Store Style: The Extreme Vintage Flares

One of our favorite fashion trends going into fall is the wideleg pant. We have several wideleg styles right now, including one of my personal favorites, the extreme vintage flares (and their new cousin, the extreme corduroy flare!). These jeans can be a little intimidating if you don’t now how to style them, and luckily our store girls are here to help out with just that! They always have great styling ideas, and these photos demonstrate our love for another trend as well – the crop top! In particular, one of our newest, cutest ones – the thermal love crop top. We love pairing wideleg bottoms with cropped tops, adding extra layers over top or underneath as the weather gets cooler.

From San Jose: The extreme vintage flares worn with the thermal love crop top, arizona blanket wrap and jenoah floppy brim hat.

From Burlington, MA: the extreme vintage flares worn with the stripe cowl neck sweater.

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From Pittsburgh: the extreme vintage flares worn with the cannaregio mesh top and tribal triangle collar.

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From Costa Mesa, CA: the extreme vintage flares worn with the vivaldi voile and lace slip and thermal love crop top.

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From Bucktown, IL: the extreme vintage flares worn with the shrunken stripe pullover, ancient stone pendant and eagle gem bib necklace.

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From San Vincente, CA: the extreme vintage flares worn with the crochet fringe tunic, the we the free lou flannel cuff thermal and ancient stone pendant.

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From Natick, MA: the extreme vintage flares worn with the rialto bridge crop top and colorblock cardigan.

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From Studio City, CA: left; the extreme vintage flares worn with the open stitch pullover, right; the extreme vintage flares worn with the thermal love crop top and dursoduro maxi cardigan.

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From Towson, MD: again, the extreme vintage flares worn with the vivaldi voile and lace slip and thermal love crop top!

shop all wideleg denim and wideleg bottoms.

Office Space

No, there is not something wrong with my camera…that is pink string hanging in our lobby as part of a little installation we are doing! I love the concept:

DO WHAT YOU LOVE, LOVE WHAT YOU DO

Each employee will attach an item to one of the strings that represents what they love most about their job or what motivates them most about their job. We’ve just started attaching our objects, it’s so fun to see what people choose!

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The object I hung was thank you card from one of our blog readers – every once in a while I get a card or package in the mail and it always makes my day to hear that something I wrote on the blog inspired you or made you feel good.  So thank you guys!

And now I have to introduce you to this little cutie pie, Carter – he belongs to a fp girl’s roommate and I’m smitten with him! I love how puppies tire themselves out and crash, they’re so cute when they’re sleepy :)

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Wednes-DIY: Flannel Lantern How-To Video!

Yesterday I showed you our incredible new fall store displays, and today I have a really fun DIY project featuring an item from those displays!

One of my favorite parts of the displays are the patchwork flannel canvases hanging on some of the walls – I love all the detailing like cutouts, tassels, beading, fringe, etc.  But in addition to looking awesome on their own, these flannel blankets can also be used to make a pretty sweet lantern!

Wouldn’t these look amazing at an outdoor party? They’d look good inside too, of course, but I just keep envisioning them outside at night, with the light bouncing off of the sequins and creating a beautiful sparkly light.  I love the rustic touch of the tree branch to hang them, too :)

Wanna learn how we did it? Watch the video!

Fall Displays are up in Free People Stores!

Our display team continues to blow my mind… for Fall they have turned our stores into an enchanted forest of color and texture.  Window screens crafted out of tree branches, sweater fragments, neon tape, yarn and other embellishments invite you into the store, where you are greeted by walls hung with embroidered canvas sacks, wooden flowers,  patchwork flannel canvases embellished with sequins and cutouts, and even a magical free people deer. Take a look!

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One of our fp girls cut pieces of her own sweater to use in the branch screen, making a cute crop top!

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I love the colorful branches! Some are wrapped in fabric or string and some are painted. There are so many different fun combinations you can try!

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Some of the canvas sacks are stuffed with sticks, while others hang flat on the walls. I love the bright colors and patterns of the embroidery!

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The detail in these sequin blanket canvases is incredible.

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All the tiny details make me smile.

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This might be my favorite part – wooden flowers are taped in rows to the walls with neon pink duct tape! I am definitely thinking about doing this at my apartment.

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how amazing do the flowers look on the wood panels?!

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One store made their own little “barn” with wood and drew on it with chalk :)

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pretty rad bike.

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And last but certainly not least… the deer! Each store has one, and it arrived at the store as a plain statue which they then paint and embellish.  So amazing! I love that each one is unique and special.

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What do you guys think of the fall displays? What’s your favorite part?

