Wear What When

Just Landed: Terra New York at Seattle E-Bike

A new bike shop, a new style-minded rainwear line.

Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Jan 24, 2012 at 08:00AM 0 Comments

SLIDESHOW: Terra New York’s bike-friendly rain jackets. Here, the belted trench—heat-sealed and on-trend.

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SLIDESHOW: Terra New York’s bike-friendly rain jackets. Here, the belted trench—heat-sealed and on-trend.

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The hooded parka can accommodate a helmet.

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Double-breasted rainproof cape? Very Seattle.

When Seattle E-Bike opens on January 25 in Pioneer Square and begins pedaling American-made electric bicycles, they’ll also be selling some pretty good-looking raincoats.

Engineered for action, Terra New York’s heat-sealed (no needles are harmed in the making of these jackets!) cinch-waist trenches, cropped capes, and hooded parkas manage to feature storm flaps, ventilation systems, and high fashion detailing—and … wait for it … ‘the extra low-vapor polyurethane is specially fabricated to rapidly biodegrade in a compost or a landfill.’

‘We chose Seattle E-Bike because of its commitment to quality, its total concentration on the electric bike rider, and its beautiful store in historic Pioneer Square—not dissimilar to our home in Chelsea near the High Line in New York,’ says designer Yurika Nakazono.

Nakazono and her partner Marie Saeki join the likes of Seattle’s Iva Jean and Victoria Simons in the game of dry style. I feel like I get wind (ha!) of a new wet-weather jacket every week or so. The ‘10s might well be remembered as fashion’s rain gear years.

Check out the slideshow here for a look at Terra’s stylishly dry collection.

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Tags: All-Weather Fashion

Local Designers Love Coats

Three Seattle-based collections of outerwear for your consideration.

Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Dec 22, 2011 at 07:00AM 0 Comments

Photo: Freeman Facebook

SLIDESHOW: Seattle makes coats. Here, a classic model from Freeman.

View Slideshow » Photo: Freeman Facebook

SLIDESHOW: Seattle makes coats. Here, a classic model from Freeman.

View Slideshow » Photo: Wraphabillement

A look from Wraphabillement.

View Slideshow » Photo: Lila Getty

A Lila Getty coat.

Three of anything equals a trend, right?

Awhile back I introduced you to Wraphabillement the locally designed outerwear company from Elizabeth Roberts.

And then I got wind of Lila Getty by Bellevue designer Sheila Getz. While Wraphabillement is due to hit Nordstrom stores in spring, the three styles in this line are currently offered at David Lawrence at the Bravern. Where Roberts’ wraps are made in Canada, Getz’s are a domestic product.

Not long after I made the above comparisons, I heard about Freeman, a real homegrown kind of thing putting out a very clean-lined, classic product. Domestic? Even better: totally local.

Of course, it’s no head scratcher. Seattle designers make outerwear; SoCal designers make swimwear. (Though that’s no hard-and-fast either—remember last summer’s Seattle-made swimwear craze?)

But it seems an especially tough row to hoe in terms of emerging lines. Or is it just me? When you’re shopping—whether for coats, dresses, or button-downs—do you look for designers you know and trust? When and with what inspiration are you able to make a jump for a new line? Or maybe the question is, “at what price point?”

Ponder these, and click through the slideshow here to see looks from all three local designers. Then let us know what you think.

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Tags: Locally Made, Locally Designed, Seattle Designer, All-Weather Fashion

Jeffrey x Columbia Sportswear

Two outerwear stories in two days. Must be November in the Northwest.

Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Nov 01, 2011 at 01:00PM 0 Comments

SLIDESHOW: Jeffrey x Columbia Sportswear. Here, the premium 800-fill power 90/10 goose down vest. Classic, but slim cut for a lean line.

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SLIDESHOW: Jeffrey x Columbia Sportswear. Here, the premium 800-fill power 90/10 goose down vest. Classic, but slim cut for a lean line.

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Next time someone tries to give you lip about Seattle’s obsession with fleece, remember who wanted this one put into production: A New Yorker with a rep for defining leading designers and giving Nordstrom an edge, that’s who.

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Just a puffy coat, right? Right, though I’m sure the fit is lean and flattering.

Eddie Bauer teamed up with Nigel Cabourn (see slide 7), North Face got into the sleeping bag with Supreme. There’s that Adam Kimmel x Carhartt thing, and Levi’s x Filson.

