Ella Lai -- more clothes, with bonus politics

 Thanks to a recent nudge, I realized that I meant to review some Ella Lai pieces -- since this is where most of my clothing budget for the last few months went. The lapse was entirely due to my failure to actually photograph some of the detailing I meant to talk about, because while some pieces are quite self-explanatory, others require additional deconstruction.

Anyway, I have her white shirt, which is really the most amazing shirt I own -- after all my complaining about the impossibility of finding a good white shirt, Ella made me one.  Beautifully tailored, no gaping, stiff collar -- what else can you possibly want in a shirt? Also, the darting on it as such that it is clearly shaped for a female body, and yet avoids that typical fitted nipped-in at the waist look -- it looks like a dress shirt, and fits well.

Also, since I live in cropped wool pants, I got these -- also perfectly fitted, in thin stretchy wool. I love them to death -- also notice that the bottom of the pant leg is lined in black silk, so they can be rolled up and look like you meant it. The leather belt is also fun, and it is tied rather than buckled, giving it unusual (and jaunty!) look.

For more detailed review however, I will talk about three pieces that won me over by unique detailing. First up, this dress.It is very fitted, and what I especially love about it is the high horizontal seam below the bust and open pleat at the bust:

As you can imagine, it makes for a very good fit, without bagging or blousing or being too tight. The dress is fully lined in what feels like blended silk in a very pretty steel-gray color, with a kick pleat in the back -- so it's fitted, and yet plenty comfortable. ALso, notice that my version doesn't have the puffed sleeve. Customization!

Then there are these pants. They are awesomely slouchy, the bottom of the leg is lined in gray silk for nonchalant rolling (and I really do love that, because rolled pants CAN look like the wearer was just too lazy to hem; not so with beautiful silk lining!) Anyway, I love them:

(This is me at a conference in Atlanta, where I was wearing the hell out of these pants.) Not only they look good and are comfy, but they also have the best closure ever: two buttons. No zippers, nothing but two buttons:

Genius!

And last but not least: my favorite jacket. Ella was kind enough to significantly modify a much longer gray jacket, to make mine camel, pure wool, shrunken, and perfect. The collar is lined in shantung silk, and can be worn up or down:

Of course, it is lined in blended silk, and as you can see from seaming and pocket detail, it is really well built. So my wool and silk uniform has been updated with some key pieces, all of which are classic and yet so originally and wittily constructed that they are never boring and really stand apart from all others.

And here's the thing. These pieces all run between $50 and $100, which might seem high if you're used to Target and Old Navy. But these items are designed by someone who cares deeply about her work and takes pride in her craftsmanship -- the attention to detail, the seam quality, the fabric selection (that's some nice wool on that jacket). Not to mention, these are made for your measurements. And considering this, these pieces are not at all expensive. I can email the person who is making them, we can discuss color swatches, she can change length or a sleeve shape or the neckline if I ask her to. The interaction with the person who makes your clothes is important: it gets one thinking about the practices in mass manufactured clothing, and the human rights and environmental abuses become more difficult to ignore.

And I get the usual argument of "$50 bucks will buy me 10 shirts in Walmart/Target/ON", I really do. I'd be a liar if I said that I don't own any ethically suspect pieces myself. And it takes experiences like this for me to realize that I like knowing where my clothes come from. I like knowing that were not made using child labor or that the manufacturer didn't completely ignore local environmental laws. It's the issue of price and cost, really: every cheap piece of clothing has a cost associated with it. Ten bucks is the price, but what is the cost in lost jobs in the US, in the exploited workers overseas, in the environmental damage -- herbicide pollution from cheap cotton production, eutrophication of lakes, desertification, salinization of soils... This is the sort of thing we all are paying for -- be it in increased medical cost, or lost wages, or decreased bargaining power as international conglomerates continue to increase their political influence. They call it externalization: for every sweatshop they build, they are the ones getting the profit, and we are left with splitting the cost and thinking that we somehow got the better of the bargain, because hey, a dress for the price of a latte!

So I'm trying really hard to ditch the mass-produced and stick to thrifted and handmade, with a dash of off-the-rack items from companies and designers who at least claim to care about ethics. And I don't think true quality is possible without it.

