Out on the town in our Alice Skinny coated jeans in Dark Feather, Emily VanCamp was spotted wearing HABITUAL with boyfriend and Revenge co-star, Joshua Bowman, at the Playhouse Club in Los Angeles. Emily paired her Alice Skinny coated jeans with a black blouse and stylish boots. The Dark Feather denim is the perfect fit with her ‘revenge’ driven character as the stunning lead in Revenge. We love to see that this young star is starting a new habit.

Inspired by the beautiful black glossy feathers of the raven bird, our newest jeans Alice Coated Skinny jeans in Raven are now officially available for pre-sale at Nordstrom starting today and will be available for purchase online in two weeks.  Like the rest of the HABITUAL Fall 2012 Collection inspiration, head designer Jennifer Wojinski directly referenced the feathers in the surrealist painting by Remedios Varo, “The Creation of the Birds” for the Alice Coated Skinny jeans in Raven. A great transition piece from summer to fall, you’ll add a touch of edge to any outfit with these jeans!

We’re beyond excited to share the newest colors of our coated denim. After debuting our Color Coated Denim with warmer hues like Luggage, Chianti, and Vermilion earlier in the year, we’re turning down the temperature a bit with a new collection in an icier palette. As we saw on the Spring 2012 runways, cooler colors like dark purple and turquoise are right on trend, and we’re bringing our tones out early. Look for the same Coated you love, now in  Dark Feather, Dark Taupe, Turquoise, Alabaster and Purple Mountain. The first shipments will hit stores in November!

The last of our favorite trends from the European Fashion Weeks was a tendency to strong color. While color is always featured on the spring runways, the 2012 lines were especially vibrant, with labels showing solids and bright prints in unconventional color combinations. Some of our favorite uses of color came from Haider Ackerman, who showed cool greens, violets and blues with metallic sheen, Burberry Prorsum, who mixed army greens and navy blues with yellow and orange detailing, and Gucci, who favored a bold emerald green and rusty orange with their usual black and white sexy aesthetic.

Denim will take similar color cues from the spring runways - HABITUAL is showing a variety of strong tones in the new line, including our Acid Red crackle coating, several new hues for our Color Coated denim, including the Alice Skinny in a dark, vivid green called Tea Leaf, a subtle salmon pink called Taj Mahal, and a sandy taupe called Goa, along with dyed denim washes like the acid yellow Tapestry and a cooler tone called Dark Teal.

Valentino, Ferrari, Alessi, Ferragamo – Italy is synonymous with a culture of design. So much so that Prada, one of the most iconic Italian labels, recently took some flack from the blogs for veering from tradition to manufacture several limited edition handbags in India. For spring, we’re pulling in a bit of that Italian design sensibility with the Almas Hi Rise Zip Skinny in Acid Red. The Almas is a skinny cut denim that shows off the legs down below, but comes together up top in a slightly higher rise, perfectly suited to the modern woman (as Refinery 29 asks, who is still buying low rise denim?). But the most exciting part of this style is the Acid Red wash, featuring a beautiful Italian “crackle coating” treatment, which draws upon the colored denim trend and updates it with a bit of extra texture – just the thing to brighten up your mood once winter’s over. And don’t worry, if red’s not quite your thing, the Almas will also come in a black crackle coating called “Night”, an easy, worn-in blue wash called “Ceremonial”, a grey wash called “Rain”, and a clean white wash called “Snowfall”.

We were in New York for Coterie this past week, a twice annual show attracting over 1300 high-end apparel, footwear and accessories lines to the Javits Center. On the racks this time was our Spring 2012 line, the first full collection by our Design Director, Jennifer Wojinski. Some of our favorite East Coast buyers, bloggers and editors got the first look at new styles and washes, including a brand new Italian “crackle coating” (Shhh! Don’t tell!), new colorways for our sold out “Color Coated Denim” from fall, wide leg trousers, colored denim in fresh, solid tones, and shorts in lightweight super soft cotton blends. We were completely thrilled by the reaction to the new styles and we can’t wait for you to see them, too!

But aside from work (and shopping), one of our favorite fringe benefits from a trip to New York is, of course, eating. After Coterie one night, we decided to see exactly what Michelin Star bar food tastes like at The Spotted Pig. This West Village gastropub, affectionately known as ‘The Pig,’ was started by British import April Bloomfield, formerly of Chez Panisse, who also runs John Dory Oyster Bar and the Ace Hotel’s Breslin, and serves seasonal British and Italian fare made with local ingredients.

Décor, assembled by co-owner Ken Friedman, is a mix of dark woods, even darker velvet drapes, walls of porcine artwork, and a pressed tin ceiling, which lends an air of British… intimacy. The place is always packed (the New York Times called it a gastromelee), and it certainly took us out of the airy, spacey comfort zone we enjoy in Los Angeles.

