Slow Southern News

Hemline is having a back to school sale featuring select items 30-75% off.

September 9-20th Isabella's is offering up $25 Vera Bradley tote bags with any $50 Vera Bradley purchase.

The No Fleas Market takes place Friday and Saturday September 3rd and 4th from 10:00am-5:00pm. This special resale shop benefits local rescue groups.

The monthly Freret Market will be going on this Saturday, September 4th from noon-5:00pm. The market showcases local crafty types, live music, art and food.

The Guitar Bar will be hosting a trunk show for Miss Malaprop to show case the exclusive handmade fleur-de-lis guitar straps that she made for their shop. The show is on Saturday, September 4th from noon-9:00pm.

5 years ago

‎5 years ago today, on my husband's birthday, we left New Orleans, our home, and our outside cats to face a very uncertain future. This year we (literally) got back everything we left and plus some. From here on out nothing can take away what we have earned.

The title from my ancient Photobucket account reads "Me & Runty, one of the cats, on our porch. God I'm going to miss that house."  Funny how life works itself out. On a fashion side note that denim mini skirt was very on trend in 2005. :)

I'm not going to recap our plight, the sadness that I felt and still feel at times, and the hardships that everyone has endured as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Instead I'm going to revel in how far the city has come, how exciting it is to be a part of the New Orleans revival, and how content I feel to have my little piece of the city that I love so dearly. 

New Orleans, I love you.

Show & Tell

I had the honor of being invited to Anthropologie's grand opening celebration yesterday and luckily I had a new dress to wear for it. I invited my friend Leslie  along and we enjoyed soaking in the impressive space and sipping on wine. Don't fret, I'm sharing pictures of the store on GoNOLA this week.

I basically wanted everything in the store, from the housewares to the clothes. Fortunately I exercised restraint and just bought a few small items for the house. Hey, it is my husband's birthday today so at least I had an excuse. 

I'm going to have a total geek out moment.My dress, designed by Alabama Chanin, is known for their hand stitching. Everything is lovingly made by quilters in Alabama. This picture does absolutely no justice to the details on this dress. 

Dress: Project Alabama

Necklace: Banana Republic

Shoes: Antonio Melani

Bag: Francesco Biasia

Just a reminder

I just want to remind everyone that I changed the URL to www.slowsouthernstyle.com to make it easier to find. Y'all can also stay up to date with posts by subscribing at Blog Lovin', Networked Blogs, use the RSS feed, or become a fan on Facebook or Twitter. Use the handy links on the right side bar if you forget!

Thanks for reading! This blog is about to turn a year old and I couldn't have done it without all the love and support I've received from my friends and readers.

Slow Southern News

Jolie & Elizabeth is having a trunk show this Thursday, August 26th from 2:00pm-9:00pm  at Fair Folks & a Goat - NOLA to showcase  their Fall 2010 Collection. Attendees can enter the raffle to win Jolie and Elizabeth merchandise and gift cards and enjoy New Orleans Rum cocktails.


Encore shop is having a summer clearance sale August 24th-28th. All sales from this nonprofit shop benefit the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra.


The Arts Council of New Orleans is hosting their monthly market this Saturday, August 28th from 10:00am-4:00pm. Located in Palmer Park at the S. Claiborne/ S. Carrollton intersection uptown shoppers can find handmade jewelry, photography, ceramics, and much more. 

La Elle Dee Da

I discovered Elle's jewelry at a Branch Out  trunk show put on back in February. I purchased a pair so I can attest to how great these are in person.  Needless to say I was pleased when I stumbled upon her work again! Elle takes vintage glass Mardi Gras beads and repurposes them into earrings. She also sells handmade cake stands and jewelry pedestals from reclaimed vintage plates.

 Mine all mine!

Tell us a little about yourself and the items you create.

I’ve always liked to craft, and have always tried to make things instead of buying them and that includes jewelry. Right now I’m really into making earrings, and the glass beads I get from antique strands of Mardi Gras beads are perfect because they have history. I want to make glass Mardi Gras beads wearable!

Obviously New Orleans plays a big part in your work, especially the vintage Mardi Gras beads. What inspires you the most about this city?

All the crooked lines.


 Giant shell leaf earrings

Any big plans for the future, and where else can readers buy your jewelry?

The best place to see everything I’ve made is ElleDeeNOLA.etsy.com. Right now my earrings and vintage jewelry pedestals are available at Branch Out on Magazine Street.

