Hip, funky, and feminine

These are the adjectives Tulle uses to describe itself. From what I’ve seen of its clothing line, they’re appropriate, though for many styles, its designers seem to be drawing on the fashions of the forties and fifties for inspiration. The young women for whom these clothes are designed may not realize that the styles are similar to those of their grandmothers’ time.

Color palettes appear to be of two kinds: bright, primary (deep oranges and blues, for example); sedate, sophisticated (olive, tan, charcoal). A few pieces are made with patterned fabrics: dots, flowers, plaids. Prices fall within the normal range, and sale prices make these hip and feminine clothes even more attractive.

With its classic look and clean lines, the solid yoke top in the upper left expresses my idea of fashion. It comes in blackberry, blueberry, and charcoal and is priced at $45.

No, no, Noa Noa

The following was written in September for the Home page; I decided to include it as a separate post. Reading it now, I see that mindfulness would have been a great help to me when I visited Noa Noa.

On Sunday, my sister and I went to Ward Center, shopping at My Little Secret, where I bought a few birthday gifts for her boyfriend, and The Executive Chef. After that, we looked in at the Excel store and stopped at Satura’s for delicious pastries and a pizza variation called a pizzarella.

I then decided to stop at Noa Noa, which sells “Fashions for men and women in fine batik fabrics, painted by hand with comfort and ease in mind” and does business on the internet as Hawaiian Shirt Shoppe. Anyone who loves exquisitely printed fabrics will appreciate the clothing at Noa Noa. Unfortunately, I must have offended the saleswoman when I picked up a wraparound skirt and, yes, wrapped it around my sister to show her that it could also be worn as a top. After that, the woman followed me around the store zealously, watching my every move.

Several minutes later, she announced that she was going to the ladies’ room and would be closing the store. Bewildered by this treatment, I left with my sister.

Nearby Noa Noa is a boutique called MisFortune. Still perplexed by what had happened at Noa Noa, I looked at the clothes at MS and found a cute skirt, which I tried on. It was too small for my fiftyish figure, and I left soon after, waving goodbye to the saleswoman.

It wasn’t until yesterday that I made sense of my Noa Noa experience. I decided to write to the e-mail address given at Hawaiian Shirt Shoppe’s website and explain that I admired the store’s clothing and probably would have bought something. Making this explicit gave me some comfort, and I hope that whoever reads my message—if indeed it gets read—will see that a lack of communication and an assumption about motives led to the loss of a sale.

Halloween

Will Brasserie du Vin host a Halloween party? With its tavern, its courtyard, and its Olde World decor, it would be a great place to wear outfits from the Forest Creek Renaissance Shoppe. Here is a picture of FCRS’s stunning brocade bodice; other items include hats, jewelry, belts, capes, and cloaks.

For Halloween, I’m hoping to get the Flemish pill hat or a brocade bodice. My building allows kids (and their friends and parents) to go trick-or-treating between 5 and 9 p.m. I invariably find myself at the health-food store at the last minute, trying to assemble three dozen sweets; then I rush home and get ready for the onslaught of toddlers, grade-school boys and girls, and teenagers.

Perhaps I’ll actually be ready this year; that would be different

Shibori

The goal of the World Shibori Network (WSN) is to “create a network of artisans, designers, business people, schools, exhibitions to work together to support traditional cottage industries of tie-dye, which have roots in many parts of the world.”

WSN defines shibori as follows: “the collective term in Japanese for tie-dye, stitch-dye, fold-dye, pole wrap-dye, etc. It is translated into English as shaped-resist dyeing, because no comparable embracing term exists in English. At the same time, we cultivate appreciation and understanding of these traditional creative processes among artists and designers in ‘developed’ countries, to sustain our cultural heritage. Our efforts result in finding means to subsist in the country where jobs are hard to find, as well as technologically developed societies, where humanistic creative activities are being forgotten.”

In Hawai‘i, shibori clothes are made by a wonderful designer known as Burgundy, who has been practicing her craft since 1979. Starting with white silk or velvet, she folds, ties, and dyes the fabric, producing dramatic patterns. The dresses, tops, and skirts made with the fabrics are her own designs. This picture of a cardigan was taken in her Kilohana Square shop, where she designs, makes, and sells her clothes. For more information, call (808)737-1100 or e-mail shibori@hawaii.rr.com.

Organic cotton

I wrote about this company last month but wanted to post something new about it. Right now, Blue Canoe has a terrific sale in progress. Here are pictures of just a few of the items on sale, including one of my favorites—a mandarin top with frog in a contrasting color—and baby clothes (so cute you’ll wish there were adult versions).

Patagonia

Patagonia is running a campaign to help protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. “Our goal,” says its website, “is to help permanently protect the 1.5 million acre Coastal Plain of the Refuge by designating it Wilderness.”

Five dollars from the sale of each Arctic Wildlife T-shirt goes to the Alaska Wilderness League, a national organization “leading the effort to preserve Alaska’s wilderness by engaging citizens, educating the public, and providing a courageous, constant and victorious voice for Alaska in the nation’s capital.”

