glam.spoon: fashion blog

Saturday Market Dress boho collection featured at Locavore

As part of the Locavore event on Saturday, I was invited to show 4 pieces from my current collection, so I threw together an earthy palette of animal, abstracts and geometric prints... and of course, one in all black. Thanks to Jonathan P. Beck for the photos!

thanks to everyone who came out to the trunk show!

Please enjoy these lovely photos, taken by Jami Davis, showing what an amazing day we had last Friday. The gorgeous vintage inspired art by Stephanie Schultz, the long time customers who came from far and near, and the great energy of the art walk - all mixed together to create a memorable summery evening. 

Introducing the Saturday Market Dress

The trunk show last Friday was a ton of fun - thanks to everyone who came out to Frock Shop! There are a dozen Saturday Market Dresses looking for a home now. I'll be dropping off a dozen per month all summer long, trying out variations on the design: cap sleeves, sleeveless, with pockets, maybe some silks?  Check 'em out!

glam.spoon spring trunk sale at Frock Shop

Introducing the Saturday Market Dress... available May 11th at Frock Shop

I'm thrilled to announce the Saturday Market Dress as the first design in a new venture. As a companion to the recycled line of clothing I've been producing for nearly 5 years, I am now working with a local seamstress to produce line of dresses in a variety of sizes and prints, some of the fabrics custom design by me on organic cotton sateen. There will be a sample selection available at the Trunk Sale on May 11th at Frock Shop, but more to come over the summer. Come on out for the trunk sale and stay for the Phinneywood Art Walk!

Frock Shop is located at 6500 Phinney Avenue North.

 

productive snow week

Last week's snow seemed to be something of an obstacle, keeping me from doing what I wanted to be doing. Two events got postponed, my office was closed and the animals and I were getting cabin fever after only a few days. However, I managed to get a dozen new winter skirts made for Frock Shop!

Yesterday I was minding the shop and noticed we have a TON of new merchandise, so if you're in the neighborhood, you should stop by. Great new blazers from Knitted Dove that are part prepster-part Chanel, lots of transitional pieces and a couple of polka dot cocktail dresses that would look great on any figure.

Yes, it will eventually be spring! Check out this cute video promising spring from Knitted Dove.

Knitted Dove :: Step into Spring '2012 from Mark David Spencer on Vimeo.

client photo!

I just love it when clients share their photos with me of them wearing my clothes. This particular client is very cool (she rides a scooter) and very loyal, and I'm thrilled at how gorgeous she looks in the dreess! Thank you Rebecca...

100% recycled cotton strapless dress with hand-pleated applique, hand-dyed.

 

summer dresses

Stop the presses! It's time for summer dresses!

Well, as soon as I typed that line I felt a chill and the sun ducked behind the clouds... but we northwestern girls know that we have a short window of time to wear sundresses in this climate, and we wear them every day!

New ruffled, hand-dyed, one-of-a-kind glam.spoon summer dresses, now available exclusively at Frock Shop. Modeled below by the mother-daughter team of Thea Starr and her lovely daughter, Jina. 

Both of these ladies will be walking the runway in my evening gown designs for The Ruby Room's annual auction on October 1st.

 

Ode to Frock Shop

Since I've been minding the store on Fridays at Frock Shop, I've really enjoyed getting to know our customers, helping them find the right dress for a beach wedding, and just passing the day surrounded by such cute things. At least once a day, a customer will say to me "I've driven by this place for years and always wanted to stop in!" 

I met Suzy Fairchild almost six years ago when she was just launching the store. We had both been selling at another local shop, Presence on Capital Hill, and she asked if I'd like to sell my skirts in her shop. It was the best decision I ever made.

on the mannequin above, Fate long sleeved patchwork top in purple, $58

on the mannequin above, Kombat Glamour short sleeved top, $44

Most people are amazed at how much space we have in the shop. In addition to the front room with two double display windows, there is a back room just up one step, with three dressing rooms and the ongoing sale rack. Suzy is really smart about moving the inventory through the store, so we always have some gems on the sale rack.

Papillon rose tank, $38

on the mannequin above, Hazel striped sailor dress, $98  with Hazel navy bolero jacket, $80

The display heads have always felt a little vintage to me, which is right in line with Suzy's aesthetic. These ladies are very discreet and stylish. They insist on new accessories on a regular basis.