What do you do when you aren't making jewelry?

My wonderful boyfriend and I like to travel when we can. When we’re not out exploring other lands, we’re exploring our own city.


 Double decker blue glass earrings

Define southern style.

To me style is not about high-end expensive purchases, and it's not about living one certain fabulous unattainable lifestyle. Down here, your style moves at your speed, fits in your budget, and makes sense in your day-to-day life. We don’t really have time or patience for much else. 


New Orleans folks know about style. I think it happens quite naturally. Fashion here has never been about the latest magazine trends. Fashion has always been more individual than that; more inspired. In New Orleans, we have entire sections of our closets devoted to weird costume pieces from the last ten years of Mardi Gras and once in a while we work those items into an outfit quite well, I’d say. 


 Life advice dice


Once a year we have a city-wide art walk where we re-discover why white linen is so perfect for this city - because August is f*cking hot. and yes, high heels are fabulous, but try rocking them down a hundred year-old herringbone-patterned mortar-less brick sidewalk, not so fab. So our southern fashion has evolved and taken on trends of its own. And THAT is truly fabulous.


 Perfectly square pedestal


Show Elle some love by visiting her Etsy shop!

Mannequin Mondays

Mannequin Monday is thanks to a little North shore field trip that I took to Hammond, LA. With black and gold fever in full force Ruby and Shop Imagine have Saints' merchandise ready and waiting for their customers.

Shop Imagine 

100 N. Cate St.

(985) 345-0548

Hours: 10-6 Mon.-Sat.

Ruby 

111 E. Thomas St. 

(985)345-4745

Hours: 11-6 Mon.-Sat.

I'll also have a full report on both these shops up soon so if  you want to learn more about them don't fret!

Show & Tell- Easy does it

Some days you just want to wear a t-shirt and jeans. I try my damnedest not to fall into that category but on my days off I'd rather be comfortable schlepping around the house vs. worrying about staining a skirt or favorite blouse.


I have a penchant for all things scaly so when I found this t-shirt from local clothing designer Alicia Zenobia I knew I had to have it.  After all I do have a rattlesnake tattoo so I'm stuck liking them anyway. I love how their mouths form the red heart in the middle.  FYI that ancient brick is in my kitchen. Can y'all believe this used to be covered in drywall? I get weak at the knees for exposed brick and have it in all the bedrooms as well.

I decided to go more southwest with this outfit, minus the high waisted mom jeans. Another house note: The back porch was a storage space when we rented the house pre-Katrina. The previous owners turned it into a porch and when the weather is nice (hell even when it isn't) we eat every meal out here. It's also where Runty and Tigre hang out so we have to show them love. Seriously, they demand it.

I love my moccasins! And yes that is even more old brick on the side of my house. Anytime we dig in the garden we uproot even more of them. I'm sure if I crawled under the house there would be enough to build an addition to the back.

Speaking of the Southwest I picked up a lot of turquoise when I lived in Arizona. A lot. Here is a cuff bracelet that I wore with my tee/shorts combo. I was told by someone the stones came from the Bisbee mine but I'm not positive about that.

T-shirt: Autonomous Clothing

Shorts: Joe's

Bracelet: Vintage Native American, procured at Buffalo Exchange

Shoes: Minnetonka

Frock Friday

I have a confession. I'm currently in remission from a sick obsession with cocktail dresses. Over the years I've downsized my collection to just a few but at one point the fancy vs. casual ratio was way out of line. Perhaps it is because I'm secretly a southern belle (yea right) but I love fancy dresses. I've always said that when I make my first million  I'm going to do housework in frilly frocks. Just so y'all don't have to hold your breath until that happens I'll share what I wore last night. 

Today is my sixth wedding anniversary and to celebrate we dined at Gautreau's last night. The food was great and when they saw him whip out a card they sent out dessert with two candles in it. Awwww!

About that dress. I've been wanting a one shouldered dress for a minute and stumbled upon this one at French Connection. Bonus points for pockets and 100% cotton. I also rediscovered Picnik so now instead of getting crappy photos y'all get crappy photos with special effects. Exciting, isn't it?

In lieu of earrings or a necklace I opted to wear this silver snake pin. On our anniversaries I like to wear gifts he gave me from previous years so this was perfect to jazz up the bow on the shoulder.

