Guess who graced us with his presence today?! Fritz!
He was feeling camera shy…
…until he got a treat.
Lou is getting so big!
Mr. Pig’s face kills me.
Dillinger stretching out.
cool desk space.
Office Space
Year: 2011
Cool Internship Alert!
We are looking for a full time merchandising intern to work here at our home office in Philadelphia!
For more info on the position and requirements, and to apply, please visit our job site.
Inspiration: Architecture in Venice
When I was reading the Guide to Venice that our producer put together, I was surprised when she said Venice is a city known for its decay – I’ve never been there and am not very familiar with it, but from what I’ve seen it looks beautiful and far from decay. But it’s true, and the same aquatic setting that also makes Venice so scenic puts its gorgeous architecture at greater risk of decay. In some ways this also adds an element of dramatic beauty and heightens the mystique of the city. In the behind the scenes photos from our shoot, Thomas Northcut also captured the dark beauty of the architecture in Venice…these photos take my breath away.
European Fashion: La Dolce Vita
Whenever i think of “the sweet life” la dolce vita i think of Europe. I think of exquisite beauty that romances you and makes you feel rich inside with thoughts and emotions. It’s gives a feeling of wealth but not the kind of wealth involved in spending lots of money on luxury items, but the kind of wealth that involves evoking a feeling of fulfillment. Textures like velvet and fur that scream “I’m worth it” a whole silhouette that tells a story of love, of taste and great knowledge of the beautiful. European fashion definitely embodies la dolce vita.
This trend makes me want to get lost in a city just like the concept of our August book. It makes me want to fall in love and feel like a million bucks.
What does la dolce vita mean to you?
Images taken from weheartit.com
items in second image: swalesdale texture shrug vegan leather pleated skirt floral lace fit and flare dress large amulet pendant western moonstone ring malachite wrap ring
Tunesday: Vetiver x Yours Truly
San Francisco Photo Diary
“Take another little piece of my heart…”
San Francisco is the only other city I’ve lived in besides Philadelphia. A few years ago I drove across the country with a friend and when I got to San Fran I fell in love with it and decided I wasn’t leaving. The vibe of the city is unlike anywhere else – a unique blend of creativity, individuality and a bit of artistic madness. It always brings to mind the Jack Kerouac quote:
“The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes “Awww!”
There’s a reason he, too, was drawn to the musical beat of San Fran.
The city is alive with music, all hours of the day and night – when I lived there it wasn’t, “what are we doing tonight?” it was “what show are we going to tonight?” It’s a place where you never feel lonely, because even if you are alone you’ll always meet someone on the street or in the park or on the barstool next to you with a smile and a friendly ear. And it’s a city where no matter how big it is, or even if you’re at a festival with thousands of people, you can still run into an old friend.
Philly is my home but I will always love the city by the bay.
monday quote
“The air was soft, the stars so fine, the promise of every cobbled alley so great…”
– Jack Kerouac
Top photo is from Jack Kerouac alley in San Francisco.
Festival Fashion at Outside Lands – Day Three
Outside Lands 2011 has come to a close and what a magical weekend it was… Sunday was another gorgeous sunny day in Golden Gate Park and once again Free People was everywhere we looked. The girls in San Francisco definitely know how to do festival fashion right! Read More
Gelato al Bacio
With this month’s catalog shot in Venice, I thought I’d give you all a recipe for one of my favorite Italian foods – gelato. This is a recipe that my grandma or aunt will whip up almost every time I visit them in Italy. I never really make it at home, so it’s earned a spot in my heart as one of those special treats I get whenever I visit my favorite place in the whole world. It’s made with hazelnuts and chocolate, like the Italian candy, Baci, from which it gets its name. More familiarly, it has a nutella-like flavoring, but whatever you relate it to, it’s a dream that melts in your mouth. Now that I have a vat of it in my fridge, it’s been really hard to stay away.
Try it out for yourself if you dare =P
Ingredients:
1 Egg
1 1/3 Cups Whole Milk
100 Grams of Dark Chocolate
¾ (generous) Cup of sugar
¾ Cups of ground hazelnuts
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
Directions:
Beat egg, 1 cup of milk, and vanilla extract together in a large bowl.
Place sugar, chocolate, 1/3 cup of milk, ¼ cup of hazelnuts into a pot, and place over a low flame. Keep stirring until chocolate is fully melted and sugar is dissolved.
Pour melted chocolate mixture into milk/egg mixture, add remaining hazelnuts, and stir vigorously until fully blended together.
Pour into a bread pan, and let cool for a bit. Once it has reached room temperature, stick the whole thing in the fridge over night.
After a night in the fridge to freeze, it should be ready to serve nde
Festival Fashion at Outside Lands – Day Two
The weather could not have been better today at Outside Lands! Uncharacteristically, the sun was shining all day and burned through the San Francisco fog. Also? Free People was everywhere! We ran into so many girls wearing FP duds and carrying our tote bags. Here’s a look at the fashion on day two shot by Erin of calivintage.com!
The striped lace inset top from last year!
Love this combo of leopard, fringe and our seed bead necklace.
One of my favorite looks from today.
Love how she knotted our pieced together maxi!
Free People bag and Joe lace up over-the-knee boots!
Natalie, looking amazing in our forbidden garden mesh maxi!
My favorite photo of them all :)
More coming tomorrow!
Photo Credit: Erin Hagstrom, calivintage.com
Festival Fashion at Outside Lands – Day One
Outside Lands kicked off today in Golden Gate Park and attendees were definitely rocking their best festival fashion! Everywhere we looked there was amazing style, with lots of maxis, boots, braids, funky accessories and of course Free People! Read More
Style File: Merchandise Assistant – Knits
I first met this week’s style file girl when she was still an intern. We had one of those classic intern moments with a broken copy machine, ten different types of toner, and too many blinking arrows. We ended up figuring it out while chatting back and forth a bit.
She has now been promoted from intern, to merchandise assistant for knits. She loves her job, but admits that she didn’t always know that she wanted to work in fashion. Her career began as an international business major in college from where she went to teach English in Japan for three years. She traveled all around Southeast Asia and fell in love with Japan and fashion while she was there.
In talking with her, she gave me interesting perspective on what it is about the fashion there that interested her so much – no matter how funny or different it is, the people really dress however they want. They stick out as an individual, which is an interesting thing to see expressed in a society that is so strongly community based. To further explain, she shared two of her favorite Japanese street fashion blogs with me: style-arena and Japanese streets. I’ve added the blogs to the list of blogs that I follow I found them so interesting. The style is far out, but totally cool and inspirational.
As is her own fashion! She’s a bohemian queen, but mixes in quirky vintage pieces that at times give her outfits a sense of humor. Check out her personal style and what she wore this week ;)
This week at work she was scrambling a bit because her buyer was out on vacation which left her to cover duties she’d never dealt with before. Her department (buying) serves as a central coordinator for planning, design, wholesale, and production, which means there can be a lot to do. On the day that I caught up with her to hear about it she was entering in orders with an archaic looking system (although it’s not) to be sent to our producers. This is a highly detailed process involving lots of codes. When placing an order everything is considered from cost, color, and fabric to delivery method, ship date, and unit count. It’s amazing how fast she can do it at this point. Any one of the components can get messed up at anytime, anywhere in the supply chain, and a lot of her job also involves cleaning up the mistakes to make sure that the customer gets what she wants when she wants it.
I know you’re already intrigued by how interesting this girl is, but to further interest you – here is her survey. (How cute are her doodles? They made me smile (= )
