whoa.

So I’ve been a fan of Julian Vallée‘s artwork for a while now – he is a master of working with cut and paste, and uses lots of really bright colors! When I saw this piece on Booooooom my first reaction was whoa, and then I knew I had to share it with you! I want to live in a world where that’s what it looks like when you spray paint from a can. Check out Julian’s website to see more of his work – total eye candy.

Free People’s Current Favorite Songs!

I went around the office today and asked “What is your favorite song right now?”
Here are the answers I got, with links to Youtube or Myspace where you can hear the song. I learned about a lot of artists I had never heard before, as well as re-listening to some old favorites!
Autumn Almanac by The Kinks
Waterloo Sunset by The Kinks
Jersey Thursday by Donovan
Maggie May by Rod Stewart
Starstruck by Santogold
For the Widows in Paradise by Sufjan Stevens
Cross Your Fingers by Laura Marling
Harvest Moon by Neil Young
Open Your Heart by Will Oldham
Live Your Life by Rihanna featuring T.I.
Electric Feel by MGMT
Womanizer by Britney Spears
Sex on Fire by Kings of Leon
Revelry by Kings of Leon
Chasin’ That Neon Rainbow by Alan Jackson
Ice Cream by New Young Pony Club
You Are What You Love by Jenny Lewis
Right as Rain by Adele
Derek by Animal Collective
I Can See Myself Alone Forever by The Field Mice
Ragged Wood by The Fleet Foxes
The Funeral by Band of Horses
Run to Your Grave by The Mae Shi
Sunday Nite in Glasgow by Dj Adam Sparkles

Free People Fashion Illustration Contest Winner!

A hearty congratulations to our Free People Fashion Illustration Contest winner, Tuesday Mourning of South Pasadena, California! Hooray!
All of the entries we received were so special, it was really really difficult to pick a winner! You guys are an exceptionally talented bunch, and we had never gotten so many gorgeous illustrations by email and snail-mail before! Thank you so very much to everyone who participated! We truly enjoyed seeing your work!
Since we loved all the entries so much, we are currently in the process of saving them all in a set on our Flickr account, so be sure to check them out!

found my animal leashes

A friend of Free People recommended I check out this great company that donates part of their proceeds to the Louis Animal Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to placing animals that have not yet found their humans in loving homes.
Found My Animal sells these beautiful leashes made by New England rope makers, the strong rope being a great alternative to leather. The leashes also feature bronze hardware and brass tags stamped with FOUND, and each is numbered to keep track of the number of animals that have been helped.
Check out their site for more info and pictures of cute doggies!

october catalog: we the free

Today we release our October catalog with the complete line of We the Free. We the Free is a new collection of vintage inspired product that features relaxed fits and superior fabric qualities. It consists primarily of knitwear but also includes sweaters and accessories. We the Free includes the newest print techniques paired with both classic and edgy graphics, applique, hand-embroidery, and trims.
We the Free has a boy sensibility borrowing from military, athletic, work wear, and surf wear.
Check out the new book, the video and the new product!

follow free people on twitter!

So we’ve decided to join the next world of social networking and set up a twitter feed! Twitter gives little bite sized updates on what you’re doing, and is a great way to quickly keep up on what’s happening with your friends.
Never heard of twitter? Click here and go to “watch a video.” (The video is made by common craft.They make great simple videos in “plain english” explaining different social networking platforms and all kinds of techy stuff.)
Click here to view our twitter feed, set up an account and follow us!

August Catalog Video!

Check out the video for our newest catalog, which drops today!
This catalog features the trend Proper Nomad, which mixes classic menswear and tailoring with more ethnic influences. The catalog also focuses on showcasing the many faces of the Free People girl! Enjoy!

August catalog sneak peek!

For our newest catalog, which will be dropping this week(!) we thought it would be cool to have various volunteers around the office hand-write the catalog copy! Here is a little video showing everyone working on writing the catalog! We are so proud of this catalog and we’re sure you will all just love it! Tune in a little later this week for our catalog video!