Last year we had dinner at Lillette where I received this blue topaz bracelet from one of my favorite jewelers, Sabai. My wedding ring came from my other favorite, Symmetry. Lucky for me both take out advertising in the Gambit which made it real easy to show him what I wanted. :)

And the shoes. Oh god these shoes are amazing but they are so hard to walk in so fortunately for me I was sitting down most of the night. Since I rarely wear heels I only buy them if they are classic enough to sit in my closet for a while and still feel fresh. 

As usual I can't do anything without getting attacked by a cat.

Dress: French Connection

Pin: Kate Landry

Bracelet: Sabai

Shoes: Donna Karen Collection

Up and comer

Working with the public definitely has its high moments and those times when I want to crawl into the fetal position under the desk. Fortunately the good moments exceed the bad and it's always interesting to meet new people, become engrossed in a conversation, and see where the outcome leads.

 I met Nicole Album at my place of work when we started chatting about the New Orleans fashion scene. We kept in touch via e-mail, one thing led to another and a collaboration for a post was born! Nicole is a New Orleans native and a fashion designer and is moving to San Francisco to pursue her MFA in illustration. Even though she is leaving the Big Easy behind Nicole promises to bring a piece of New Orleans with her. She is currently working on a grant proposal with the recent oil spill as her subject matter. Nicole shared with me her inspiration boards and the illustrations that she created from them.

 Growing up in New Orleans, the Gulf South holds a special place in my soul. It is very important for me to show illustrations and designs that represent a cause I am passionate about. The future of my design philosophy lies in the expectation of artistic endeavors that are inspired for philanthropic purposes. 

  My first design line was inspired by the iron-work of New Orleans, aptly named, Tchoupitoulas, and was conceived in an effort to help bring awareness to our beautiful city, in a time post-hurricane Katrina. The line I am currently working on is inspired by the Gulf Coast Oil Spill. It incorporates other elements, such as Neoprene surf-wear and Botticelli-inspired women. 

  And, as I begin my first semester in a Graduate program for illustration, I hope to master my artistic craft and continue to bring awareness to our majestic city. I feel so lucky to have been brought up in a place filled to the 'to-go-cup' brim of culture. I hope one day my efforts to give back will be a part in keeping this city alive.

If you are interested in seeing more of Nicole's work she has lots of photos and illustrations at Coroflot.

Slow Southern News

• The Louisiana SPCA is holding auditions for their 2011 Alegria fashion show. Auditions are by appointment only at the Bridge Lounge on Saturday, September 11th from 1:00-5:00pm. Visit their website for more contact information and how to enter.

• Declare your love of the ultimate southern belle movie by donating to the University of Texas at Austin's Gone with the Wind 2014 exhibition.  Many of the infamous dresses that Scarlett O' Hara wore are in disrepair and can not be displayed until funds are raised to restore them back to their former grandeur.

• Touro Infirmary is hosting a "Look Good, Feel Better" event for women undergoing cancer treatment. On Thursday, August 19th volunteer cosmetologists will be on hand from noon-2pm to help patients cope with appearance related side effects in order to help boost self esteem and regain confidence. Visit cancer.org for more details or call (504)897-8387

• Rye is celebrating back to school with student discounts.

• Massey's Outfitters is offering a slew of savings. Students can bring their ID in for a 10% discount on sunglasses and select bikes and skateboards. Also join their facebook page and receive a 10% coupon code or  their mailing list for 5% off your first purchase.

• Saks Fifth Avenue is hosting an in store party in their WEAR department on Saturday, August 21st from noon-4:00pm. Snacks, drinks, and informal modeling will take place and you can enter to win a $250 gift card.

Mannequin Mondays

This week we're going back to the French Quarter for Mannequin Mondays. Hemline has more locations than I can count, with three in the New Orleans area alone. I've only been to the New Orleans uptown and downtown shops. Both locations are similar but have enough slight differences  that make them unique. 

Make sure you stop at a location nearest you or visit them online.

Hemline Chartres

609 Chartres Street
New Orleans, LA 70130
Phone (504) 592-0242

Hemline Magazine St.

3308 Magazine Street
New Orleans, LA 70115
Phone (504) 269-4005

Old School

I met Kristin Irine through  Twitter and we instantly bonded over our love of Jersey Shore and clothing. Okay, maybe not the clothes they wore in the show but y'all get the point. Le Saispas Vintage is an Etsy shop with refreshingly priced vintage items. While Kristin promised to do this interview after knocking back a few margaritas a la Snooki I can't promise any levels of sobriety.

 1980s strapless floral dress

Tell us about how you got started selling vintage clothing.

