On the Radar -- Hot Under the Collar

High Tech Fur collar by Emerson Fry

We Blackbird girls have a dirty little secret. And I'm going to spill it right now.  We LOVE fur.  We know it's wrong, but it just feels sooooo good!  Mink, fox, Persian lamb...you name it, we've got it (or, at least we've lusted after it when we see it!).  However, the majority of fur we can afford, own, and wear, is in collar form.

We've always worn our vintage fur collared coats, so I didn't really pay attention to just how many designers did them for their fall lines.  It wasn't until we sold three fur collars in under two weeks that I thought, "Hmmm....what's up with that?"

Turns out everybody did their own version of a fur collar this fall.  And I mean EVERYBODY.  Michael Kors, Marni, Derek Lam, Elizabeth and James, Louis Vuitton....and you know our fave, Alexander McQueen.

Derek Lam, Fall 2012

These collars don't have to be just for coats and jackets.  You could wear one with a sweater or dress to cozy it up.

It doesn't have to be formal either.  I love the casual-luxe feel of this:

From Le 21eme

You can even go for different colors!

Moncler Fall/Winter 2012

And while I pine for all of these fur pieces, I know that the best bet is to buy vintage or handmade.  They are more affordable, one of a kind, and no animals were recently harmed in the making of the collar.

From our shop! 

Or you could be a good girl -- buy faux fur, like this pretty handmade collar -- and still be fashionable.

From imali on Etsy

On the Radar--Lace Love

Fall 2012 Runways

Lace is one of those classic things that never really goes away.  It shows up on every season's runways.  But this year, with the forces of what we've already discussed here -- classic Hitchcock women and yet another Victorian revival -- lace is having a strong comeback because of its timelessness and elegance.

Tadashi Shoji Fall 2012

The varieties of styles are endless.  It can be handmade, machine made, laser cut -- it is both technologically current and traditionally old-old-school.  It can be used all over or as just as accent.

When I worked in Product Development, we were always playing with different ways of introducing lace like patterns.  It is hard to balance out the sugary sweetness and daintiness of the pattern, and I think that this year, designers have gotten it right.  In the hands of some, lace has more graphic punch, like Alexander McQueen's fall offerings.  But with others, they have found how to embrace the sweetness in a more hard edged way, like this Tadashi Shoji gown.

Alexander McQueen, Fall 2012

It's showing up in fashion accents as well, such as these nail tips from Joy Cioci's show:

And you know how we feel about Country Living.  They had lace decorations for Halloween!

Country Living, October 2012

Country Living, October 2012

On the Radar -- Brooch the Subject

Photo from thestyleumbrella.com

There's one trend this fall I'm super excited to talk about.  The brooch is back!  Personally, for me, it never left.  I have always been a wearer, collector, and all-around lover of pins and brooches.  New or old, one at a time or grouped together, they can make quite the statement!

When I worked in product development, I had to go to the Hight Point International Home Furnishings Market every spring and fall.  It was fun to dress up, since normally the office was pretty casual.  My most memorable day was when I  wore my yellow 60s style a-line dress (I think of Doris Day when I wear it), thick black opaque tights, black ballet flats, and five of my enamel flower pins in black, white, gray, and yellow.  I got tons of compliments on those brooches -- even now, when I look at them I think about that day.

Brooches are easy to find and easy to wear.  Oscar de la Renta's Fall 2012 runway was full of his brooches, but you can get the same look from a thrift or antique store.   At the antique mall where we Blackbird girls work, you can find pins from $1 to $2, all the way up to $200.  And Etsy has over 120,000 listings for brooches in the Vintage section alone.

From Iris Jewels on Etsy

You can wear them one at a time, but I think the fun really starts when you pile on the pins.  And the more whimsical, the better.  Vintage pins can have so much personality, whether they are a Jelly Belly brooch, a Victorian tremblant pin, or a bright enamel daisy.  Why not a butterfly brooch nestled in a field of flowers?  Or a mini collection of owl pins?


If you need some inspiration for ideas on how to wear your brooches, I found this awesome video that Nordstrom just released.  It highlights nine different ways to wear your brooch collection.

More about my brooch and pin collection in a future Junk Love post, but I just can't resist giving you a sneak peek!

On the Radar -- Call of the Wild (pt.2)

So, part 2 of the Call of the Wild trend posts is all about reptiles.  Skins, that is...