Ella Lai

A while ago, I mentioned a young Chinese designer, Ella Lai, in one of my Etsy posts. Well, I ordered a trench dress from her a few weeks ago, and today it has arrived - made to order, and beautifully.

This dress/jacket (since it can be worn as either) is made of surprisingly sturdy cotton fabric, which feels like canvas, and is fully lined. Polka dot cuff, belt, and collar lining gives it an extra touch of character. It fit me nicely:

Here's a somewhat shaky closeup of the neckline and the collar:

If you look at Ella's shop, you'll notice that the clothes tend to be neutral and they look basic. But the design and the tailoring is anything but. I took some closeups of details that cannot be seen in a larger view, but when you wear the garment, you can't help but love them. The construction is just superb.

First, pleating in the center back, right under the collar:

It makes the heavy fabric drape in a very fluid way.


The placing of shoulder seams in many garments, especially outerwear, is tricky and vexing. Not here though, because the sleeves are cut in in a very ingenious way, so there's no shoulder seam as such:

And this attention to detail carries over to the branding. I was pleased to see that the dress came with a very nice tag with the designer's name:

It might seem like a small thing, but I like my indie designers, and I like it when they have professional logos. So really, I couldn't be more impressed with the craftsmanship of this designer, and I cannot recommend her enough to those who love their clothes simple, classic, and well-made.

Etsy -- Vintage edition

I love in person vintage shopping. It's thrilling, it's cheap, and you can brag about a thrift find in a way that would be gauche with a new item -- especially an expensive one. Also, it is environmentally responsible. But the opportunities for in-person thrift are often lacking where I live, and it requires leaving the house in this weather (well over 90F), which I refuse to do for non-work reasons. Thankfully, there's online shopping -- eBay comes to mind, but nothing beats vintage on Etsy.

It's not quite as thrifty as in person kind, but on the upside it doesn't require digging through poorly organized racks of itchy synthetics to find something perfect that doesn't quite fit, and trying to wriggle in or out of it a non air-conditioned dressing room (if there IS a dressing room). Instead, you can browse online, check the measurements and fabric content, and possibly score something awesome.

So here are some of my favorite vintage shops to browse. Disclaimer: I haven't bought something from all of them; most just have stuff I like.

1. RetroThings. A nice selection of vintage scarves, silk and otherwise, very well priced. I love scarves, and Retro Things has a well-edited selection of the bright and unusual ones.

2. Becky Drolen. Relatively new on my radar, but has a lovely collection of bags, shoes and clothes. Especially noteworthy are the classic full-skirted 50's dresses.

3. Jewel Box Treasures. This store is great for boots and bags. Everything is very well priced. There are also quite a few clothing pieces, as well as an interesting variety of housewares.

4. Artfunkles Vintage carries the fancier stuff, much of it designer and in great condition. A great place to find a mint vintage Valentino -- but priced accordingly.

5. Fancy Pants Vintage is in that happy territory where the pieces are not too expensive, but quite wonderful. Carries a great selection of unique and strong pieces -- including opera coats, 50's cocktail dresses and designer jackets.

6. Skin and Wood -- an excellent selection of shoes and bags. Priced from low to high, with plenty of great finds. There's a beautiful Coach bag there I just adore.

7. The Ruby Kitten offers a comprehensive selection of everything. A really good example of why browsing Etsy vintage outlets is such a pleasure -- everything is a joy to look at.

8. Tharp Stout. Mostly clothing, in a range of styles and sizes, with an occasional designer piece (including Ungaro).

9. Anne Marie Austin has a ton of vintage accessories and jewelry, as well as wonderful and weird items -- like 19th century kitchen scales, porcelain sculptures, and antique first communion books. All of it is very affordable, and this shop is very much like a real antiques store -- fun to poke around in, and full of surprising stuff.

10. And finally, not quite vintage but vintage-y, Soldering Sisters make a variety of charming necklaces -- mostly soldered silver pendants with a variety of antique images.

OK, this is all that comes to mind at the moment. Feel free to share your favorites in comments!

Wanted: A Boy Scout

My interest in vintage is not a surprise to anyone who's ever happened to glance at this blog, as well as my love of designer wear. Which inevitably leads to the only logical choice: vintage designer scarves. They are cheaper than actual designer clothes, they lift your outfit out of the ordinary with a minimal effort, and they are indispensable for traveling: silk folds well and packs light, and a couple of scarves can create an infinite variety with a limited wardrobe. Since I'm traveling to Moscow in a couple of weeks and only bringing my carry-on (having learned the hard way that luggage rarely makes connections), scarves are a must.