Well, I'm 42 so thrifting and vintage clothing have been huge to me (and the bulk of my friends my age) for a loooooong time!  I first seriously got into buying & wearing vintage in 1985, but started wearing 60's clothing of my mom and aunt's after seeing Peter Pan collars and pedal pushers in Archie Comics. I was ridiculed, but whatever. Cool hipsters, older than me in 1985, in local punk bands in Memphis were already wearing vintage, so I copied them.  Back then you could go to an Amvets and regularly find 40's gabardine suits or rayon print dresses for $2.  No, I'm not exaggerating!

I started selling myself when I was hired in 1991 to work for The Wasteland in Berkeley, California.  I moved to Oakland when I graduated from the University of TN and came with an already stellar vintage wardrobe and a particularly encyclopedic knowledge of 60's-70's clothing.  Most of the women there were 40's-50's vintage experts, but a few of us weirdos were way into the crazier styles simply because we were odd-looking art students, more than likely!

When eBay started for me around 1997, I started buying more designer vintage (esp. Alley Cat by Betsey Johnson and Sonia Rykiel, both of whom I still collect) and selling too.  I basically stopped thrifting a lot after 2000 when I moved to Portland and really threw myself into my career as a social worker/therapist.  I'd thrift for me, but not to resell.  That all changed this past April when I knew I needed some more $$$ and learned of what I call "hidden thrifts" that I can stock up on 80's & 90's gear that seems to be so popular now.  I find it hard to see those eras as true vintage--esp. the 90's--but I'm not averse to making money!



 1980s saddle oxfords






 What's the fashion scene like in Memphis and what are the big trends there?

I love my hometown (just moved back in 2008) and hate to disparage in any way, but Memphis is about 10 years behind everywhere else.  OK, maybe 5 years.  Since thrifts often get picked over by vintage sellers, the normally hypercreative dressers (young, relatively poor college kids) don't have a cheap resource to experiment with style.  I suppose this sad truth is happening everywhere.  I'm not one of those people who thinks that tossing together some cheap skirt some secretary wore in 1982 with a chambray work shirt and some oversized 1982 glasses frames speaks to possessing loads of style (see that young Tavi blogger for a reference).  I feel for the kids of today.  Vintage is so overpriced these days that fewer people can afford to experiment with style at the age when they can most afford to do so.

To make a long story short, Memphis is a mostly poor city and the thrifts are picked over. Even the shops with new clothes are basically boring chains for the most part.  I'm hoping that even having an Urban Outfitters sometime soon can help light a spark with kids here...as sad as that is.


 Mid-century modern cat pin

 It seems like almost everyone is wearing some form of vintage, be it a complete look or just a piece of jewelry. How has the vintage "industry" changed since you first started out?

See above for some of this answer.  I'd say the explosion in etsy vintage and ebay shops has created a craze for it.  I'm hopeful that those who know and do best with reselling vintage will end up surviving and some that don't even try that hard to get it end up failing and trying their hand at something else!  I'm also really wishing there was not such a trend to overprice vintage.  I saw a stellar Cavalli jumpsuit in a Nashville etsy vintage shop that was deadstock and yes, gorgeous.  But she had it priced for $3600!  WHAT????  People can buy a damn car for that.  Ludicrous.


 1970s bicycle espadrilles

What are your future plans for Le Saispas Vintage?

Well, I'm currently saving to buy a good dress form so I can shoot better shots of the cool non-shoe and accessory clothing I have boxes and boxes of just waiting for the site!  I'm doing it on hangers now and it's hideous, but I gotta list it so I'm not earning what I should on some of it.  I plan to hit 100 items in the shop and keep it at that level.  I also plan to keep my prices FAIR and appropriate.  I'm refusing to get into that gross habit of selling what my boss at The Wasteland called "Mall Fabric" rompers for $50.  When I see that I totally shake my head.  It was crap when it was new and it's still crap. Stop trying to make kids believe they look cool in some sage-colored poly/rayon romper with gold plastic buttons.  And if you insist on helping kids look bad, sell it to them cheap.


 1980s safari jumper





Define southern style.

