{From the Atelier of…} Edelweiss by Sarah
29/04/2011 § 2 Comments
Cherie, do you recall recently discussing the darling line Edelweiss by Sarah with me? Well, I am excited to report that on a rainy day last week, I was very lucky to visit the Brooklyn atelier of Sarah Seilbach, the lovely lady behind it all. Sarah was gracious enough to take time from her busy schedule to talk inspiration, design, production, and all sorts of other fun topics of conversation.
Sarah launched her own line, Edelweiss by Sarah, in 2008 after spending time at Vena Cava, Elise Overland, and Maggie Norris Couture. She finds most of her inspiration in classic films and fashion, and her designs reflect an affinity for making what is old, new again. What I love most about Sarah’s dresses is their inherent romance. She masterfully balances nostalgia with wearability and her designs are always quietly elegant, never fussy.
Sarah’s atelier is a jewel-box of vintage inspiration, from the beautifully dense wall collages she creates at the beginning of each season’s design process, to the vintage Ferragamos tucked in the corners (amazing scores from the nearby Brooklyn Flea). We found that we had a bit of a common background in theatre arts, loved some of the same classic films and exchanged notes on the best places to hunt for photographs of bygone eras.
Because Edelweiss by Sarah is primarily sold online, I was excited to have the opportunity to see the dresses up close and personally. They were even more beautiful than I could have imagined. Sarah’s use of silk is fantastically luxurious. Wearing her designs are an exercise in femininity, from the thoughtful way they drape on your body to the way the silk feels against your skin.
Selling online affords Sarah the luxury to connect personally with her customers, something she values very highly. If you have any questions about the sizing of Sarah’s designs, simply contact her before placing your order and she will be happy to get you sorted.
Sarah is currently in the early stages of designing S/S 2012. She hasn’t yet made a final decision from which decade she will draw the lion’s share of her inspiration, but I was excited to hear that the 1930s was in the running, noting that the opening scenes of the film Atonement and the day dress worn by Briony, the younger sister, had made a big impression on her.
Preliminary sketches for S/S 2012
Visiting with Ms. Seilbach served only to reinforce my love for Edelweiss by Sarah. Collection after collection, Sarah creates beautiful and elegant designs that are timeless, feminine and romantic. If you are looking for a frock that embodies these elements — and who isn’t? — Edelweiss by Sarah should be your first stop.
Get in touch: Edelweiss by Sarah site, shop, blog, Twitter and Facebook.
Two items of note!
- A few dresses from the Fall ’10 collection have just become available on Fashion Stake at discounted prices. Head here for the bargains.
- Sarah is also holding a giveaway this month on her blog. Head here for the details on how you can win one of her beautiful “Luther” dresses.
Featured: Quite Continental on Two Inch Cuffs
26/04/2011 § 13 Comments
Images via Two Inch Cuffs. (No, this is not my child.)
Just a quick note to let you know that Yours Truly has been featured on the innovative online style catalog Two Inch Cuffs. I spent a lovely afternoon with creative director Ruben Hughes on the Upper West and East Sides talking personal style, shopping secrets, inspiration and gelato. As a new contributor, I’m very much looking forward to working with the Cuff Culture Team this spring!
Did you already know I wear a watch that doesn’t work? No? Well, head over to Two Inch Cuffs for the Q&A and photos, post haste!
LIFE Archives: Circus City USA, 1947 {Hugo, Oklahoma}
25/04/2011 § 40 Comments
What I love most about the LIFE archives, is how completely I disappear down a rabbit hole for hours. Seriously. Most times, when I take a stroll through, I’ll just start off with a single word query. Could be a name, could be a place, or even just a year, it doesn’t matter — every single time I discover something amazing.
With Water for Elephants at the front of my mind, I wanted to see if I could find any old circus pictures for my Tumblr. My first query turned up some lovely images taken by one of my favorite photographers, Nina Leen, in 1949 — you can see them here and here — but little more digging revealed a photo that was unrelated to Leen’s set, and amazing in its own right.
The image of this man so lovingly tending his tiny horse immediately drew me in. Where was this? When was this? Why was this linked to a group of photos about the circus? As it turned out, this image belongs to a set taken by Cornell Capa for LIFE Magazine in April 1947, in Hugo, Oklahoma. A quick bit of research later, I discovered Hugo’s interesting history. Frequently referred to as “Circus City USA,” Hugo has been the favored winter grounds for more than 22 traveling circuses since 1937, owing to a central location, flat lands and temperate weather. In those winter months, Hugo’s elephant population is the second-largest elephant herd in the United States. Hugo is also home to one of only two cemeteries in the United States dedicated to circus performers, called “Showman’s Rest.”
The photos are amazing, but I don’t want to drown you in images, so I have included many of them after the jump. If you are so inclined to wander through, you can do so at your leisure. But before we get there, I will force you to take a look at some of my very favorites.
You cannot begin to imagine how excited I was to find these images: the handmade costumes, the obvious pride in showmanship, the families of performers, the exotic animals, juxtaposed with a regular, run of the mill Midwestern town in 1947. Capa’s images of Hugo are simply amazing.
View knife throwers, clowns, acrobats, trapeze artists,
bears, among others, after the jump.
Vassar College Archives: 1950s
13/04/2011 § 3 Comments
Fotos: Brooklyn Flea
11/04/2011 § 7 Comments
**Updated**
A lot of people have shown interest in the details on the Brooklyn Flea, so I’ve got a quick update for inquiring minds. The Flea is on Saturdays in Fort Greene and Sundays in Williamsburg, 10am to 5pm, rain or shine.