So I hit Etsy, the veritable goldmine of vintage designer joy. These two totaled less than $25 for yards and yards of pure silk:




(The first one is by Oscar de la Renta, the second -- Ungaro.)

And this brings me to the subject line. Wearing of scarves is an art; when not traveling, I tend to default to my Vilte shawl -- it's gorgeous, textured, and wispy, and is pretty much the best thing ever. It is also incredibly easy to wear -- it looks amazing no matter what. Not so with silk scarves! Those are always at risk of looking matronly.

Thankfully, Simon Doonan has a solution -- he proposed that one for Hermes scarves, but my gut tells me that it would work with any of those dangerously ladylike and patterned wonders: a boy scout woogle (also known as a neckerchief slide). It's that little buckle-like thingy that holds their little kerchiefs in place. The official ones are apparently rare and can only be found on actual boy scouts. Like pelts, I suppose, although unlike pelts they can be given up voluntarily. Since I'm not about to go and accost children in the streets, it occurred to me that some of you, gentle readers, might have at some point been a boyscout; you might still have a woogle lying around the house somewhere. Drop me an email if you're willing to donate it to a good cause -- me looking fabulous during air travel. Otherwise, I will just have to make one out of a hair clip.

More on Etsy

As promised, here's another installment on Etsy designers and sellers. There's definitely many good reasons to support independent designers and handmade products, from social justice, environmental, and political viewpoints. Of course, these are of little consolation unless these items are fashion-forward, good-looking, and affordable.

First, some shoutouts to some of the favorites I already blogged about:

1. One of my very favorites, Layla of Ledthread. Love her designs and her philosophy.

2. Idea2lifestyle -- always fanciful and inventive and flowing, natural materials and reasonable prices.

3. Weatherread -- structural and gorgeous. I'm so buying one of her shirt-jackets as soon as finances allow.

Now, on to some new loves:

1. Nanda. You can't find more beautiful and more affordable freshwater pearls. Gorgeous jewelry design too:



Simple, gorgeous, well-made, and under $20.

2. Morelle bags.

Check out this Morchella in purple suede:



It's a beauty, as well as other morelle's bags. Bonus: it's not a stupid status bag, but a functional art piece.

3. Artlab. Pricey? A tad. Everything in this store is AMAZING? Also yes.

For example, a scarf:



Or a shawl. Or a wrap. Whatever it is, it is cozy, adorable, and versatile.

And check out this jacket, made from a pair of pants:



I rest my case.

4. Vilte operates out of Lithuania, and creates exquisite beauty out of silk, wool, and bamboo fibers using unique felting process. I have one of her scarves, and it is the most beautiful accessory I own. Really truly.

Consider this:



The texture and the colors are just so rich, and the pictures really don't do them justice. It's much more breathtaking in person.

5. While on the subject of scarves, I should probably mention Flutter, a source for ruffles, buttons, and natural fibers.

And adorableness:



6. And to add some clothing to all these accessories, I'd like to mention Hier Apparel -- edgy, modern designs, very interesting sensibility. Look almost basic, but always with an interesting twist. Like this jacket -- check out the button collar!

Cheap thrills on Etsy

Ten items under $20, in no particular order:

1. Armani skirt:



2. Tahari jacket:



3. A cute cotton blouse:



4. Colorblock shoes:



5. Button-up cowl/scarf:




6. Vintage oyster leather clutch:



7. Chinese pottery shard earrings:



8. Steampunk earrings:



9. Victorian gloves



10. Handmade necklace:

Oh Etsy, I love you so.

I really do. Besides vintage shirts and affordable jewelry, Etsy is an amazing place to discover wonderful new designers. Which, of course, leads to coveting things, and since actual shopping is out of the question for the moment, I'll settle for the next best thing: posting about the things I'm currently drooling over and genius people who designed them. In no particular order:



A beautiful dress by Layla (LedThread), who makes such simple and beautiful pieces. Unique hems and fluid simple grace make her work so appealing, and make sure to check out the obi belts.