Fall 2012

OK, so this look is a bit overboard, but I think this advertisement illustrates my point beautifully.  If you want to add an animal touch to your wardrobe (or your home), you can think texture in addition to print.  I'm not sure if this is real croc, or embossed leather, but the natural variations in the pattern add a great feel to the edgy cut of all these pieces.

Reptile skins can be classic and subtle, or they can be modern and fresh, like this new take on a snake skin pattern:

Fall 2012

That's the magic of taking inspiration from nature.  There's something sensual and organic about it, but it can be transformed into many, many different forms.  Abstracted, modernized, timeless, or elegant.  It can be anything you want it to be.  And that's why designers (and trends) always come back to it.

When I worked in product development, I had a cache of photos that inspired me.  Trends were important in my industry.  I kept a large magazine tear sheet file, and rotated photos on my massive pin board in my office every season.  But there were probably around 20 images that I saved in a file on my computer.  I went back to those images over and over when I was designing-- and most of them weren't related to fashion.  Or home decor.

They were pictures of nature, animals, patterns, vintage things, architecture, art -- anything that could be an inspiration through its form, color, and content.  This particular photo was shared between us Blackbird girls -- one of us teaches science -- and it was labeled as "cool" to us.  I saw it and thought, "What a great pattern.  And the colors!"  And it was forever locked away in my inspiration file, pulled out when I needed a little push to design something.  Here he is:

Bad-Ass Snake, photo from openwalls.com

We knew reptile skins -- crocodile, in particular -- were coming around again when we started buying it (we have three pairs of shoes listed in the Etsy shop right now) and when we started seeing it pop up in random places, like a croc patterned backsplash on HGTV.  Then, when we looked through the fall magazines, every other page had reptile -- bags, shoes, dresses.  So I guess, everything old really is new again...

Ferragamo Heels, from our Etsy Shop

See you later, alligator...

On the Radar -- Call of the Wild (pt.1)

Louis Vuitton, Fall 2012

I had another trend planned for On the Radar this week, but two things happened that changed my direction.  First, a fact -- the Blackbird girls are magazine junkies.  Our monthly subscriptions range from Country Living and Martha Stewart to Harper's Bazaar and Elle Decor.  And then we have the grocery store pick-ups.  So while watching an old Gene Kelly movie the other night, we pulled out our new magazines -- the beastly fall issues of Vogue, InStyle, Elle, and Harper's Bazaar.  The Vogue is over 900 pages!  As we started flipping through, we both happened to notice something.  EVERYBODY HAS LEOPARD PRINT THIS FALL.  It's everywhere!

That brings me to the second reason why I'm talking spots this week.  Last spring we bought 4 vintage leopard print scarves on a buying trip.  I found them all in the same box.  They've been posted in our Etsy shop for about 1 1/2 months.  But then, poof!  We sold all of them within the past two weeks.  I didn't make the connection until we saw the magazines.   Light bulb moment!

Brian Atwood, Fall 2012

The glamorous Dita Von Teese

Leopard print is like the Jekyll and Hyde of fashion:  it is the ultimate in sexiness, it can be incredibly chic, or it can go slutty in a heartbeat. In order to pull off leopard print, you need a luxe fabrication -- something that screams, "I AM QUALITY!"  Otherwise, you're going to look cheap and outdated.  Sorry, but that's a fact.

You also need to dial back the amount of leopard you add.  That's probably why our scarves are gone.  Just an accent -- the barest touch -- works for everybody.  If you go for all over leopard print, perhaps a dress, find a way to balance it with large fields of solid colors, like opaque tights or a jacket.  And for goodness' sake, don't mix your leopard spots! We're a fan of mixing patterns, but keep it to one animal print!

Sandro, Fall 2012

There are ways you can have fun with leopard print.  Changing the scale or repeat of the pattern is a great way to modernize the look.  Designers are deconstructing and abstracting the patterns, and many have started to change the colors, taking leopard from natural to eye popping.  It's even showing up in makeup:
  

Dior, Fall 2012

Here are some photos to inspire you:

The divine Mrs. Robinson, Anne Bancroft in The Graduate

Ralph Lauren, Fall 2012

I'm sorry to say we don't have anything available in our Etsy shop of the leopard print variety.  Everything's been snatched up.  But check out Etsy for great vintage finds to add to your fall wardrobe from the hundreds of other awesome vintage dealers.  I particularly loved these from Melissa Joy Vintage:

Leopard Shoes by MelissaJoyVintage on Etsy

And the same rules apply for decorating your home with leopard print.  Here's a room I went crazy over:

From BLULABELBUNGALOW