Analogue Chic

Posts Tagged ‘smashing darling’

*I hope you used your best movie-preview-guy voice for the headline.

Image of Rosey Grier* via Extreme Craft

Hand-in-hand with sustainability is independent, handmade design.  You've surely heard some buzz the past few years about the handmade revolution, neo-craft, Etsy shops, and indie fashion.  There was a documentary, Handmade Nation, and there is a global campaign, the Handmade Pledge, allowing consumers to publicly declare their support of handmade production.

This new(ish) crop of small business-folks and designers fills in the gap between producer and consumer that is left empty by face-less big box retail store.  It reflects a demand for connection with the people who create the products we buy, while often– bonus– also being environmentally and socially conscious.

(*I decided to illustrate this piece with the most revolutionary crafter I could find: Rosey Grier, an American pro football player who was also way into needlepoint, and published at least one needlepoint how-to book.  A manly man of color, rockin' the needle and thread. More on Rosey Grier here. More manly men doing needlecraft during WWII, here and here.)

Probably the best thing about buying handmade is customization.  Most indie designers and crafters will be happy to customize their wares for you, and even create an original design or custom order.  Just get in touch with them– we actually answer our email!

So I've put together this very brief, handy guide to handmade fashion and gifts to get you started on the yellow brick road to handmade for the holidays, or any occasion.  All of the larger handmade showcases have great search capability, so you can narrow down your results by location, color, material, etc.  Happy hunting!

Etsy

The largest and most well-known showcase of online shops for handmade and vintage wares.

Artfire

Similar to Etsy, with searchable listings of handmade and vintage.

Smashing Darling

CT-grown, global showcase of independent fashion designers.

DeviantArt

While it's mainly an online portfolio site populated by anime fans, you can find unique art prints and other wares.

ModCloth

Well-known online marketplace of indie fashion, and a dash of vintage apparel and housewares.

Analogue Chic

Yours truly, with upcycled fashion, vintage apparel & accessories, and personal style services. I also offer custom orders and gift certificates.

Of course, it's not about the stuff, but about the people.  I hope you're able to spend some sweet quality time with all the peeps you love.  Happy holidays!

A counter-example, if that wasn’t clear. Image via Art in Liverpool. Sorry.

Lots of interesting links in fashion news this week:

The Wall Street Journal tells us about a new cable channel with a Home Shopping Network premise, but featuring handmade housewares and indie designers, and informs us that there is a huge market out there waiting to be tapped.

At the same time, consumers are increasingly hungry for independent designs. In part, brand fatigue is to blame. Big fashion labels sell the same products the world over, diminishing their logos’ cachet. Their designers work on collections a year or more in advance of the clothes’ appearance in stores and rarely—if ever—meet the people who eventually buy them. Moreover, many consumers lost faith in luxury brands after watching prices soar during the boom, then plummet during the crash in the fall of 2008. The slashed sales prices raised questions about the true value of branded goods.

[...]  Now, even the huge brands are striving to establish authenticity—sometimes trying a bit too hard. British authorities recently banned Louis Vuitton ads that showed an artisan laboring on a bag, saying the ads suggested, falsely, that its bags are handmade.

The article gives a shoutout to CT’s own Trish Ginter, co-founder of the indie designer showcase Smashing Darling, and designer at Frock in Chester.

The Business of Fashion had more to add on Louis Vuitton:

A month earlier, Bernard Arnault, chairman and chief executive of LVMH [Louis Vuitton's parent company], told investors at the luxury group’s annual shareholders meeting in Paris of his plan to take a 49 percent stake in Edun, the sustainable clothing label founded by Bono and Ali Hewson. “LVMH shares the vision and ethical values of Edun, a pioneer in ethical apparel, and its founders,” he said later. “LVMH is committed to advancing both the social and environmental aspects of sustainable development, which plays an intrinsic role in the development of our brands.”

The BoF article also discussed the struggle to balance good design, profitability, and sustainability:

Stella McCartney became known as a chic designer label that’s convincingly green, not as a green designer label that is convincingly chic. Speaking to The Business of Fashion, McCartney was clear about her priorities: “Obviously, I don’t use any animals which has a huge impact on the planet. But my first job is to make desirable, luxurious, beautiful clothing for women to want to buy. Then I ask myself: can I do this in a more environmental way without sacrificing design? If I can, then there is no reason not to. I think that women buy my product because they like how it looks, feels, fits and being sustainable is an added extra bonus.”