On the other hand, Prizy Sebastian's cotton tank is all about elaborate and very feminine ruffles. The rest of Prizy's pieces are also nicely detailed -- I'm such a sucker for pleats and pintucks, and there's plenty of that.



I first learned about Holly Stalder's designs from Painfully Hip, and was absolutely taken with flowy ruffly shapes and exaggerated sleeves and backless dresses. She also carries more affordable ready-made pieces, such as this little tank embellished with pretty lace. It's a brilliant example of a simple basic item made unique by a talented designer with a great eye for detail.



This shirt/jacket by Lindsay Weatherread is so beautiful I cannot wait to get my hands on it. Seriously, I promised myself this shirt when I sell another book. Just look at it:



It's a piece of art, and it doesn't look too overdone when you wear it. How cool is that? Also, check out the pleating on the sleeves, it is so precise and well done.

The last item of clothing is a jacket made by Idea2Life. I just love the cut of this jacket, the combination of something very flowy and unstructured with crisp, precise pleats. It's such a perfect fall piece; added bonus -- no fussing trying to guess your size.



Finally, a bag. I don't really have any statement bags, mine are all brown and functional (except a clutch or two), but this one I just adore. I love the cut and the texture of it, love the braided handle with the bow. Love that it comes in a bigger size and different color combinations. It's made my Andrea (of Amarie), who is apparently a genius in coming up with irresistible textures and shapes.



Most importantly, these six things exemplify the very idea of a designer items: they all show a singular sensibility, and there's something unexpected about every single one of them, be it the intricate detailing or a very simple silhouette done with amazing craftsmanship. You can't find things like these anywhere else, and this is really it: designer items are not about labels or price points but rather about artistic vision executed with quality. I'm excited about Alexander Wang's latest collection because I know it'll delight and surprise in a way that Forever21 simply can't. And Etsy is an amazing place to look for passion and workmanship of the up-and-coming artists and to sample their vision before they become too famous.

And these are my top six things from Etsy! Do you have a favorite Etsy designer? Link in comments, I love gaping at all the talent that can be found there.

The Fashion Show --girl cooties post

(from squirrel-monkey.livejournal.com)

Wow, our young designers were, as expected, perplexed by the task of designing flattering clothing for average women. James Paul, who I liked up until then, whined that he doesn't do average. ANother one was outraged at the very existence of people with 45 in hips. Thinly veiled contempt abounded, and Isaac Mizrahi awesomely called one designer sizist. Oh, Isaac Mizrahi. I love your Target dresses because they presuppose existence of breasts on people who would wear dresses.

On another note, I wanted to give shoutouts to places that do not despise their customer base -- most of these are independent and women-owned. Quite a few offer environmentally friendly options. These tend to be a little pricier than Forever21 and Target, but I would rather save money for an occasional custom-made high-quality piece by an indie designer. And I do believe in acknowledging people who do a great job.

So, for clothing I like:

Ruche -- indie, woman-owner. Available organic clothing and great affordable accessories. Downside: most clothing have limited size options.

ModCloth -- same as above, with slightly higher prices on average and an occasional vintage item. Great shoes.


Econica -- one-woman custom made organic clothing. Can be pricey, but oh so worth it. I have one of her wrap shirts in bamboo/cotton jersey, and it is so comfortable and beautiful.


Dinwiddies -- a female designer, very offbeat, uses a lot of reclaimed fabrics, does custom work. Very quirky, but if you are me, it is also AWESOME.


Ledthread -- another offbeat designer with a strong esthetic. Her specialty are obi belts and tunic dresses. A little on the pricey side, I only have one belt from her. But it is gorgeous and a statement piece that gets a lot of mileage.

Vintage clothing:

I am partial to Greasy Waitress, Artifactory, The Vintage Closet and Gossamer Wings Studio. But really, there's tons of vintage on Etsy. I really like vintage because it is so environmentally friendly, cheap, and you can get amazing pieces.

Other things: of course I adore Sock Dreams for their excellent selection of socks, gloves and petticoats (yes, really) and their larger-person friendly attitude and free shipping. Can't beat that.

For beauty products, Global Goddess is my newest love -- especially their amla hair treatment. It is a miracle in a bottle. And of course Lush cannot be beat for anything bath-related, and Heaven and Earth Essentials carry and amazing line of artisan soaps.