Fort Greene
176 Lafayette Ave. (btw. Clermont + Vanderbilt Ave.)
Williamsburg
27 North 6th St. (btw. Kent Ave. + East River)
Brooklyn Flea’s website, Twitter and Facebook.
Enjoy!
LIFE Archives: Jam Session
06/04/2011 § 1 Comment
All images below taken by Gjon Mili in 1943, via LIFE.
Lady Day. Amaze. Amaze!
Duke Ellington at piano. Dizzy Gillespie to his right.
Ellington.
Conde Nast President Iva Patcevitch (2R),
Vogue Editor-in-Chief Edna Woolman Chase (R),
Unidentified others from Vogue.
Lady Day.
Vocalist Lee Wiley.
Vintage Dilemma: Schoolboy Tie
04/04/2011 § 4 Comments
You may recall my success at the Ralph Lauren Home Sale last month, but aside from the amazing phonograph I picked up, I also happened to find a precious tie that I just had to have. Of shorter length, it was immediately obvious that this was a young boy’s tie. From the frayed and somewhat uneven edges, and lack of any manufacturer’s label, it became apparent that I was looking at something handmade.
Even though it was a little worse for wear, I decided that I wanted to take it home. I had a picture in my mind of a mother working diligently over her son’s tie, choosing the silk and painstakingly folding and stitching it into shape. I like the colors and I usually wear my ties tucked in, anyway, so I figured that it wouldn’t matter that the ends were a bit tattered. It was when I turned the tie over that I fell in love with it.
Written on the underside of the tie is the name of its former owner — James Bennett. Having a name to add to the fantasy completely sealed the deal, and I happily carried my little tie home. However, I now am faced with a dilemma. I am torn between wanting to wear the tie and framing it. I think it could be quite handsome under glass with a dark wooden and gold frame, no? How silly James Bennett would think that was!
Vassar College Archives: 1930s
28/03/2011 § 2 Comments
Imagine how happy I was to find out that Vassar College, a small liberal arts college located in Poughkeepsie, New York, recently began sharing photographs from their extensive archive on Flickr! As the college was founded in 1861 — originally as a women’s college and the first of the “Seven Sisters” colleges — the nearly 1,000 images offer an amazing glimpse at Vassar student life through the ages. Admission: As I’ve got a few friends who attended Vassar, I’ve also been hoping to find some blackmail material, but haven’t been lucky. Yet.
For our first foray into the archive, I’ve selected some of my favorite images from the 1930s set:
FDR was the commencement speaker in 1931.
Her shoes!
If you’d like to take a wander through the archives yourself, visit Vassar’s Flickr account here.
Prêt-à-Porter: Black + White + Prep All Over
24/03/2011 § 3 Comments
I’m most comfortable when my shirt has buttons on it. If it’s made of oxford cloth, all the better. Especially if it’s perfectly worn in — soft and frayed a bit around the edges. My favorite shirts show their history.
Cardigan gives some sporty contrast,
and the stripes are more than a bit Waldo-like.
Black cable-knit tights and shiny patent penny loafers. Preptastic.
Direct from Emirates Stadium.
Je porte: Rugby Ralph Lauren jacket, Fred Perry cardigan, Brooks Brothers Black Fleece OCBD, Club Monaco tights, H&M skirt, Sperry Top-Sider penny loafers
Le shopping: similar jacket, similar cardigan, similar OCBD, similar skirt, similar shoes
La photographe: Jennerator
One From The Boys: Silk in the Raw {also, My Tie Love Affair}
16/03/2011 § 4 Comments
My love affair with beautiful neckties is ages old, cherie, and I definitely think it began in my formative years. The fact that my father wore a suit and tie every day served to transform the necktie into a powerful symbol of maleness and there is nothing I like more on a man. Even when he’s in casual dress, the addition of a tie will make me look once, twice, thrice. (Tie and glasses? C’est Fini!)
In college, I worked as a sales clerk in men’s suits in a large department store one Christmas season. The crowning glory? Ties upon ties upon ties displayed in a rainbow wheel of silk on circular tables, susceptible to complete dishevelment at the lightest touch from passersby. That table was a labor of love for me. I lost myself in the pursuit of perfection while my co-workers steered clear, endeavoring to look busy as they futzed over already-tidied merchandise.
While I’ve definitely given more Hermès than I’ve received — I’m looking to rectify that, d’accord! — I’ve become something of a tie collector and I enjoy wearing one frequently. (Sidenote: Isn’t it more than a bit unfair that a woman in a tie is viewed as more casual, whereas a man in a tie is automatically considered more formal?) I tend to favor a skinnier tie and usually employ the military tie tuck to keep from looking too Annie Hall. My best tie tip for the girls is that most of us can get away with wearing a boy’s tie — just look for the longest length available. Brooks Brothers Fleece ties in a size 50 are perfect. Added bonus: when they go on sale they run about $16.
Tie: Brooks Brothers Fleece, available here. Foto: Jennerator
As spring approaches, I’ve been hungering for a few new ties and Lawrence over at Sartorially Inclined has clued me in to what just might be my next move: raw silk. The ties I wear need to be versatile enough to be dressed down, but I love luxurious textiles — This is beautiful! What is that? Velvet? I definitely don’t want to be limited to knit or casual fabrics just because a tie on a girl is considered casual. The texture of the raw silk immediately caught my eye — luxe, nubby, simultaneously shiny and matte — and I’m inclined to give the 7cm striped shantung ties by Drakes London a try with threadbare chambray, crisp dress shirts and everything in between.
What’s around your neck this spring?
Quite Continental 