Trend Spotting: Monochromatic Street Style

Monochromatic dressing is one of our favorite fall fashion trends – we love the idea of outfitting from head-to-toe in shades of color that amplify a certain mood or feeling. Jemma and Naomi worked with our senior photographer to capture some monochromatic street style right here at the navy yard! Here’s how we would wear this trend:

In this look: open stitch pullover, fp skinny cords, archduchess platform, tina patched satchel.

shop all seafoam and emerald shades of color.

In this look: long sleeve vintage lace dress, delancy backpack, boots coming soon!

shop all mustard and camel shades of color.

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In this look: dancing in the dark lace tunic, super 70s wideleg cord, large amulet necklace, lust cuff.

shop all blush and rust shades of color.


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In this look: jenoah floppy brim hat, ripper crossbody, velveteen docs, velvet shorts and polka dot blouse coming soon!

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Items coming soon.

shop all shades of color.

Which look is your favorite?

Fall Fashion Trends: Monochromatic Color Palette

After the light and dreamy summer fabrics in pastels and muted shades, the colors of fall always seem so rich and bold. This year is certainly no exception, but we’re taking it a step further: make a fashion statement this fall by stepping out in head-to-toe emerald, mustard, maroon, cerulean, or whatever color you are feeling that day. Wearing one color from head to toe is daring – chances are you will be noticed as you walk down the street, but when it’s done well it’s perfectly chic and fashionable. Break up a monochromatic ensemble with a little dash of black or beige to lessen the dramatic look or go all out and make that fashion statement. Here’s a look at some of our favorite shades of color to wear from head-to-toe this fall!


shop seafoam and emerald shades of color.

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shop mustard and camel shades of color.

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shop blush and rust shades of color.

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shop all shades of color.

Stay tuned for a post showing how we’d wear monochromatic outfits this fall – and tell us, what do you think of this trend? Would you wear it?

Fiery Sweet Potato Gnocchi

In reference to our Venetian theme this month, this week’s recipe is another of my favorite Italian-inspired recipes. Growing up my family made traditional potato gnocchi. It was always a huge production. My father and I would spend hours, rolling out hundreds of little gnocchi, preparing three different sauces, and, in the end, having a gnocchi fest with family and friends. Every person had to try the gnocchi with each sauce, falling in love anew with every bite. In the end, everyone was stuffed and happy…or uncomfortable from overeating – but – still happy…

Now that I’ve grown older and expanded my cooking experimentations, I’ve started making gnocchi with sweet potatoes. They’re a variation on the traditional version – a little healthier, and a little spicier. I don’t make hundreds, so it’s a bit less time consuming, but it still takes a while to make them. The following recipe will yield enough for 4-5 people – depending on how much you can eat. I made a homemade tomato sauce to go with them (I’ll can give you all this recipe another week if you’re interested), but they’re also good with butter & sage or any tomato/diavolo sauce you have.

Ingredients:

2 Large Sweet Potatoes

1 Baking Potato

1 Egg

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

½ Tsp Red Pepper Flakes

½ Tsp Dried Oregano

Pinch of salt

All Purpose Flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375˚F

Peel and dice sweet potatoes, then mix with olive oil, red pepper, and oregano in a roasting dish.

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Cover dish with tinfoil, and then place in the oven to cook until potatoes are extremely tender (approx. 1/2hr)

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Place baking potato to boil until it is also extremely tender (approx. 1/2hr)

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Let both potatoes cool. Once the baking potato is cool enough to handle, peel and dice it. Then throw both the sweet potatoes and the baking potato together into a large mixing bowl.

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Using a hand blender or rice mill blend both together until fairly creamy

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Using a wooden spoon, mix in egg & a pinch of salt.

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Still using a wooden spoon and working quickly, mix in flour until mixture reaches a doughy consistency. Towards the end I usually ditch the spoon and work it with my hands. It should still stick to your fingers a bit, but be thick enough to roll out once you’ve reached the right texture. It’s important to work fast so that you don’t have to add too much flour which will result in heavy gnocchi.

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You’re now ready to roll out the gnocchi. Set yourself up on a table, or with enough counter space. You’ll need flour and a fork. Pour some flour on the surface, and cover your hands so that the dough doesn’t stick.

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To roll out the gnocchi you first toll the dough into little logs about ½” thick. Then, using the fork, cut them into approx. 1” segments. Once you’ve done so, press the fork lightly on top to make little ridges. This is a little trick passed down through my family to help them cook just right, and it also makes them pretty.

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After you’ve rolled them out, you’ll want to place the finished pieces on a towel until you are ready to cook them.

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To cook the gnocchi you’ll want to set a pot of water to boil. Once it has reached a boil, drop in about 8 gnocchi at a time. Once they are cooked they will start to float, and you can scoop them out with a spatula or something with holes to let the water through.

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Each serving is about 15 pieces. Drizzle with your desired sauce, garnish, and serve!

Buon Appetito!