Bijoudally leather cut-out Sunny earrings, $48

above, right: b. bella mesh dress in coco with grosgrain flower sash, $78

above, left: Papillon cross-knot dress in red, $68

Nicole Lee Deirde clutch in red, $32 (left) and Helene shoulder satchel in red, $78 (right)

crystal and wire wrapped rings, $48 each

Bijoudally leather cut-out Machine Bracelet, $58

Dotted Line 14k Chalcedony & Ruby earrings, $62 (left) Labradorite & Ruby necklace, $110 (right)

One of my favorite local jewelry designers is Dotted Line. I met Annie Huntley through the craft fair circuit. Her delicate necklaces and earrings are nationally recognized. I have a pair of her gold hoop wrapped drop earrings that I wore every day for almost two years straight.

Dotted Line Gold fill prehnite earrings, $115 (left) Gold fill Prehnite Citrine earrings, $64 (right)

Flutterbudget lock necklaces, $32 each

Another local favorite is Flutterbudget jewelry. Shannon has a real knack for seeing an old junky piece of hardware and turning it into something beautiful! 

Mangos Jewelry Box bird necklace, $24 tangled up with tree necklaces, $24 each

shoulder detail from Nick & Mo Daniella dress, $78

Suzy has a great eye for detail, and does a great job of stocking the shop with items that you don't find everywhere.  So much of what we carry in the shop has the look and feel of a handmade garment. Nearly half of the shop is made up of local, independent designers, but even the wholesale items have a unique aesthetic.

this little bird has been hanging around since the beginning!

In addition to a string of lights, Suzy decided to add a gorgeous hot pink awning to the facade.

u + me knot top in black & white, $32 (above, left)

Just in time for spring, Suzy ordered strings of sparkly butterflies to hang in the windows. They really dress up the place, don't you think?

One of the more popular screenprinted lines we carry is also local. Revival Ink creates the comfortable stylish pieces that our customers crave. From the organic cotton fabric to the contemporary design and original art screenprint, Tara's tee shirts, skirts and wraps just fly off the shelves.

on the mannequin above left, Soprano striped tank dress, $68; kensie girl black cropped cardigan, $49; elsage design hairband/choker, $26

Kiss lock clutch in gunmetal grey, $32

Devore Chavez earrings, $38

Cinthia Hoy Jewelry cross necklaces, $48 each

 

 

Stop in and say hello if you're in the neighborhood!

s/s 2011 tea dress

100% recycled cotton summer dress, hand dyed, with circle applique.

BIBA

Have I mentioned what a wealth of knowledge is to be found in Suzy Fairchild, aka, Frock Shop's fashionable and creative owner? She introduced me to the phenomenon that is BIBA. 

Biba was an iconic and popular London fashion brand of the 1960s and 1970s. It was started by Barbara Hulanicki and her husband Stephen Fitz-Simon. And together they changed fashion forever.

 

 

 

Before Barbara started designing clothing, there was no "juniors" label. The only fashion options were little girl clothes or womanly clothing. She created an affordable, fashionable, young label that succeeded by filling a niche and selling in volume through a mail order catalog. The label exploded when her designs were featured in the fashion columns of The Daily Mirror. Reaching way beyond fashion, she and her husband opened a boutique and created a lifestyle brand.

The first Biba store was a small Chemist's shop on Abingdon Road.  It became a hangout for artists, film stars and rock musicians, including Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones, David Bowie and Marianne Faithful among the regulars. By 1976 it had evolved into an elaborate 5-story Art Deco department store with a restaurant and a roof garden overlooking High Street Kensington. The avant-garde BIBA cosmetics brand was being sold in 33 countries across the globe. 

The store closed its doors in 1976, a victim of corporate raiding. Barbara continued to work in fashion for several years in Japan and Brazil.  For the last two decades, however, she reinvented herself into a successful interior designer in Florida, transforming the landscape of the interior and exterior architecture of Miami Beach's Art Deco District.  

 In April of 2009 she colaborated with Topshop to launch her capsule collection. Topshop blogged about the launch party, and created a video lookbook. The collection is very modern, but you can see the historical influence in the colorful prints and ultra wide leg pants. Alas, there's nothing left of the collection at Topshop online, but there might be something that shows up on eBay.

Then last September the Biba line was relaunched exclusively at House of Fraser in the UK. This collection is extremely evocative of the original, and the ad campaign is true to the spirit of the vintage brand, with the British "it girl" Daisy Lowe as its muse.  There are tons of items still available - even on sale! It's a bit pricy and then there's the exchange rate, but I saw a couple of pieces I might need.

 

There's even a Biba Bride section for the vintage girls, but hold onto your hats: there's fine jewelry...

As you've probably already figured out, I'm something of an Anglophile having spent 3 months living in London during my senior year in college. I just can't get enough of this iconic brand. After a few exhaustive web searches about Biba and Barbara, I found out about a recent documentary produced in the UK called Beyond Biba.  It wasn't likely to show in the states anytime soon, so I purchased a copy online for only 15 pounds. It's a great inspiration.