Posts with tag cotton

At some point this summer, there will be a family reunion, wedding or christening. If the good news is that kids are invited, but the bad news is the idea of an itchy, stiff dress turning your little princess into a monster, then check out Lucy Sykes New York, and all the pretty sundresses.

Beautiful prints, lightweight cotton, and, for a special party dress, fairly reasonable prices -- certainly under $100. It's not Target, but it's also not Dior. The dresses have a classic shape, with twirly skirts and enough ruffles to be festive without looking like a square dancing costume. They are also refreshingly free of glitter or other Bratz-like flair.

Sykes and her doubtlessly beautiful family -- including sons Titus and Heathcliff -- spend weekends in the Hamptons and jet around the world to Paris, Milan and London. Lucy tries to infuse her dresses with the spirit of these places. We're not sure if she succeeds, but we can definitely imagine them on some little girls we know, playing tag while the grown ups sip celebratory cocktails. Now that's a summer party.

Whit Honea is a slacker, a borderline degenerate, and a daydream believer. He's also our resident expert on casual chic. If it's comfortable, and not heinous, he's all over it. He's quite charming, really.

Moral Fabric is a t-shirt company that originated in Texas. Their passion is to make t-shirts that "focus on the psychedelic art movement of the 60's and 70's, ancient Middle Eastern mosaic patterns, perception vs. reality, spiritual ideologies, and the intelligent designs of Mother Nature." You know, cool stuff.

Rubie Green believes that natural doesn't mean boring, and that your home's interior is what makes it yours. And so, they've created a line of upholstery fabrics that are made of 100% certified organic cotton, which they whiten without using bleach and print in the United States.

Sooner or later, it's going to happen. You will drop a bottle of nail polish, it will shatter, and you will experience a quivering out of body anxiety attack as you watch the shiny color cover the (probably white) surface.

We say this: Don't Panic!

It's happened to us (see photo, sigh, that was our favorite color) and we're happy to share our research findings with you.

Seattle based Kate Quinn Organics, previously known as Earth Organic Baby Basics, is a parent's dream. That is assuming said parent wants "the softest, most natural materials" for their baby's comfort, and "the highest quality design and construction, and most importantly, the hope of a cleaner, kinder earth." If the parent wants all that, and you know that they do, then they can't go wrong with Kate Quinn.

The designs are created using "simple, elegant lines" and are available in nature-inspired hues to highlight the natural beauty of a child.

No, I don't want to ban t-shirts with a message, unless it is something I disagree with. Why would I want to read that? Ban T-Shirts is the name of the company and their shirts have some very strong messages, most of which I wouldn't dream of banning.

The shirts are designed with progressive messages that concern the issues of the day: the environment, democracy, freedom, war and peace (not Tolstoy). Most of the designs are printed on organic cotton American Apparel shirts and none are made in sweatshops, although I can't guarantee that sweat was not present at some time during the process.

The company is proud of its righteous attitude and claims to be deconstructing society, shirt by shirt. They also make no apologies about not providing all sides on the issues. They feel that the right is wrong and only make shirts with messages that they believe in. That's called not selling out. Besides, who the hell wants to wear shirts that are anti-environment, freedom and peace? Don't answer that. Ban it.

It's Spring, which means you have to do the roommate shuffle in just a few short months when you head back home for the summer. Finding someone to sublet your place is a real pain.

Unless you're Tara Eisenberg and Inessah Selditz, who found each other looking for apartments, and ended up creating Sublet, an eco-friendly clothing line.

The Alison Dress is made of 30% organic cotton, 67% bamboo, and
3% spandex. The Alison dress has a deep V-neckline with graceful pleating throughout the front and back and a contrast twill tape at the empire waist. Obviously, I love this dress because it has pockets.

The dress comes in natural, black, and olive, and is available at Sublet's website for $242.

There's nothing I like more than throwing on something comfortable on Saturday morning and wearing it all weekend until I have to change into work clothes on Monday. Yes, and when I mean "all weekend," I mean wearing it for whatever errands, lunch, outing, events I have over two days.

Normally, an all-weekend outfit is made up of a pair of sweats, a C+C tank, and when I have to go out, a fitted hoodie. However, there are some weekends that require a little more effort. Made of a blend of cotton and stretchy Modal, the Pima Henley Dress is almost as soft and comfortable as a sweats outfit, but is probably slightly better than sweats for meeting a friend for coffee on a Sunday afternoon (but only slightly!). Three-quarter length sleeves won't get in the way of whatever "work" you have to do around the house like blogging, paying bills, or if you have to, doing the previous week's dirty dishes.