This emphasis on desirability and design may come as no surprise from a graduate of London fashion college Central St. Martins. But interestingly Ali Hewson, who founded Edun primarily as a means to do good, sees it no differently. She told BoF: “In the fashion business desirability is sustainability! This point has taught us over the years that we must produce quality clothes. Fit must be right, design details correct.”

Julie Gilhart, influential fashion director at Barneys New York, and an early proponent of sustainable fashion, sums it up bluntly: “Consumers respond to good design. Design and desirability must come first.” When deciding whether to spend on fashion, the consumer looks, above all, for good design. Ecological or ethical considerations are still very much secondary.

You can see Julie Gilhart riff on design and sustainability in this video.

You can also read my thoughts on these subjects in two previous posts, here and here.

It’s not all vapid and frivolous.  The fashion and retail industries are stepping up to fund earthquake relief in Haiti.

The Blog at Smashing Darling has links to facilitate clothing donations to Haiti;

And I’m just going to copy in full this piece from California Apparel News, because they archive their links for subscribers only, after a while:

Industry Continues to Send Aid to Haiti

January 21, 2010

Pleasanton, Calif.–based off-price retailer Ross Stores Inc. donated $100,000 in cash to the American Red Cross’ Haiti Relief and Development Fund. Ross is one of many apparel companies making efforts to help survivors of Haiti’s devastating earthquake on Jan. 12. 

Walmart Foundation, the charitable arm of the retail giant, donated $500,000 to the Red Cross and sent $100,000 in pre-packaged food kits to the island nation.

Brazilian shoe and handbag brand Carmen Steffens, with a flagship store in Sherman Oaks, Calif., is donating 50 percent of U.S. sales made between Jan. 13 and Jan. 20 in the company’s store in Sherman Oaks, Calif., or online at www.carmensteffensusa.com to the Red Cross.

Burbank, Calif.–based boutique Unique Vintage is donating 20 percent of sales from its umbrella collection sold through the end of the month at its online store at www.unique-vintage.com to the Red Cross.

Los Angeles–based Kooba is donating 15 percent of online sales at www.kooba.com through Jan. 29 to Doctors Without Borders. Through the end of the month, New York–based lingerie maker Hanky Panky is donating 10 percent of online sales at www.hankypanky.com to the Red Cross. And Havianas, distributed in the United States by Oxnard, Calif.–based Style West, sent 7,000 pairs of flip-flops to Nashville, Tenn.–based Soles4Souls Inc. Plus, the company partnered with Lucky magazine to donate 30 percent of proceeds from sales of Haviana’s limited-edition “Slim Little Bird” style to the Red Cross.

Portland, Ore.–based Nau, a division of Santa Barbara, Calif.–based Horny Toad, is increasing its donation to Mercy Corps to 10 percent through its Partners for Change program, which supports a number of charitable organizations.

Mercy Corps, also based in Portland, is supporting Haiti’s earthquake victims by providing water-filtration units, post-trauma support for children affected by the earthquake and jobs for Haitians helping repair the country’s basic infrastructure.

Kids in Distressed Situations Inc., based in New York, has already sent 20 containers of supplies to Haiti’s Cap-Haitian port on the country’s north coast, as well as two containers, which are being sent to Port-Au-Prince. And Soles4Souls is continuing to collect shoes and clothing for survivors of the quake. El Segundo, Calif.–based BC Footwear donated 3,000 pairs of shoes to Soles4Souls. Dress for Success Worldwide, which helps disadvantaged women achieve economic independence, is donating clothing to Soles4Souls to aid female victims of the earthquake. New York–based Fashion Delivers Charitable Foundation Inc. is also still asking for donations of lightweight apparel such as T-shirts, tops, shirts, jeans, slacks, sportswear and activewear as well as basic items such as underwear, socks and sheets.—Alison A. Nieder

 

Get your give on, people.

The Analogue Chic blog has been chosen as 1st Place Editor’s Choice in the WhatDesigners Design Blog Off!

Thank you to WhatDesigners and Smashing Darling for the honor!

And congratulations to the other winners!

Please!

I am a contender in the Independent Design Blog Off at WhatDesigners – the winners will receive gift certificates to Smashing Darling!

You can vote for me to be a runner up!  I entered my interview post with the fabulous Grace Napoleon!

Go here, click ‘vote’ at the end of the article,  and look for the Analogue Chic link (#9).

And, if you really love me, tell your friends and family to vote for me too.

Thanks so much for your support!

xoxo

A