Wear What When

Style Counsel

Back to School with Olivine

Talking to boutique owner Julie Wray about her newest virtual venture.

Posted by: Saba Sulaiman on Sep 01, 2011 at 07:00AM 0 Comments

Remember when one of Ballard’s favorite boutiques morphed into a dotcom? Owner Julie Wray is definitely enjoying her decision to go digital—so much so that she recently announced Olivine Charm School, a sort of private academy on her blog.

Wray is targeting entrepreneurially inclined women looking for the lowdown on starting (and maintaining) a small business. Olivine Charm School’s first class starts on September 19 and runs for four weeks. Tuition is $97; a portion of proceeds go to Women for Women International.

Here, three questions for one of the style scene’s most successful women.

WWW: So, how will these online classes work?
JW: I wanted to create a place where a woman could go to find something fun and inspirational that was geared specifically towards her. Each lesson will consist of my little gems on each topic, as well as a worksheet, links to other articles and videos that will be helpful, and really good resources. Each week I will be interviewing someone that has an inspiring business. There will also be a Q & A each Friday where I will be answering as many questions as I can get to. This class will be a great starting point for someone that has always wanted to start a business, and it will also be inspiring to anyone that currently owns a business.

I have so many exciting classes in the works, and a couple local celebrities are going to come in and do some classes for Charm School as well (no, I can’t tell you who yet!) I can tell you that these are some topics that we have in the works: Finding your personal style, weight loss through glitter and high heels, writing your first book and getting it published, photography, getting pregnant, having a charmed pregnancy, manifesting your desires and more!

There’s a sense of passing it on from one enlightened being to the next. Who inspired you to start these classes? What were your favorite teachers like?
Regena Thomashauer (of Mama Gena’s) completely inspired me to go after all of my dreams, especially the ones that scared the #$%$ out of me! I also studied with Geneen Roth and Christiane Northrup, both of whom inspired me to work with women in the realms of health, body, fertility, and pregnancy. The most influential person though was probably Danielle Laporte. I had a couple of extremely powerful coaching sessions with her where I really got to the heart of what I wanted to do and how I wanted to achieve it. She is pure genius!

How do you personally keep learning and growing? Is there something you’ve always wanted to learn more about? What online class would you sign up for?
I take classes like crazy! I just finished a year at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. I’m doing a weekend photography workshop in September and am off to New York in October for a weekend of women and business. If I’m not learning something, I feel so stagnant. I also try to surround myself with as many inspiring women as possible. I have met so many women over the years that are doing crazy amazing things. I try to get some of it to rub off on me!

I am waiting to find an online class about Photoshop that is sexy enough to keep my attention.

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Tags: Locally Made, Locally Designed, Online Shopping, Internet

Online Sale: Grain

Shop locally and sustainably produced modern goods at 15 percent off.

Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Nov 18, 2010 at 04:00PM 0 Comments

Where: Local design collective Grain’s online store

What: Take 15 percent off smart home products and upcycled accessories. Look for the can’t-miss-it discount code on Grain’s site when you’re shopping.

When: Now through December 15

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Tags: Gift Guide, Locally Designed, Online Shopping, Online Sale

Virtual Reality: Rubbish Rehab

A peak inside the Etsy store where old chairs go in ugly and come out uniquely stylish.

Posted by: Amanda LaPlante on Sep 03, 2010 at 08:00AM 5 Comments

This month’s local Etsian is Chloe Chinn, part-owner, along with her husband, of Rubbish Rehab. In the Chinn’s workspace, unsightly chairs get a clean break and a fresh start in contemporary homes. With its sustainable methodologies and current-yet-vintage so-Seattle look, the redone, recovered chairs evoke our gorgeous little neck of the woods and bring nature and harmony into the comfort of your dinning room, living room or office.

Flip through the slideshow here to learn more about the Chinn’s work and to see how antique dining room and occasional chairs are sanded, painted, and enameled, and then recovered in designer home decor fabrics.

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Tags: Locally Made, Locally Designed, Online Shopping, Etsy.com, Rubbish Rehab, Seattle Etsy, Virtual Reality

News You Can Use

(…to go New York, the new Loft location, and Nordstrom.com)

Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Aug 27, 2010 at 07:30AM 0 Comments

NEW YORK NEW YORK

I. So you’re into this whole Fashion’s Night Out thing? Really into it? Like, really, really into it? The Shops at the Bravern are offering a three-day two-person trip to New York for the real-deal parties, fashion shows, and shopping events. You can enter to win on the Bravern’s Facebook page. Hurry though: The contest ends on August 29.

a. While you’re in New York, you might be interested in dropping in at the Vilcek Foundation, where once-local designer Madina Vadache is showing 19 debut designs from her spring 2011 collection. (One of them is pictured here.) We’ve featured the designer’s work in our fashion and Bride & Groom spreads; it’s great to see her getting a high-profile show — sort of an off-Lincoln Center extended Fashion Week thing — in her new homebase. Sort of: The Vilcek Foundation exists to “heighten public awareness of the contributions made by immigrants to the American arts and science.”

