Since it’s been summer they’ll usually do one chilled option. I’m always intrigued, but never actually like the sample enough to get it for lunch…until the other day. They made this pineapple gazpacho – sounds weird – but I LOVED its mixture of sweet and spicy so much that I ended up devouring it down for lunch. At home I later tried to replicate the dish and found it’s beyond easy. The only thing is, you’ll need a bit of planning ahead since the dish tastes better chilled in the fridge over night.
For the Gazpacho You’ll Need:
1 Pineapple
1 Yellow Pepper
¼ Cucumber
½ Sweet Onion
5 Sprigs Cilantro (stems included)
2 tsp Rice Vinegar
½ tsp Spicy Sriracha Sauce
¼ tsp White Pepper
For The Garnish:
¼ Red Pepper
2 Sprigs Cilantro (leaves only)
Directions:
1. Core & Peel Pineapple. Then cut pineapple, yellow pepper, cucumber, and onion into medium pieces.
2. Throw all gazpacho ingredients into a blender or bowl if you have a hand blender like I do. Puree until texture is smooth.
we just shot our july lookbook with bambi northwood-blyth and we all fell in love with her! check out this adorable video of bambi and one of our designers having a friendly drawing competition…it makes me smile :)
i know i’ve talked a lot about these guys over the past few weeks on the blog, what with our catalog release party and the free download, but today i wanted you to get to know the happen-ins from their mouths :) here’s a little slideshow interview with the band mixed in with some behind the scenes photos from our catalog shoot!
check them out in our july catalog, here, and don’t forget to download their song “be yer fool” (for free!) here.
Some people like to dress in strictly black clothing. I’m personally more of a white apparel girl, and then there are some who like to dress in between. We had a lot of black and white all over the office today. Black seemed to be showing up in bolder edgy pieces while summer white was all ethereal in lacey frocks and tunics. Check out how our Free People girls were styling the two it colors!
On Tuesday you all got an introduction to our new capsule collection: FP Spun. In general, I’m a big fan of Free People’s crochet and knit pieces, so word of this collection got me very excited. The pieces are all crocheted or knit with elegant Italian yarns, shiny silk blends, or nubbed soft linens. Seeing the final results, I’m awed – every piece is a masterpiece. I think I know which my favorite is, but what do you all think?
Today our lovely lady of the week styled an outfit from the sample closet here at Free People. She decided to centralize the outfit around the Avenue West Chemise, her favorite piece of the moment, because she absolutely loves how pretty and versatile it is. She wanted to style it unbuttoned, and worn as a bed jacket today, but she said she would also wear it as a dress or with more layers in the fall if it were a piece in her own closet. “Not only is it versatile, but it’s versatile in two ways: day to night and summer to fall.”
She layered the chemise over her own jeans and a rocker style tank to play down its femininity and give the outfit some edge. The HIGH platform shoes in a nude pink color that she chose had that same balance of pretty vs. edgy. Then she mixed it all up by throwing some earthy flavor into the mix with a fringed suede shoulder bag. It’s unexpectedness kept the outfit interesting, and added a whole new level of detail. The whole look was topped off with simple jewelry, a long jade necklace, to avoid distracting from the elegant fringed chemise and the outfit’s other contrasting elements.
Who would’ve thought that the victorian bed jacket would make a comeback!
Well… it sure has, but this time with a twist. we are taking the bed jacket away from the conventional way to wear it and bringing it into a rock ‘N’ roll state of mind by adding attitude.
The victorian bed jacket, which was popularized in the 1930’s by Hollywood films, has been making a statement here in our office, and we love how versatile it is. A cute little easy jacket that can be styled up for the night with a mini and boots or dressed down in the day with a pair of jeans and a lose tee. In our July book we mixed up its delicate nature by adding it with leather and rock t shirts.
A perfect mix to achieve that sweet and hard look!
when i first saw the product assortment for our july catalog, in a rare turn of events my eyes went straight to the boots. i’m really not a shoe person, and typically stick to flip flops or moccasins. but the boots in this catalog are incredible, and we have two different styles that i’m particularly fond of.
the freebird boots are a collection featuring three different boot styles (the haven distressed boot and hatchet harness boot are both online now) and exclusively made by hand for free people. our shoe buyer loved the slanted top, the distressed leather and the top quality construction with unique, eye-catching details like hand-painted welts and studded backing. this style is perfect for toughening up a girlier look:
the luxury jones boots actually have a story that goes back to the bonnaroo festival last summer. a group of us fp girls were there and spotted this girl on the left wearing a pretty amazing pair of boots. we had to stop her and take her photo! our shoe buyer loved them as well, and a year later, we have our very own version :) the luxury jones boots are constructed using vintage western style boots and belts. since each shoe is handmade, every pair will have its own unique variations. these boots make quite a statement, and we love them paired with a more casual look to funk it up!
it started when our creative director discovered the sisters of the black moon and began printing their lookbook photos from various tumblrs and blogs like cosmic dust and sun in scorpio, and hanging them for inspiration. she didn’t realize the photography was current- their decayed, weathered look led her to believe they were vintage 70s shots. then one day last year she received an email from the photographer, alexandra valenti, and was shocked to find that she was a living person from this time period! alexandra found us since we were working with her friend leslie crow from heyoka leather, who she also shoots with. immediately we knew we had to work with this photographer – and the rest is history!
read on for an interview with the beautiful soul alexandra valenti and see some of the amazing outtakes from our july catalog shoot.