And now that Jeffrey (as in Kalinsky, he of the extremely cool self-named boutiques in New York and Atlanta, and more recently, of Nordstrom) has teamed with Oregon-based Columbia Sportswear, it’s clear the designer collaboration thing has taken to the great outdoors.

Worth noting: Kalinsky went to Columbia and pitched the team-up, saying he wanted to create an urbanized set of outerwear for himself and for his clients. The collection is sold at Jeffrey and at Nordstrom, but not at Columbia’s outpost near Third Ave.

Good thing you can check the slideshow here for an introduction.

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Tags: All-Weather Fashion

Introducing Wraphabillement

A Seattle mom bests North Face with her good-looking all-weather gear.

Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Oct 31, 2011 at 06:40AM 4 Comments

Elizabeth Roberts (center) with dancers from the Danish Royal Ballet in Wraphabillement.

It started as a lark: Seattle mom and former New Yorker Elizabeth Roberts set out to design and fabricate some coats for a fashion show fundraiser for Island Wood, but they sort of took on a life of their own.

Wraphabillement, the locally designed, Canadian-made line of water- and windproof, protective outwear is pretty enough for the Royal Danish Ballet—they made it their official cold-weather solution—and smart enough for a legion of women from New York, Chicago, Seattle, and San Francisco—via private trunk shows and trunk shows at Nordstrom—who want something more style-conscious than your average tech-fabric mega-brand provides.

Take, for instance, the Sportif in turmeric: the silhouette rounds the right curves, pleated grosgrain ribbon balances the utilitarian air of high-end Swiss-made Schoeller performance fabric, an invisible forearm pocket stows keys or lip balm but doesn’t interfere with the coat’s graceful line, and a hidden hood is at the ready. But two other features further differentiate Roberts’ product: hand mitts, made with reflective fabric, tuck up into the sleeve (there when you need them, gone when you don’t) and a patent-pending exclusive Smartsheild inside pocket which decreases Cell Phone Specific Absorption Rates by more than 95 percent.

Roberts and her crew say these style decisions and tech innovations are aimed at creating outwear that works all day without requiring a costume change; outerwear that’s “practical enough for walking the kids to school yet elegant enough for a glittering evening in any world capital.” Like the one you live in.

The line will eventually be carried in Nordstrom Bellevue and a few of the retailer’s other stores, but you may not be keen on waiting for eventually now that the elements are more or less upon us. Wraphabillement Wednesdays address your immediate shopping needs.

Starting this week, November 9, you can join Roberts at HQ—Arboretum Court, 3121 E Madison St, Suite 206A, conveniently located above Canopy Blue and waving distance from Frenchy’s in Madison Park—each Wednesday from 2:30 to 7 when the design studio and office space becomes a showroom and shop.

A percentage of all sales goes to breast cancer research and early childhood learning.

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Tags: Locally Designed, Seattle Designer, All-Weather Fashion

Video: Behind the Scenes with Fall Fashion

An inside look at our fall fashion editorial.

Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Sep 22, 2011 at 06:00AM 0 Comments

No matter how disgruntled you were with this summer’s weather, it’s hard to argue with a fall that’s this gorgeous. Especially considering the fall looks that are in stores and on the streets—and, if you don’t mind me saying so, in Seattle Met. (Big thanks to New York-by-way-of-Woodinville photographer Alvin Nguyen and our locally based models from Heffner and SMG).

You can see our fall fashion editorial, the New West, here, and for more insight on what inspired the images, check this mini-feature (ha!) of outtakes, extras, and commentary by yours truly.

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Tags: Seattle Designer, All-Weather Fashion

Iva Jean on Daily Candy

Help a Seattle designer by voting for her rain cape on Daily Candy.

Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Sep 08, 2011 at 07:00AM 0 Comments

Photo: Kyle Johnson for Iva Jean

From the Iva Jean website: “Continuing a legacy of timeless outerwear products produced in the Pacific Northwest, the Rain Cape was designed and made in Seattle, a place more than used to a little rain.”

To be perfectly honest with you, I can’t remember the last time I heard someone say, “I saw it on Daily Candy.”

The once ubiquitous email update brand dramatically decreased its local staffing and presence years ago, but a Seattle designer managed to bring those two words back into my lexicon. At least temporarily. Ann DeOtte of Iva Jean is a contest with—get this—a rain cape.