After sitting, we started with their oft-imitated Devils on Horseback – sweet, soft prunes wrapped in crisp bacon (pork seemed like the natural choice) – which are a nice diversion from the usual bacon wrapped dates you can find anywhere. Another famous dish is the fresh ricotta Gnudi, in heaps of butter and sage. For mains we picked skirt steak with summer veggies and chili, along with a juicy pub burger smothered in Roquefort. Even if you aren’t a beer drinker, wax nostalgic and try their true English-style ale, hand pumped from casks hidden behind the bar. Perfect after a long day on your feet.

Opened in 2005, this place is very likely the reason why “gastropub” has entered the food lexicon, and why casual bar meets comfort food establishments have sprouted on nearly every corner. We think it was worth the wait, and the people watching, one of our favorite pastimes, is superb. The “tight” atmosphere only means you get a front row seat.

The Spotted Pig
314 West 11th (at Greenwich St.)
New York, NY 10014

There is big news coming from the HABITUAL brand for the spring season - we’re launching a line of premium men’s denim.

HABITUAL saw a void in the marketplace for a sophisticated, handcrafted men’s jean. The line is all about clean, modern, “city-inspired” looks and Handmade in USA craftsmanship. In the words of Design Director Jennifer Wojinski, “It’s a very tailored and sophisticated look with a European aesthetic. It’s more of a city look than the vintage look a lot of other brands are going for these days.”

Fit and Wash:

We’ve chosen a comfortable, higher rise that sits right at the hips, going against the trend of lower rise denim that has been prevalent the past several years. You’ll be able to find slim straight, straight, skinny, and relaxed boot fits, along with denim trousers and jackets. We are focusing on medium indigo, dark indigo, grey and black washes. You will also see a hand-applied black pigment coating, available on the skinny fit and the jacket, lending a leathery, rock & roll inspired feel. Some designs will have a minimal amount of hand-distressing.

Craftsmanship:

All of the looks will be hand crafted and hand finished in HABITUAL’s Los Angeles Factory with as little machinery as possible. The designs are cut from the best European denim fabrics, and laundering is done by denim artisans. We use fair labor practices at all levels of the production process.

How can you spot HABITUAL Men’s Denim?

We’ve opted away from aggressive embellishments and focused on a few subtle identifiers that will set HABITUAL Men’s apart and signify premium craftsmanship.

For most of the men’s line, you will find our signature Glory pocket in the front, on the coin pocket, along with a white contrast stitching that stretches up to the waistband. We are featuring both button and zipper flies, all with custom hardware and rivets. In back, you’ll see a leather patch stamped with the HABITUAL logo and tucked neatly underneath the top seam of the pocket, along with a white bartack on the back center belt loop. Inside, an artist-designed pocket lining features a skull, a crying eye, and an architectural arch along with a variety of text elements. Reinforced seams feature a black binding with the word “Believe” subtly visible.

The Fine Print:

The line will be available at retail in January 2012 at specialty department and specialty stores, retailing from $175 to $195 for basic washes, $225 for looks with hand distressing, and up to $325 for premium selvage. The denim jackets will retail at $275, except for one with calf leather sleeves, which will run $575.

Buyers and editors can get a true first look at the line at ENK, in Las Vegas, August 22-24th. You Can Find HABITUAL at booth number 11015. To make an appointment, please contact Christina Zamarripa at christina.zamarripa@pmkbnc.com.

You might have spotted our new coated denim ad running in this month’s NYLON. To create one of fall’s hottest trends, we start with a denim base, which gives the pants the shape and comfort of a pair of jeans, and then cover it in a coat of pigment to get a leather look on the outside, without the cost associated with the real thing. We have always loved leather, and coated allows us to achieve a similar look in a super soft new treatment. As a bonus, we don’t have to harm any small animals.

While many brands are doing a black coated denim for fall, what sets our coated apart is the color story and the quality of the denim underneath. We start with a super fine European legging denim for the base – no expense spared - so you get great fabric recovery and the best fit. We’ve also pushed beyond black and picked up some of the hottest trend colors from the fall. Coating is a tougher way to bring color into the line, taking on a deeper, richer tone and adding a rock & roll edge to the jeans, so we’ve avoided fluorescent pinks and oranges, and opted for tones like licorice, chocolate, chianti and vermilion. Aside from getting you on trend for fall, wearing a pair of coated denim just plain looks cool.

This photo was shot in our LA factory by Josh Argyle. We actually found this beautiful vintage wood panel in our storage area, and used it as a backdrop on a whim. Sure enough, after we looked at all the pictures, this shot turned out to be the one we all liked best.

You can pick up HABITUAL’s new Color Coated Denim at Scoop NYC and Fred Segal Girl.

Who doesn’t love a freebie? Coated denim is one of the coolest trends in casual fashion right now. We apply a special resin coating to the outside of our best quality denim to get the comfort and fit of a pair of jeans combined with the luxe look of leather. It normally retails for $242, but you can enter here, or text HABITUAL to 58259 for a chance to win one of 5 pairs of our HABITUAL’s Alice skinny coated denim in Chocolate from our friends at Lucky Magazine. Good luck!