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 recently attended a wine tasting event in Malibu featuring the French skin care line Caudalie, born 18 years ago from the vineyards of Bordeaux. It was necessary for this skin care line to host a wine tasting party because Caudalie has been ‘recycling’ raw materials from grapes, grapevine stalks and grape-seeds to extract the exclusive active ingredients in their products.
We were privileged to meet the co-founder, Mathilde Thomas, and loved hearing about Caudalie’s journey. Mathilde created Caudalie because she believed that it was possible to formulate effective and natural beauty products with refined, luxurious textures inspired by the vine. This natural company is built on respect for both your skin as well as the environment.
Caudalie products are a dream for the women who don’t want to choose between effectiveness, naturalness, luxury and ecology. All of the formulas are created from natural ingredients that respect the environment and are biodegradable. The company doesn’t end the good there – 1% of their annual worldwide turnover is donated towards implementing environmental projects, on top of the fact that their packaging is made from 50% recycled paper. It’s amazing to think that just this year Caudalie saved more than 1,200 trees!
Launched with the desire to celebrate the design and aesthetic of vices and create artifacts from these with an eye on pop culture, Cast of Vices offers a full collection of stylish and unique accessories. We immediately fell in love after first spotting this brand at Oaknyc. Based in Los Angeles, the entire collection is hand crafted in the USA featuring .925 sterling silver, semi-precious stones, and 14K gold. Thankfully, all of their products can be purchased through their online store. Some of our favorites include the Coming or Going bracelets made of gorgeous lambskin leathers and plated with silver or gold, and the leather Thank You shopping bags.
We’ve heard that Chicago has been unusually warm this year, which is perfect for the colored HABITUAL denim options at Scoop Chicago! We recently visited our friends at Scoop Chicago to have a look at what’s in stock. From turquoise, alabaster, acid red, licorice and chianti, you find all of our favorite colored Habituals at Scoop Chicago locations in Bucktown and Gold Coast. Don’t be afraid to add some fun to your look by anchoring it with some colored pants, which are certainly in for this season and is not going away this summer!
Scoop Chicago:
Gold Coast Location:
1009 North Rush Street
Chicago, IL 60611
Phone: 312.649.9880
Bucktown Location:
1702 North Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL 60647
Phone: 773.227.9930
This latest women’s collection is all about confidence and romance, and we are loving the ‘dark glamour’ of Gucci this season! Frida Giannini’s Fall 2012 ready-to-wear collection features tons of super luxe velvet in dresses, skirts and pants, and a super-rich color palette with deep sea greens, blues and blacks. This collection is luxurious and understands print stories. Style.com reports the mood, not unlike at her men’s show last month, was dark—with rich tapestry jacquards, plush velvets, a hothouse floral printed on a ground of black, and a palette that revolved around plum, bottle green, espresso, and jet. We could go on, but basically we just LOVE it all! Here are some of our favorite looks.
We have been following this line for a while now and they have such a great story. Alabama Chanin is a product line started by Natalie Chanin, which makes limited-edition handcrafted products by using new, organic and recycled materials. They are committed to something called the cottage industry, which means they employ locals that live in and around Florence, Alabama – a community that struggles with unemployment. We admire Natalie’s commitment to helping the community and of course her design aesthetic. You can clearly see the time and work put into the details. Watch Etsy’s video on this amazing success story.
As many of you may know, Tuesday night kicked off South by Southwest (SXSW) festival and concert’s music events in Austin. Even though we were unable to attend this year, we still love hearing about all the exciting new artists that come out of the festival. Last night, the LA Times reported that heads turned at one of the SXSW concerts, and HABITUAL was so excited to hear that one of our favorite new bands that grabbed everyone’s attention. From Athens, Alabama, the band Alabama Shakes followed the talented Fiona Apple’s performance for an amazing performance that surely impressed a crowd of 2,000.
We love the blues-y, old, soulful feel in each song, and we especially love the band’s story. Before the band formed, the lead singer, Brittany Howard, used to deliver mail, while the drummer used to check for radiation leaks. We cannot wait for their album debut in April 10 – until then we will put our favorite songs, “Hold On” and “Boys and Girls,” on repeat in our offices.