The best part of the dress? The all-weekend price of $39.99.

The dress is on sale at Gap.

I'm really intrigued by the bold, graphic prints of CUT-IT-OUT, a collection of jersey clothing and accessories created by Russian-born designer Yelena Konovalova. Yelena grew up studying art in St. Petersburg before moving to New York to immerse herself in the world of fashion design, first as a student at Parsons and later as Design Director for Catherine Malandrino.

The women's long sleeve Man Woman Man shirt is my favorite piece from the new collection, which features innovative cotton jersey clothing for both men and women. These are not your average t-shirts. Yelena created these single color designs through a process of cutting and folding paper ... although these pieces are probably much more intricate and interesting than those paper snowflakes you made in elementary school. The current lighthearted collection of limited edition pieces was inspired by Russian folk art and pagan fairytales. These would be the perfect comfy yet stylish clothes to spend your weekend daydreaming away in.

Prices range from $30-$120. Available at CUT-IT-OUT.net and Smashing Darling.

Even if all we're doing on a Sunday afternoon is doing "necessary" things around the house like paying bills and doing laundry, we still want to look cute in front of the boy who's watching a couple of football games in the living room. It's a casual affair, which means Joie's Casual Affair Tunic Dress is perfect. The dress is made of a soft stretchy blend of tencel and supima cotton and comes in a bright orange-pink called saffron. The dress has long sleeves so it's not too inappropriate for mid-January, and yet the fabric is not too heavy for inside.

The Casual Affair Tunic dress is on sale from Amazon for $54.99.

Given that Graeme Black's designer Jonathan Reed is a former interior designer, it makes sense that the one shoulder dress has an architectural feel with its assymetrical one shoulder shape and diagonal cream and black brushstroke stripes. The dress is made of cotton and features a short side slit at them hem that falls to the knee. We don't necessarilt love the shoes it's shown with, but can absolutely see a pair of black peep-toe slingbacks with this dress.

Graeme Black's One Shoulder Dress is available from Neiman Marcus for $1995.

It's called a coat, but really, isn't the Flora Fleece by Twisted Heart a very heavy dress?

The cotton fleece dress features an adorable Peter Pan collar and lantern sleeves with raw edges. The "dress" buttons down the front, topped off with a fabric rosette. You could wear this is as a jacket/coat, but with the wide-open collar and the shortened sleeves, it limits over what you can wear it.

The Twisted Heart "Flora" Fleece Jacket/Dress is available at Nordstrom in Grey Heather (shown), Black, and Ecru, for $150.

It's time to start thinking about all those Holiday parties coming up, isn't it?

Since jewel tones are big this season and they're a perennial choice for Holiday dressing, the Sleeveless Tie Dress by Elijah is a natural, especially since it's also purple. Oddly enough, the eggplant colored dress is made of 100% cotton, though it's got a sheen to it. The gathered neckline ties around the neck, halter-style, and features a sexy keyhole opening in the back. We're thinking a giant-jewel accented sandal as the perfect pair for this dress.

Available from Neiman Marcus for $265.

Different women look better or worse in different dress styles, and for me, the halter dress is one that seems to work well. Black Halo's black cotton halter dress with ultra low back is currently on my radar. The fact that something wraps around my neck not only accentuates one of my better features, my shoulders, but it also creates the illusion of a waistline, which I don't have at all. The Black Halo dress makes the waistline even more exaggerated with a wide "belt."

I know that a lot of women like wearing halter style tops and dresses because it draws attention to a good chest, but I am very sorely lacking in the pectoral region. Thankfully, this dress has little bit of a ruffle detail around the neckline to hide that!

The black halter dress from Black Halo is available from Bleu Clothing for $328.

By now you know I have an obsession with white, and in particular, white dresses. Eyelet is a little much for me, but I'm certainly okay with it for one season.

Rebecca Taylor's Empire Shift Dress is 100% with oversized eyelet detail throughout. There's a removable flower brooch at the bust (which I would take off because I'd rather wear a necklace with a giant pendant). The dress falls a reasonable 35", which is perfect for showing off those goregeous (safely) tanned gams, and don't make the mistake I did over covering up with black knee high boots. Nude heels would be my choice, but even a darling pair of red or other colored patent leather heels would be cute.