Depends on the season and the area.  The South is only a singular thing in a very few ways.  Memphis style differs from NOLA style, but both NOLA and Memphis are more similar to each other than either is to Atlanta or Nashville.  There is an appreciation overall in utility and function, especially in the ridiculously hot summer months.  People stereotype Southern Style as over-the-top and frilly; while there is certainly that element, every Southern type knows how to layer better than anyone, even those Pacific Northwesterners.  We also understand how to wear attractive hats and scarves/headwraps better than any other US woman and this is a direct result of needing these things to block sun and protect hair from humidity.  I'd say Southern Girls wear the casual look better than any other US girl, hands down.  We could probably take lessons from out grandmoms though b/c there are too many slobs running around these days, myself included!






If your wardrobe could use a dash of fun pay Le Saispas a visit on Etsy. Also be sure to check out her $3 sale section! It doesn't get much cheaper than that.

Show & Tell

Here in New Orleans we experienced two days of nasty weather as remnants of a tropical storm passed through town. I met someone for coffee at the Rue de la Course on Friday and since it was pouring after we met I ducked into Funky Monkey to try to wait it out.

I discovered this gem on the sale rack marked down to a measly $5.00. My iced cappuccino and banana were almost as much as the dress I bought that day.

I present to you Morticia Adams, if she were on the t.v. show Dallas that is. If you don't know what Dallas is then shame on you.

Check out those massive shoulder pads! The dress is a little too big for me but at that price I really couldn't pass it up. This will be perfect for Halloween, since I actually need multiple costumes to get me through the last week of spook season.

So now that I have two costumes* almost all ready to go y'all need to get jumpin' and catch up! Halloween will be here before y'all know it.

Do you have a fantastic item that needs to be shown off? E-mail me at nolagurl@gmail.com and I'll feature it here.



*I own way more costumes than just two. I think the last wig count was over 12.

Frock Friday

I always manage to come up with a post idea in the wee hours when lighting is awful and I can't mask my lack of photography skills. Regardless I'm actually presenting a dress for Frock Friday, fancy that! 

Blink on Magazine St. is having a fantastic sale and I couldn't help but pick up this floral strapless number. I have a penchant for strapless dresses and this was.....wait for it....marked down to $10. How could I not get it?

I really love the bow detail. This is the case where more is more.

Crazy floral? Check. Bright pink? Check. Ostentatious bow? Got that too.

Blink's annual customer appreciation sale is running now through August 15th so hurry before the goodies are gone!

5419 Magazine St, NOLA

(504) 899-4970

M-Sa 10-6, Su 12-5

3260 Severn Ave. Metairie, LA.

(504) 883-8054

M-Sa 10-6, Su CLOSED

Anthropologie celebrates New Orleans in new store

The buzz word in the New Orleans retail scene for the past few months has been one word: Anthropologie.

  The retail space that housed Pottery Barn in The Shops at Canal Place has been replaced by something much, much more covetable and is opening this Friday. For those not in the know Anthropologie is owned by the same company as Urban Outfitters and is like Urban's quirky older sister. Think romantic ruffles, dreamy prints and a more grown up yet whimsical aesthetic.

Rebecca Rebouche's Mississippi River mural

Unlike other large, national companies that carry the same stock and decorating scheme Anthro has carefully selected several local designers' merchandise to carry in the store and has employed local artists to bring a little southern sweetness to the space. The 9,000-square-foot retail clothing and housewares oasis will feature artist Rebecca Rebouché's Mississippi River mural in addition to the local artist's wares for purchase.

The designers list reads like a "who's who" in the New Orleans' handmade fashion and arts scene. Here are a few that you can expect to find:

Helene Florence

Nancy Rhett

Suzannah Murray

Katherine Dejarnette Babin

Kerry Fitts

Jill Dupré

Shelley Hesse

Ashley Longshore

I've also been invited to the grand opening and I can't wait to cover the event for Go NOLA. So stay tuned for more exciting news!

Anthropologie 

333 Canal Street 

#127 Canal Place

504.592.9972 

Monday – Saturday: 10 am – 7 pm 

Sunday: 12 am – 6 pm

Slow Southern News

Perlis is donating $6 from every Support The Coast t-shirt to the Greater New Orleans Foundation and the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana. $5 from every Save the Coast t-shirt will go to gulfrelief.org.

 


Feet First is extending their "Insane" sale. Use the code "Insane50" online and receive 50% off already marked sale items. The sale applies to online and in store merchandise.

Ruby in Hammond is having their "End of summer denim days" with $50-$75 jeans. And since owner Laura Lea is a newly wed cake and champagne will be served everyday this week from 4-6pm

Shop Imagine in Hammond is celebrating back to school time with a denim sale. Buy one pair of jeans and get the second pair half off.