Future Style: Oakland’s collaborative clothing designers

The following piece was written for Mindful Shopping by Tia Ballantine.

I’m not much of a shopper—never have been really. When seeking to clothe my body, I usually head for The Goodwill. As someone who thinks recycling is not just a good idea but essential to the survival of our world, I have always frequented second-hand stores, seeking out finely constructed clothes, silk and linens, leather boots and feathered hats, but purchasing whatever fashions are currently available. Usually, those fashions are not exactly current. I have solved this problem by purchasing clothes with classic cuts, never fancy but always durable and sometimes even elegant. Trash chic, perhaps. I never dress poorly—I am happy with my frequently brand-new (but $3.00) Gloria Vanderbilt jeans, my silk knits and tailored linen tops—but I will admit that I rarely look hip.

What to do—continue to recycle clothing, wearing last year’s (or last century’s) fashions or take the plunge, pay a bit more, and be somewhat respectably conscious of the contemporary? Recently, I discovered a solution to my dilemma.

A consortium of young designers in the SF Bay Area are gathering up used clothes, turning discards into exciting cutting-edge fashion—and then offering them for sale at reasonable prices. In the past two months, I have had the distinctly good fortune of attending two of their always spectacular fashion events, featuring piles of used garments that are closely examined, dismantled, reconstructed and made even more lively with additional on-the-spot silk screening of unusual and often surprising images. Giant dragonflies, labeled HERO, alight on shoulders; flowers sprout from pockets while Kali dances over a barbed wire mandala, machine guns held aloft. The first event was the giant San Mateo Maker’s Faire where thousands gather annually to display creative suggestions for revising contemporary dedication to consumption: green inventions and playful sculptures, tiny electric cars, giant Rube Goldberg machines—and tips on how to be a better recycler. At the Swap-o-rama-rama of the Maker’s Faire, the inventive playful fashions of these young designers were a highlight of the show.

Featured were designs by Remade in America and Field Day.

In the picture above, the vests from Remade and skirts from Field Day combine to create playful and audacious outfits could be worn for work or play.

Feeling good (and mischievous!) is easy when wearing the playful, casual, and distinctive summer dresses and reconstructed suits, designed by both Remade and Field Day.

left to right: (1) Remade in America; (2) Field Day; (3) Vest: Remade, skirt: Field Day; (4) vest: Remade, skirt Field Day; (5) Patchwerk Press; (6) Field Day

 

Last week’s July 28 event at the Balazo Gallery in San Francisco’s Mission district (a gallery known for its cross-disciplinary multi-cultural shows) was more intimate than the Maker’s Faire but equally thrilling. The event, “Alter : State,” was a “celebration of recreation” staged in support a of PatchWerk Press, an Oakland-based collective and collaborative print shop and design group, including Remade, Field Day, and What What. For the price of admission (a suggested donation of $5–$20), participants were encouraged to “be your own hero,” to pull garments from massive piles of accumulated cast-off clothes and imagine new shapes for these scarcely used and still vibrant pieces of clothing. Throughout the night, those willing to experiment worked with the assembled designers and then left at the end of the night with bags full of exciting wearable art.

Of course, none of this happened in buzzing whispered silence. Visitors to the Balazo Gallery were treated to music played by a number of underground Bay Area groups, including the remarkable Catfive, voted best electronic band of the Bay Area in 2002, and still caterwauling on the back fence. Balanceman, one of the founders of Catfive, first played a hauntingly beautiful solo set of electronic music, and then the three remaining members of Catfive, DJDarkat, Doc Oliver, and Tweaktech, offered an hour of digital trip-hop while projecting an energetic and politically potent live video mix on the wall. MTV, take note, these guys are the NEW live TV.

At midnight, all the designers and mad scramblers of the mix assembled for a spirited fashion show. I have included below three photos of the event, but sadly none from Remade (www.remadeinamerica.org). Remade presented one of their distinctive designs, featuring a beautifully silk-screened hip-length geometric reversible vest worn over a dress playfully edge with lace. Remade’s vests, as displayed at the Maker’s Faire (pix above), are both practical and fun to wear. Be the first in your town to wear one!

Dogfish modeled a Dickensian, pirate-moll, post-civilization dress, constructed of salvaged lace, pseudo alligator skin, satin and netting—perfect for street, dance, or waking up sleeping bureaucratic or governmental giants. (photo: Jeffrey Eric)

Domini of the Cloudfactory design crew modeled a form-fitting jacket of her own design, created from various swatches of unruly faux-fur. (photo: Jeffrey Eric)

Sunflower Fish, a local artist, showed off her marvelous capacious coat-vest, stunning and practical, made from U-Haul moving blankets. Perfect for crisp fall evenings. (photo: Jeffrey Eric)

E-Star, who creates playful itty-bitty hats, Miss Velvet Cream, and Homeygrown, Haku, Turnakit, and Dirtsickle also had designs on hand for the evening’s fashion parade.

If you love dressing in ways that set you apart from the crowd, but have been buying new fashion and are tired of supporting slave labor practices in third world countries, support these innovative designers instead. Write to them, tell them what you want; they’ll work with you.