When and why did you first get into photography?
I started pretty young and always loved it. After I finished college, I moved to NYC and assisted fashion photographer, Sante D’orazio. I didn’t know anything about the fashion world and not that much about the technical side of photography, at least not at that professional level – I was the WORST assistant ever. He’d probably tell you that too. But he and I became very dear friends and I paid attention and learned so much. I thought I’d end up making movies, so I moved to LA and wrote scripts, but I didn’t like how long it took to make something (which is, it took FOREVER). And that frustrated me beyond belief. So I moved to Austin and I went back to photography, and started to develop a style and a voice in images in a quiet way, on my own time. I’m a very, very late bloomer.
We all love your work with the Sisters of the Black Moon. How did you guys meet?
I think we met at Alecia’s birthday party at a place called Shangrila in Austin. I knew who they were, and I had major girl crushes on them! We started hanging out and soon after I asked them if I could take pictures of them at a swimming hole nearby.
Do you have a favorite moment from the Free People catalog shoot?
It was all so great! I couldn’t have asked for a better experience and I”m so insanely grateful for it. I feel like I made new friends, it wasn’t just a job, you know? That’s a pretty special experience to have – I didn’t want the shoot to end. Doub is my hero. What a beautiful, generous, loving woman… all of my friends fell in love with her. I kinda wanna put her in my pocket and take her with me everywhere. And I just loved all the models – Ashley Smith was a dream, I’d shoot her everyday of the week if I could! I guess, one of the best moments, though, was when the band was playing as I was shooting. All my friends were there, it felt so comfortable, it was a love fest from the get go! That and the last night when we went to eat at the Mexican restaurant, and we shut it down. They were sweeping up around us :)
If you had a time machine, where would you go?
The future to see if everything I dream about comes true.
Or back when I was struggling to tell myself it’s all gonna be just fine. Ha!
Where do you draw inspiration for your work?
Old paperback book covers from the 60’s and 70’s.
Who are some of your personal favorite photographers/artists?
Oh man, there are so many. Maybe the anonymous photographers from the turn of the century or family snap shots that were shot with Polaroids in the 60’s and 70’s. As for fine artists, I’d say self-taught, outsider artists – people who make art, houses and furniture out of scrap material.
What music are you listening to right now?
Two things: My Willie Nelson Pandora station.
And my rooster crowing in the garden. He’s a mean punk ass SOB.
But his crow kills me, so funny. Except at 4:30 in the morning. That’s when I wanna ring his neck.
Favorite book?
Autobiography of a Yogi and the Bhagavad Gita, the Eswaren translation.
Both changed me immeasurably.
What do you love most about living in Austin?
You don’t have to drive very far to get anywhere… the swimming holes (when there’s not a drought!)…and the people, my friends. There’s a real sense of community here. I’ve never felt that way about any other city I’ve lived in.
Tell me something most people don’t know about you.
Hmm, I don’t know, I’m kind of honest to a fault. I feel like as I get older I realize I’m like everyone else… same fears, a dreamer… I’m no better, no different than anyone else. I wear my heart on my sleeve most the time and pretty wide open about my feelings… man, sounds so boring. I should have more secrets. I’ll work on that.
view the july catalog shot by alexandra valenti in its entirety, right here.
Our assistant web merchandiser was amazingly styled again today! She looks so free and happy in her flowing teal dress and ruffled flower-print tank. The dress, a piece from the Free People Convertibles Category, is one of her favorites for mixing and matching. Today, she layered it perfectly with a feminine tank, but she said she’s also been able to dress it up for formal events with a pretty pair of shoes, wear it as a belted casual dress, and, in colder weather, paired it with a cozy sweater. What she loves most about it? The bright and cheerful color =)
What perfects the outfit though, is that straw hat! She picked it up at a sample sale not too long ago, and it’s just right for the sunny day we’re having here today. You can tell it got her in a good mood, because she laughingly shared one of her favorite cheesy jokes with me. I’m giggling at my desk just thinking of it. Thought you’d all enjoy a little chuckle too, so, “have you heard?”
3. Chill over night
