Artist We Love: Ampersandity

ampersandity

We stumbled across Cathie Hong’s etsy shop Ampersandity, and fell in love with her calligraphy. Her hand-lettering is crafty, elegant and classic. We think her calligraphy adds that special touch to any thank you card, thinking of you note, holiday card and really anything she writes on for that matter. Her blog and Pinterest (recently named one of the most powerful pinners in the world!) has some of the most beautiful photos to look at too. I guess you can say we are definitely digging Cathie’s style!

peanuts by ampersandity

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Read more.. Thursday, September 27th, 2012

Color Inspiration: Purple

Angelina Corduroy in Passion Flower

Now that it is officially fall, many of us will be pulling out our good ole’ cords! Over the years, corduroys have come and gone and come back again as fashion favorites. This fall, they are definitely on trend.  We created our Angelina Cigarette Corduroy in Passion Flower with the perfect amount of stretch to fit perfectly on any shape or size.  Our design team chose to create the cords in a deep purple adding a warmth and a richness that will pop against the corduroy’s texture.  Not only is deep purple a great alternative to the usual neutral colors,  it also adds a little edge.  Here are a few images that inspired the beautiful color, and don’t forget to take a look at our color inspiration board on Pinterest here. Happy Fall!

Purple Inspiration

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Read more.. Tuesday, September 25th, 2012

On Trend: Duro Olowu Spring 2013 RTW

Duro Olowu

We finally had the chance to take a look back at more of the amazing lines from New York Fashion Week, and Duro Olowu’s line is another complete stand out. Duro Olowu has been mixing colors and prints long before prints became cool again and his distinct style and language sticks to that – no matter what other trends he might address. We love when Style.com wrote, “Seriously: There is no earthly reason why a trim jacket made with contrasting pieces of toile de Jouy should work, but…Olowu makes the look convincing.” And, it’s true – he makes it work every time.

Duro Olowu

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Read more.. Monday, September 24th, 2012

On the Road: Fashion Coterie NY

New Patterned Coated Denim

We are on the road! This week, we are in New York for Fashion Coterie at the Javits Center. If you stop by, we are on Level 3 Booth #7815. Here’s a sneak peek at some of our new patterned coated denim and new styles! What do you think of them?

ENK

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Read more.. Thursday, September 20th, 2012

Single Shot: The 103rd Floor in Chicago

103rd Floor in Chicago

Stumbled across this photo of people overlooking the city of Chicago on the 103rd floor of a building. It almost looks like they are floating in the air!

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Read more.. Wednesday, September 19th, 2012

Color Inspiration: Blue

ALICE SKINNY in NOSTALGIA

Blue is almost synonymous with denim. And for our Alice Skinny in Nostalgia, we wanted to do something different with the color. It’s not your typical blue jean denim – it’s a blue grey that reminds us of a vintage blue that is a little ‘greyed out,’ and more muted unlike the many bright modern representations of the color. Designer Jennifer Wojinski said the blue we used for Nostalgia “gave her a calming feeling, unlike how most people associate it with ‘having the blues,’ and reminded her of happy times in the past; therefore the name ‘Nostalgia’.”

Like all of our washes and styles, our Alice Skinny in Nostalgia is inspired by a mood board and below are a few images that are included on the board. Take a look at our Pinterest Color Inspiration: Blue board for more of an inside look and when you put on your Alice Skinny’s in Nostalgia, remember all the happy times.

blue board

Where to find your own pair:

SCOOP NYC SOHO
473 – 475 Broadway
(Between Broome and Grand Streets)
New York, NY 10013

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Read more.. Monday, September 17th, 2012

On Trend: Proenza Schouler Spring 2013 RTW

There are so many lines we are drooling over from New York Fashion Week, but Proenza Schouler’s the first stand out. The Proenza Schouler boys, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, have taken patchwork to a new level. The sophisticated patchwork leather and the boxy jacket silhouettes are just exquisite. We are obsessed with their use of varied greens (from soft bright acid yellow, green python, minty aquas) and of course our favorite red and black color combination.

Where did they get their new inspiration from? Style.com reports that with fashion now being in the digital age, McCollough and Hernandez has used Tumblr as their use of inspiration (we do that too!). And with the opening of their first ever store last week on Madison Avenue and the reveal of their Spring 2013 RTW collection, we are applauding Proenza Schouler on a job well-done.

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Read more.. Thursday, September 13th, 2012

Single Shot: Dihzahyners Project

dihzahyners

In Beirut, Lebanon, there is a group of designers and artists, called Dihzahyners, that are dedicated to making their streets brighter and more beautiful with the use of color – literally. The initiative is called “Paint Up” and they color the city step by step. The design above of 73 Steps took 7 hours and a dozen designers. We can’t get enough of the vibrants steps that add such a burst of liveliness to the city.

diz001

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Read more.. Tuesday, September 11th, 2012

Obsession: Betsy Walton

snowmelt

We absolutely adore Portland painter and illustrator Betsy Walton’s work because it reminds us of modern visual fairy tales with her amazing color palettes.  In her work, you’ll notice how her style is influenced by Byzantine icon paintings, American folk art, geometric abstraction, and other contemporary artists.  We especially love seeing these inspirations so vividly in her “Snowmelt” piece. Her spontaneous approach to her work is admirable, while she creates the images during the painting process (not after any sketches!) and she never knows what the specific results will be. We can’t wait until Betsy has her Etsy shop up and running again (she’s on hiatus as she just had twins!) to get our hands on some of her work.

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Read more.. Monday, September 10th, 2012

Kitchen Table

Kitchen Table

We have been passing by the “the romantic, outdoor, two-story, twinkle light patio” restaurant in in the Old Bank District of downtown LA at Main and 4th for the past year in anticipation of the opening, and the American bistro, Kitchen Table, finally opened this past July.  The brains behind the menu is chef Greg Bernhardt, who also helped open Church & State in LA, and the executive chef Fernando Darin, who worked at Ink in West Hollywood. This spot looks like the best dining spot for a romantic dinner date – the rooftop has candles and old movies played in the wall on the next door building. We also hear the pork belly is the jam. (We told you Downtown LA is the place to eat these days!)

Photo credit: Eater LA

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Read more.. Friday, September 7th, 2012