NEW TO TOWN

II. You know that former Adidas store at Fifth and Pike? It’s going to be an outpost of LOFT, the Ann Taylor sub-line. (Yes, most LOFT stores are actually at least upstairs if not in a loft. The Seattle street-level LOFT marks the first such non-elevated location.) In a development that shocked and surprised cynical style watchers, cool indie fashion sites like Refinery 29 started making a big deal out of the brand in recent months. Also, less indie ones like Style.com. And then there was that whole image retouching thing. But I digress. Fact is: Along with the whole M’Obama-led White House Black Market thing, LOFT’s image is getting fashion-y-er and more fashion-y-er. Around here we’re pretty big on shopping local, but we understand that you might purchase a mass-marketed cardigan from time to time, too. The store is set to open in time for the holidays.

a. Soma Intimates, a lingerie chain, is set to open at Pacific Place on September 8. The New York-based bra-and-pantie shop is offering one free bra with any $75 purchase through 9/22/10. Locally owned lingerie shops? Sure thing, right here.

b. By the way, have you been watching the developments at the old Cold Water Creek location, where All Saints is set to open up shop?

POINT AND CLICK

III. Nordstrom.com relaunched, and the New York Times took notice. Call me local yokel but I like seeing our town’s name leading off a national fashion sales story with a positive bent. From the NYT piece: “In fact, Nordstrom, based in Seattle, has been the department store with one of the best improvements in same-store sales over the last year, when its overall sales reached $8.26 billion. While it may not seem revolutionary, a melding of Web site and store is surprisingly rare in the retailing world.”

a. Of course, Nordstrom.com isn’t the only local shop to meld its site with its store. Blackbird in Ballard and Totokaelo in West Edge are two boutiques that maintain a whip-smart, high-style, huge numbers web presence, and, as would follow, legions of international online customers.

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Tags: new, Seattle in the News, Locally Designed, New York, Online Shopping, New, Soon, and Gone, Retail News

What’s Your Take On… the Worishofer?

A one-act play about this season’s version of the Ugg boot

Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Aug 20, 2010 at 08:00AM 0 Comments

Date: A stifling hot afternoon that now feels like ancient history but was probably this past Monday — though it might have been Tuesday. The heat makes even the days melt.

Setting: A set of horribly uncomfortable wrought-iron chairs outside a downtown cafe.

Characters: Me and Her

Her: What’s that shoe that Michelle Whatsherface has been wearing?

Me: Sorry, I’m going to need more information. Obama? Trachtenberg? Michelle Who??

Her: Oh… (snaps fingers) … Williams! Yeah. Adorable Michelle Williams. And that nursing home sandal with the unpronounceable name.

Me: Worishofer.

Her: Do people wear those here?

Me: Sure, yeah.

Her: Like who?

Me: I mean, I don’t have a list or anything. Are you in the market for a pair?

Her: I can’t decide. Who carries them?

Me: I know Olivine, now in its online incarnation, does.

Her: Good to know. They seem comfortable. I mean, they must be comfortable.

Me: They must be?

Her: Yeah, I mean, because they’re so …

Me: Ugly?

Her: Yeah.

Me: I don’t know that they’re that ugly. No, wait — I don’t know that they’re ugly at all. The colors are nice — and there’s nothing wrong with a classic, ‘70s-feeling cork wedge. Topped with a pair of straight-legged, high-waisted jeans and a crisp, tucked-in menswear-inspired shirt with the sleeves rolled up? That’ll take you from late-summer right into early fall.

Her: You’re right. And they’re not ugly. I mean, not like … you know.

Me: What?

Her: Uggs.

Me: Hm, yeah, well. No comment.

Curtain

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Tags: Shoes, Online Shopping, What's Your Take On...

Sales

Link Trader: The Virtual Shopkeeper

Check out the 40 percent off sale at La Rousse, and check out the owner’s favorite sites

Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Jun 17, 2010 at 08:00AM 4 Comments

Seattle-based online boutique La Rousse headed into its spring/summer sale yesterday; see what you can score for 40 percent off, then check out owner Amanda Rosenthal’s favorite links.

From Amanda:

INDEPENDENTS WITH GREAT STYLE

Park and Cube I love seeing Shini’s perspective on fashion that includes vintage, DIY, designer and cheap wares from the H&Ms of the world. She also makes a lot of unique pieces (DIY) herself and shows you how to do it in pretty step-by-step photography. Her sense of style is financially attainable and wearable so I like to see how she mixes things up.

Sea of Shoes Most of us know Jane Aldridge’s blog as she as has been showing up in lookbooks and magazines for a few years now. How can one woman travel and have so much fun while wearing the most inspiring fashion? Lucky girl! Her asthetic changes on a daily basis, but her love of vintage (both designer and not) cannot be ignored. She’s never worried about over-doing it, and I appreciate her opulent fashion sense that works at the Dallas opera or Coachella. After seeing the Seattle uniform of hoodies, urban sneakers, jeans and a vintage tee, it is refreshing to see someone’s take on fashion that is so different. So many colors, heels and skirts!

