This Saturday: Shop My Closet at Secondi!

Anyone who reads this blog knows I am a huge fan of shopping secondhand. If you search for the term "Secondi" on my blog, you will see that almost every outfit I wear has at least one piece from my favorite consignment store. I love to support brands that are treating their workers and/or the environment with dignity and respect (like this one or this one), but if you think about it, it's even more fair and kind to reuse a garment that is already out there, which is why I am excited to be participating in District Closets this Saturday. I hope you can come on out to shop and make merry! 

The deets: all of you local ladies will have the opportunity not only to shop secondhand selections from Secondi (hand chosen by me and the other girls), but to shop the closets of some of the most stylin' ladies I know, who have been kind enough to ask me to join in on the fun. This Saturday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., enjoy complimentary mimosas while browsing District Closets at Secondi in Dupont Circle.

CAN YOU JOIN US IN DC? RSVP HERE

Not local? That's OK! Tune in tomorrow for a round up of all of my favorite online places to shop secondhand, from Etsy to Ebay to The RealReal.

P.S. Carlis from Spicy Candy DC did a little interview with me yesterday and will be dishing on all of the ladies whose closets you can shop, so I recommend keeping an eye on her blog this week to get an idea of the different styles of the participants and what types of items you will be able to choose from. With a percentage of the proceeds of the event going to charity (I've chosen to benefit Nest), you'll be doing good all over the place!

Cobblestone Runway Lookbook: Behind the Scenes

WEARING: Perforated cape by Eva Franco, Dress by Trina Turk, and necklace by Loren Hope, all made in the USA. PHOTOGRAPHY: Alumbra Photography  STYLING: Spicy Candy DC

As you know, last week the Cobblestone Runway Lookbook debuted, and with features on the Washingtonian blog and Northern Virginia Magazine I'd say it was a smashing success!



What's more, the folks at Zoe Boutique and Bishop Boutique were incredibly accommodating when I requested that the majority of my outfits adhere to the ethics of my blog. In fact, it was easy for them, as both stores carry an array of beautiful clothing and accessories that are handmade, and/or made in the USA.



In fact, I was psyched to discover a few new brands that I didn't realize were made in the USA, such as Loren Hope's jewelry line and Eva Franco's apparel.


WEARING: Trina Turk dress and Loren Hope necklace. Adorable doggy not available for purchase.

We shot at the Morrison House (below), a member of the Kimpton family, one of my favorite boutique hotel chains, and at Jackson 20 (above), famous in Old Town for their "yappy hour,"  where you can bring your pup to enjoy the open air while you enjoy excellent drink specials.





This is by far my favorite behind-the-scenes shot. Britta was a little bit of a diva, and was done with the photo shoot about one minute after it began.

Last but not least, in addition to the dresses you see above, I put together a collection of my favorites from the made in the USA brands that were featured. Shop them all below by clicking on the arrow buttons:

The Cobblestone Runway Lookbook was produced by:
Bishop Boutique, Zoe Boutique, the dog park, Sugar House Day Spa & Salon with help from US! The Morrison House hotel, Jackson 20, Hotel Monaco, Suzanne from Bronzed Berry organic mobile spray tanning

Models: Tammy from A Loyal love, Wendy from Old Town Home, Rachel from My Fair Vanity & Bryarly from Everything That Flickers

Puppy Models: Lulu, Britta, Merci Faye, Haro WHO IS UP FOR ADOPTION AS WELL as Darling!

Photography by:
Susannah from Alumbra Photography

Design & Layout by:
Bryarly from everything that flickers

Styling by:
Spicy Candy DC

The project was made possible by support from the Alexandria Marketing Fund.

Preppy Summer Prints from Alice and Trixie {Made in the USA}

This week I had the pleasure of working on a project with some fellow bloggers and local boutiques in Old Town Alexandria (be on the lookout for #cobblestonerunwaylookbook previews and behind the scenes shots on IG and Twitter). As part of the styling sessions for the lookbook, I was delighted to discover Alice and Trixie at local shop Zoe Boutique.