It wouldn’t have caught DC’s eye, or ours, if it were just a rain cape though. DeOtte’s all-weather, on-trend design is geared toward bikers (so Northwest) and it’s good looking (think that piping is just for pop? nah, c’mon, it’s for added visibility on fog-socked rain-clouded days).

Here, three questions for DeOtte. When you’re done reading them, head to the Daily Candy site and vote for Iva Jean (and Seattle!) on the Daily Candy contest page. Voting ends September 14; winners are announced September 16. And reannounced here shortly thereafter. We’ll keep you updated.

WWW: What came first, biking or designing? Do you have a design background?
AD: I have always loved creating, but my passion for design really started to grow when I moved to Seattle over six years ago. I started working as a marketing coordinator and graphic designer for a landscape architecture firm and really immersed myself in the design community. I began making jewelry, screenprinting and other small items, as well as started a design and lifestyle blog, Still Dottie. While all of this is happening, I gave up my car and opted to rely on my bike to get around town. My interests in bike culture and design started growing together and I would spend my time on my bike thinking about how I could merge my interests.

What made you want to enter Daily Candy’s contest?
A couple of friends forwarded the announcement and I just got a feeling that this is one contest I could win. I thought that it might be the break I needed and that it would be a great way to continue to promote a lifestyle that encourages casual biking.

If you won and were able to go to New York and learn from industry insiders and take full advantage of Daily Candy’s Academy, where do you imagine taking your line? What other items do you see yourself designing?
I’m currently working with a group in Seattle to develop a couple more products. Right now, the focus is on clothing that works on and off your bike. I’m really fascinated with the idea of creating a skirt that works in all situations.

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Tags: Seattle Designer, All-Weather Fashion

Trunk Show: Kimberly Baker, Victoria Simons, Oysters, Chops

Frank’s Oyster House in Ravenna becomes a runway of sorts on the afternoon of May 21.

Posted by: Laura Cassidy on May 10, 2011 at 07:00AM 0 Comments

SLIDESHOW: Victoria Simons’ dresses and Kimberly Baker’s jewelry, both designed and handmade in Seattle.

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SLIDESHOW: Victoria Simons’ dresses and Kimberly Baker’s jewelry, both designed and handmade in Seattle.

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Another look from Simons’ spring look book. Her pieces are currently being sold at Kimberly Baker’s Fremont shop.

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Baker’s pieces are always more than pretty, and more than tough. They manage to be feminine as well as strong. (Then again, don’t most of your favorite women manage the same?)

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Where: Frank’s Oyster House and Champagne Parlor

What: A trunk show that pairs spring pieces from Kimberly Baker’s history-hued bangles and narrative-driven necklaces with Seattle designer Victoria Simons’ ladylike-with-an-edge dresses (check the slideshow here to preview the look) but takes them out of the shop and puts them near what our reviewer calls “retro food executed with such respect (and served with such terrific bubbly and cocktails) there’s no way you can dismiss it.”

Because who says you have to have your trunk show in a boutique?

Frank’s co-owner Sarah Penn had this to say about the genesis of the idea, “Victoria will pop in and have her favorite Dover-Calais cocktail and one evening she mentioned that the circular floor plan at Frank’s would make a perfect runway and I just pictured a lovely spring afternoon event.”

So expect a runway of sorts too; styles from both designers will be on display, on models that is. Unless you decide to put your new purchases, at discounts of 20 percent, on and wear them around, too. In an email to friends and contacts last week, Baker also noted that a new raincoat line would be previewed. I didn’t have an opportunity to follow up on that, but girls in this town ought to be immediately interested.

When: Saturday, May 21 from 11:30 to 2:30. Reservations can be made by calling the restaurant (206-526-7655) and pre-purchasing a $15 ticket. Otherwise, you may purchase a ticket at the door, provided the event isn’t sold out. The entry fee includes a glass of bubbly; “small plates will be offered dim sum style for $3, $5, $7 and $9,” says Penn. “Guests will choose what they like as dishes are passed, and then tally up at the end. Bites include oysters on the half shell, mini Dungeness crab club rolls, nettle and ricotta blinis, smoked salmon lettuces cups, lamb or lentil empanadas, shiitake & Oregon shrimp potstickers, mini chocolate chili ice cream sandwiches and red velvet cupcakes. Frank’s full bar, as well as a special $6 drink list, will be available.”

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Tags: Accessories, Seattle Fashion Show, Seattle Trunk Show, Kimberly Baker, All-Weather Fashion