Tag Archives: indie fashion

Meet Me at the Corner of 9th & Elm!

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I was recently introduced to a great site called 9th & Elm (Handmade, independent, or otherwise cool™”).  If you are a regular reader of Any Second Now, you know I’m in full support of anything and everything independent and local, so 9th & Elm is right up my alley!  The founders of 9th & Elm, Clay and Elly Bethune, started their site back in 2013, wanting to provide their members with fashionable clothing and accessories that they have curated from some of the best handmade and independent designers.

I spent many an hour marveling through the fantastically fashionable items on 9th & Elm, and found three items that I fell in love with (all pictured below).  I can’t wait to share with you the fun outfit posts for each of the items, which I will post up in the next few weeks.  Since the weekend is coming up and July 4th is just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to shop handmade and independent on 9th & Elm!

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This bracelet reminds me of my father, who was in the US Navy (and matches my tattoo).  It almost looks vintage!

Tan and Black Anchor Arm Party Bracelet

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This t-shirt is hand painted by the designer.  You can choose whatever phrase you want, and I chose what was pictured on the site. Cute and funny!

Choose Your Own Short Phrase Ladies Notebook Paper Graphic© – T-Shirt

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I love this Stripe Chiffon Dress because it can be dressed up or down.  It looks great with sandals, as well as heels and a blazer!

 FTC Disclosure:  I received product and was asked to review the product and site in return.  Although I did receive product, the opinions in this post are strictly my own.

A New Indie Shopping Experience: Young Republic

When I think of the term “Indie”, it always reminds me of new and interesting bands or music that is off the beaten path.  Through my own fashion journey, I’ve also discovered indie label designers and artists.  To add to this indie designer theme I seem to be on this week, I was recently asked to check out a new shopping site called Young Republic.  This site was established on August 27th, 2012 in Sydney, Australia by Marianne Sea and Andrew Yang and features over 750 independent international designers.  I’ll have to say that I was very impressed by the variety this site has to offer.  I found plenty of jewelry, clothing and accessories that I would like for myself, but also for my whole family and even for my home.  The following are pictures are just a tiny sampling of the hundreds of fantastic finds on Young Republic.  I chose two images from the “Home+Life” section, and two designers that became instant favorites: designhype and LeMuse.  Support independent designers by visiting Young Republic!

Orange Clock by Objectify Homeware

Panda iPhone Case by Hooby Groovy (fits 3G, 3GS, 4, 4S)

Deep Blue felted wool Bell muse coat by LeMuse

Black double collar Flower Muse felted wool coat with viscose lining by LeMuse (this coat is stunning!)

NYC Metro Cuff in cyan by designhype

London Tube Cuff in black by designhype (I have this one; outfit post to come!)

This is their new Christmas Collection 2012 (click on the link on the left or the picture). I’ll have one of everything please!

(All photos courtesy of Young Republic)

FTC Disclosure:  I was asked to review the site without compensation and the opinions in this post are strictly my own.

Pull This Thread

On Sunday, I went to a great independent fashion event called the Thread Show.  What is it?  Here are a couple of quotes from their site:

THREAD is a curated showcase of the best emerging, trend forecasting, style breaking, genre bending fashion designers, and the music and art that rock their world.

THREAD is a dynamic one day retail environment, bringing new fashion and art to more than 200,000 fashion savvy, trend pushing, music loving, taste making movers and shakers, all keen to get first dibs on what drops next in the emerging fashion designer world.

The San Diego event was held in a “recycled” space at the Horton Plaza mall and reminded me of a space out in the Reseda/Ventura area that held several booths of independent vendors selling everything from handmade jewelry and fashions to vintage and reworked items.  The Thread Show, however, premieres up and coming fashion, accessory and home-wear designers.  It also includes a salon, a bar, a DJ, food samples from local eateries and two runway fashion shows.  Since this was my first time attending, I walked around a little to get a feel for the event.

One of the first vendors I stopped and made a purchase from was called Double Take Fashion.  Owned by identical twins Nicole and Shelley Dozier, they began their business as a way to cope with their own personal illness.  They are based in Los Angeles and this was their first time at the Thread Show.  The little bolero jacket Nicole is wearing is adorable in person.

A booth called Nifty Curly was one that I stopped at briefly, then came back to to really dig into all of the wonderful pieces they had available.  Ellen of Nifty Curly stated that the pieces are “Upcycled Handmade”, meaning they get their leather pieces directly from apparel, accessory and furniture manufacturers to get the best quality possible.  There were so many pieces to select from!  My purchase for the day was the cute little button ring that had a gold leather band (third picture down of the Nifty Curly series).   Other standout pieces included coated leather leaf pendants (they looked so life-like), the “Wonder Woman” leather cuffs, and the leather wrap-around wrist bracelets that were actually hidden wallets!

My final purchase came from a booth called De La Luna Designs.  At first, I thought that the pieces had artwork on them.  I found out later through their website and after talking to the designer, Virginia Ayala, that they are re-worked vintage pieces.  The purse that I purchased was a vintage snake-skin purse with a cut-out fabric flower that was coated onto the purse.  The resulting look is amazing, as you can see in the pictures below.  They sell their items wholesale and their website has locations on where you can purchase these one-of-a-kind pieces.  I also love their tagline:  “Bringing Earth To Life Through Design.”

My day at the Thread Show ended with a fashion show, showcasing some of the designers who had booths at the event.  Because of where I was standing and the fact that I didn’t have my husband’s wonderful camera, my pictures were less than worthy.  I included just one of the shots of the runway where I had an actual full shot of an outfit.  Note to self:  take the hubby or another friend to future events to allow for better photo coverage.

I absolutely loved going to the Thread Show and I have to thank my friend for turning me onto this fantastic event (that’s you Christina!).  In chatting with Dara from Elle Communications (a local PR, marketing and event planning company whose client is Thread Show), I found out that this is a seasonal event occurring during the spring and fall.  Because of the indie vibe and exciting atmosphere, rest assured that this is an event that I will be attending season after season, whether it’s here in San Diego or elsewhere.