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They have a variety of juicy, fruity prints for the preppier set. Do some of these look reminiscent of Tory Burch? Yes, yes they do.  Which means you can choose "made in the USA" over "made in China," and still get the same clean, fresh look. Sounds like a fair deal to me!

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While Alice and Trixie's focus is clearly on prints (sometimes super trippy and wild ones), I liked their edgier, simpler separates and black cut-out dresses. I know, you're shocked. And that trim on the dress? Faux. The skirt? Faux. I'm diggin it.

Shop more Alice and Trixie HERE, and below, or pop into Zoe Boutique in Old Town if you're a local!

Your Fair Vanity {An Eco-friendly Style Round-up}

Hello, my fair friends! Today I'm introducing a new monthly section to highlight Your Fair Style. One reason I started this blog was to show that it's possible to be stylish and kind to the earth. As a continuation of that effort, I'm eager to share examples from around the interwebs of how other bloggers have done that by incorporating fair elements into their wardrobes.

I believe we can all dress fairly without too much effort and certainly without spending a lot of money, and hopefully the stylin' ladies above will inspire you to take stock of the fair items in your closet!

1. Our first fair style inspo is Krystin from Be Loud Be You, who's wearing a DIY tulle skirt that she made herself! To understand how awesome this girl is, you should also check out this post, which has EVEN MORE AMAZING DIY TULLE!  
2. Cynthia from Simply Cyn aka Addicted2Etsy is wearing one of her many vintage Coach purses, and it gives the perfect pop of red to her breezy nautical look.   
3. On the bottom left, Carlis from Spicy Candy DC is wearing a thrifted white blouse and thrifted sunglasses. Carlis and Katya have much love and respect for the art of thrifting, and I love to see what they find and how they style it. 
4. E from District of Chic is on the bottom right wearing a delicate, white vintage dress that fits her like a dream.

****If you'd like to be included in  the next installation of Your Fair Style, leave a comment with a link to your post, and be sure to say what part of your outfit is eco-friendly or fair. You can also shoot me an email. ***

I look forward to seeing your fair style!

P.S. I also look forward to seeing you at SOHO DC Wednesday night :)

A Response to Jennifer Barger's My Blog, My Self

Jennifer Barger’s “My Blog, My Self” in Friday's Washington Post Express asked a provocative question: “When style bloggers show off their clothes, is it inspiring or narcissistic?” After criticizing a few popular blogs, Barger concludes that fashion blogs are written by “little girls, all dressed up, with no place to go, staring into the mirror.”


Alternatives to Link-baiting

The tone of this article is very different from Ms. Barger’s other pieces on Express, so it was jarring when Barger dismissed local gals Carlis and Katya of Spicy Candy DC as members of an “echo chamber” composed of “clash-y, slightly trashy outfits in what seem to be Shaw alleys,” especially after Barger herself complains that style blogging is akin to an “online high school cafeteria.”

It’s easy to make fun of fashion blogs, but there are real benefits to the style blogging phenomenon that were not discussed, such as the diverse faces and body types they make available to their readers. In the blogosphere, short girls, curvy girls, and those in between are giving readers an accessible alternative to the cookie cutter body type splashed across popular print magazines. You don’t have to be stick thin and 5' 10’’ with cheekbones of steel to represent fashion online-- you just have to be yourself, be honest, and be creative, and that’s pretty cool.


Entrepreneurship

What’s more, Carlis and Katya of Spicy Candy DC—along with many other locally-focused blogs—serve an important community function that giant news media corporations don't provide. Those two ladies are constantly partnering with small, local DC businesses to promote a store opening here or style a lookbook there. The fact that they take photos in "alleys"  is far less meaningful to me than what they actually do with their blog.

Spicy Candy DC and Kelly Framel's The Glamourai (also mentioned by Barger in a negative light) exemplify one of the most significant and exciting attributes of the fashion blogging phenomenon. These blogs serve as an empowering, entrepreneurial online space for women to promote their small businesses, their fashion skills, their writing, or their personal brand. This is the case for the vast majority of popular blogs in other categories (hello Seth Godin, Daily Kos, etc.), and fashion blogs are no exception to the rule.