birkenstocks are back!

Posted by fp julia on in fashion

and i couldn’t be happier.

i have been waiting, patiently, ever since our meeting back in january about the april catalog product when i saw them all lined up in a rainbow of colors. birkenstocks definitely carry a strong sense of nostalgia with them… it is hard to look at them and not be reminded of a time in my life when i was too young to know or care about fashion, all that mattered was comfort and ease.  i’m not gonna lie, wearing them now i even start to feel like a kid again. the famous photos of kate moss by corinne day capture that carefree feeling perfectly.

if you’re like me and grew up wearing birks, you already know how comfy they are, and that they mold to fit your feet to perfection.  but another reason why i love these so much right now is that i’m a big flip flop girl- i like sandals that can slip on and off easily so if you’re at the beach or chilling at a park you can kick them right off. but i’m getting a little tired of the same old rainbows i’ve been wearing for a few years now and i have already decided that they will be replaced with these sunkissed tangerine birks very soon.

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sasha pivovarova rocks the birkenstocks in a couple of awesome ways in our april catalog.  our shoe buyer loves the look on the left – she says birks are the perfect shoe to pair with girly, feminine skirts and dresses this season to add a touch of laid back cool. the look on the right is one of my favorites in the entire catalog – the pop of color is perfect to complete this fun & funky look.

check out our birkenstocks online here – and tell me, what do you think about their comeback?

office space

Posted by fp julia on in home office

i moved desks today, along with a couple of other co-workers, and this is my new space! exposed brick and tons of light…love.

my new workspace and a closeup of my “mood board.”

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some other things that caught my eye today…

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i caught our web studio team shooting something top secret here in our lobby ;)

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and i got to dog-sit this cutie pie for a little while this morning :)

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to those asking, the puppy is a cairn terrier and australian shepherd mix :)

wednes-diy

Posted by fp julia on in DIY, features

a couple of weeks ago a package came in the mail for me and i opened it up to find this insanely cute pair of owls that one of our fp girls in denver had made.  i immediately had to find out how she made them and she was kind enough to send me photos and instructions!

what you need:

needle & thread
scissors
2-3 fun mismatched fabrics (perfect use for an old free people bag!)
2 buttons
small piece of felt
stuffing

use a paper template like this one to cut out your pieces of fabric – use different fabrics for the top and bottom to give it a fun mis-matched look! you’ll need two pieces of fabric for the top (front and back) and two pieces for the bottom (front and back).

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the first thing you want to do when sewing these little guys is sew on the eyes and beak –  use buttons or felt for eyes and a felt triangle for the nose. for the smaller owls, add on a little piece of fabric at the top if you want to be able to hang it (these would be awesome christmas tree ornaments!)

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get funky with this little project, the more fabrics and different things you use, the better! you can use beads, buttons, felt or embroider them.

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next you want to sew the the head to the body, for the front side of the owl and the back. sew on the reverse side of the fabric, which will be on the inside of the owl.

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after completing this step, you can add a thin strip of fabric to cover the spot where you sewed the top to the bottom, if you choose – just adds to the mix of patterns and looks super cute!

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Finally you get to sew the front and back together! place the right sides of the fabric together and start sewing the little owl together all the way around, leaving a small opening the bottom. turn the owl inside out and  stuff the owl – you can even put a little lavender in there to make him smell beautiful!

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last but not least, sew up the opening & you are finished!

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thank you so much michelle!

april come she will

Posted by fp julia on in inspiration



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i’m in the process of moving at the moment and feeling like a bit of a nomad, spending time on other people’s couches and living out of a bag and my car. but moving into a new space is always nice, once the moving part is over. some images that are inspiring me lately…click for sources.

color inspiration from morocco

Posted by fp julia on in design, inspiration

our lead designer for color and print just returned from a research trip to morocco and shared these amazing photos of color inspiration from her travels. ever since last year’s april catalog (shot in morocco) i have been dying to go there, and these images are making me want to even more so…

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so, so beautiful.

april catalog diary: day one

Posted by fp julia on in fashion, inspiration

on a crystal clear thursday in january i took an early morning train up to new york city to meet up with our catalog team for the april shoot. anticipation and excitement were running through my veins as i listened to mellow tunes and thought about what the day ahead would hold – super model sasha pivovarova, one of my favorite photographers, guy aroch, exotic animals, and seeing our catalog team in action for the first time.