Kingdom of Style Kingdom of Style is a hugely popular British blog about all things fashion related. It is lead by Queen Michelle and Queen Marie who share their adventures, experiences and experiments within the world of style. Kingdom of Style is filled with fashion do-it-yourself, interiors, jewels and outfits, all portrayed with a large slice of humor. I like their darker perspective on fashion that incorporates a bit of Goth and fantasy. They also highlight a number of smaller designers that I would not know about if I hadn’t read Kingdom of Style.

DESIGNERS/SHOWROOMS

Mary Meyer Clothing Mary Meyer is one of my favorite designers; her brand represents easy, wearable everyday style as well as plays a huge roll in the indie music scene. Her warm and friendly sense of community pops up all over the country as she sponsors events in NY, LA, San Francisco and hey! maybe Seattle some day. She’s not just a designer trying to sell clothing to the masses. She enjoys coordinating fun events with a local presence. Everyone is always welcome too. No snobbery here.

w29 Showroom This is my favorite showroom in New York City. The proprietor extraordinaire, Susanne, has an acute fashion sense that is truly special. She represents hard-to-find lines such as Rodebjer, Margarita Saplala, Draugsvold and Octopi. On the showroom’s blog, you can see lookbooks from her lines before they are shown to the masses as well as stay current with any press they have received across the globe. In an industry that has been a bit late in embracing technology, I appreciate how W29 has stayed ahead of the curve with social media and what’s new in music.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race Slow and Steady Wins the Race is more than a clothing line. They are a clothing label presented as a bimonthly clothing diary, cataloging ideas that are focused on a specific and fundamental characteristic of clothing design. With each issue, Slow and Steady Wins the Race intends to slowly open the cap on a more democratic dissemination, promotion and appreciation of clothing. The mission of the label is to push and produce interesting and significant pieces from the simplest fabrics and materials. I enjoy reading their blog to see what the next “issue” will be and also to see what unique events they are doing in New York. When you view their collections in person, the events are set-up more like an art exhibit than a fashion show.

PORTALS OF STYLE

Paperdoll Once a top retail destination for independent fashion labels, now Paperdoll follows smaller designers from the US, Canada and abroad in an easy-to-read format. They do a great job in finding fledgling designers that are just about to make it big. This is a great resource.

Lookbook Lookbook.nu is a fashion blogger’s dream and a unique concept that I have not scene before. It catalogs fashion bloggers from Seattle to Bangkok by allowing anyone to post pictures of themselves in awesome outfits. As you scroll through the latest pics and find something you like, click on the picture to see other outfits from the fashionista and learn their blog URL. Lookbook.nu is a very active community connecting fashion lovers all over the globe. Who knew there were so many fashion bloggers with truly unique style?

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Tags: Online Shopping, Link Trader, Spring/Summer sale 2010

Retail News, Buy Mail

New Today! Olivine Online

Julie Wray tells us why her beloved Ballard shop closed, and why she’s bringing it back

Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Mar 11, 2010 at 06:30AM 8 Comments

When Olivine closed its Ballard Ave doors in the summer of 08, you could pretty much hear hearts breaking all over the city. Women loved that store. The clothes were feminine, but they were easy. The vibe was low-key, but not ordinary. You could go there and leave with something special. Seattle was really sad to see it go.

But then Olivine owner Julie Wray popped back up at Show Pony in Fremont, and all was right in the world. Recently, however, she sold the shop, and again, I keep having that conversation with people, What happened to Julie?

Well, she’s back — as of today. Shopolivine.com joins la-rousse.com in that small but one-can-only-expect-growing category of brick and mortars-gone-digital. If you like to shop in front of your laptop and you also like to shop local, you’re in luck.

Here’s the scoop:

Wear What When: Seattle women loved it so… why you decide to close Olivine?

Julie Wray: Great question! The real deal is that I was tired of owning a retail store that required so much in the way of travel, employees, inventory etc. I had just recently gotten married and we were getting ready to get pregnant. After 16 years of owning retail stores and being single I was ready to prepare my life for a family! It just so happened that I closed Olivine before the recession hit, so I got to leave on a high note. Business was always good at Olivine from the day we opened.

WWW: And what about Show Pony? Just when they thought they had you back …

JW: Show Pony was supposed to be my version of a pop-up shop! My intention was to only be open for a year. It surprised me that it ended up doing as well as it did, so I thought it would be better to sell it instead, and I found the perfect person to take it over.

WWW: Olivine online launches today. What do you love about being online-only and what scares you about it?

JW: Selling online will be a totally new challenge for me and I am so excited about it. I started and ran four successful retail locations, but I don’t know anything about selling online! I love a challenge… I have very little overhead now so there is a lot more freedom to offer little perks. We’ll be doing: Free same-day delivery in Seattle, one-day only pop-up shops around town, and private in home parties starting in the fall. And of course, It gives me the freedom to relax and enjoy my business and my family! The huge bonus for me is that I get to work from home and watch my beautiful seven week old baby grow up!

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Tags: Locally Made, Accessories, new, Locally Designed, Online Shopping, Health and Beauty