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we shot at milk studios in NYC, an amazing space in the meatpacking district across from the chelsea market.  studio three would be ours for the next couple of days, a large and inviting space flooded with light and located at the end of a quiet hallway.

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when i arrived our team was setting up for the day. the set and the lighting have to be perfect, the outfits are all hung up and organized, and hair and makeup begins.

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our catalog team chatted over coffee and breakfast as hair and makeup was underway. the team typically consists of our creative director, art director, producer, a stylist, hair and makeup artists, and the the photographer and photo/tech assistants.

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sasha chilled with her laptop as she got her hair and nails done.

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the clothes were separated into two racks to correspond with the catalog’s element theme – day one was  air and earth, consisting of a soft color palette, natural makeup and all white animals. day two’s theme would be fire and water, with bright colors and tribal accents.

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our stylist, creative director and art director looked over the outfits and made some last minute changes.

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shoes were lined up and accessories carefully arranged on a table.

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the day prior our team had done some prop shopping – the props above would be used day one.

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guy aroch arrived and got set up, taking a couple test shots to make sure the lighting was just right. i was so nervous to meet him but he’s extremely laid back and cool.

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guy and sasha talked for a few minutes and then it was time for shooting to begin!

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to be continued…

the many ways to wear scarves

Posted by fp julia on in fashion

it may be spring but that doesn’t mean you should put away your scarves just yet! there are so many ways to wear them well into spring and summer, and our team made this awesome video (featuring one of our stylists and our assistant web merchandiser) demonstrating several of those ways.  i am in love with the scarves shown above on sasha pivovarova from our april catalog…check them and more out online here, but first watch the video below :)

our stylist is wearing the scalloped back lace crop top and thrifted skirt (but stay tuned b/c we have a similar skirt coming in may!) and our assistant web merchandiser is wearing the fp-1 daydreams gauze tunic. the scarf used is the faded dye scarf.

fp travels in stockholm

Posted by fp julia on in friends, inspiration

remember when i posted about some of our fp girls in paris the other day? well they also went to stockholm and met up with swedish blogger minna of the blog vintage (a love story). minna posted about it on her blog and i wanted to share some of her beautiful photos along with a translation of her post about their day in stockholm!

On Friday we had a very nice day, the sun was shining, we had toasted sandwiches for breakfast and then we got dressed and went to Skeppsholmen to pick up three girls from Philadelphia – they are designers for the brilliant brand Free People, and made a one-day stop in Stockholm during an inspirational trip to Europe.

Some of the stores we visited were Beyond Retro, Tjallamalla, Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair and Lisa Larson.

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Then we went to one of the coolest stores in Stockholm, Unionville. The Free People girls were clearly impressed by the shop and studio.

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Douglas showed us bits of turquoise and gold, which they dug up in the Nevada desert.

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At Unionville the sound is a mix of vinyl, thumps of a hammer, the drone of a chewing machine and creaking floors, and smells of denim.

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for lunch we ate at Nytorget Urban Deli.

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Kristal was wearing a terribly beautiful vintage necklace from a shop in NY.

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On to Judith for more shopping! Beautiful as always with pink roses and GW Persson.

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At Beyond Retro at Zinc, we found an amazing 40’s dress – it had everything, model, color, fabric, details!

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In the evening we had drinks and food at Heather’s.

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Then we said goodbye …now I really know where Free People’s fabulous clothes come from. They have designers that feel genuine and very different from each other in many ways, and perhaps that is precisely what makes the result so very very good.

thank you so much minna for your kind words and this sweet post! view the post on her blog here.