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Thank you! Thank you! Thank all of you and a lot of other people for seeing us through our first fourteen years! It has been an amazing amount of fun, and looking back at how much has changed and how fast it has all gone by, my head is spinning!!!.....and I fully intend to keep it that way for the foreseeable future.....!
I love always having something (and sometimes MANY things) to be excited about, and this is one of those MANY times.....
When she's good.....Meg Staley designs casuals to live in, travel in, play in..... This BREAD collection of black and white and gray cotton knit is nothing short of perfect! Dots and stripes and appliqués that are whimsical AND sophisticated just make you feel happy to be wearing them!!! I kept thinking that I must order more on Monday the entire time I was hanging up and marking these new goodies.....
You all know and love our ItemZ linen shirts.....well, here are the first cotton ones! Shadow stripe cotton that is crisp yet soft in white or black with brushed silver buttons is perfect for any season.....and who ever doesn't need another great white cotton blouse!?.....and now black ones too.....
Anya continues to amaze us with her constant stream of new styles and patterns in her now collectible tee shirts. Very clever girl she is....always wearing the new design that we haven't seen yet. We have gotten a little smarter and now order more pieces of each style....and also order each one to size extra large!
On the tee shirt front, the girls at Rock Al are no slouches either! These young designers are constantly coming up with new treatments and amusing details to make their line extra special. Some of the new ones you see here are actually already spring styles that we asked them to make with long sleeves so that they can be worn NOW!!!
And speaking of spring..... The first time a customer asked me where the new spring clothes were the day after New Years, I knew that it is never too early, especially because so many of our things are "wear now". Well, our Lynn Mizono spring collection is here, and a lot of it can be "worn NOW"!!! I must admit that when I was told that we were getting such an early delivery I was a bit taken aback, BUT.....our newest pieces are made of indigo denim (yes, denim....much to everyone's surprise!), linen, and cotton organdy. Most of the styles that you see in the drawing are available in denim, a nice soft denim. The Answer Dress is one of my personal favorites because it can be worn three different ways.....depending on one's mood and choice of accessories.....I am also quite taken with the New Moon Shirt for its slouchy but sophisticated look. The Manuscript Blouse is back again, this time in white cotton organdy. This is our very most popular piece.....we also have it in white crushed Italian polyester, white cotton stretch with black polka dots, or black with white dots. Gee, sounds like we love this line a lot!?!?!?
Ray Harris has to be one of the hardest working and dedicated designers alive! I can call his London studio at ten o'clock on a Saturday night, and get his chipper voice answering the phone as though EVERYONE works all the time!......Ray promised me some of his new pleated poly jackets and pants in time for the holidays.....is that maybe why he works so late??? They are HERE!!! I got a little bit braver about color this year and actually strayed away from black .....instead we have pine and acid and raspberry and a repeat of my favorite, donkey (that's GRAY). These are dramatic but easy styles to wear and a wonder for travel the way they twist up into a little ball. They are obviously perfect for dressed-up holiday events, but they work equally well thrown on casually with.....whatever.....!
Now, let's talk accessories.....
Do we ever have accessories!.....and these are just the newest ones.....
Marcia DeCoster must have been working day and night to make us this nothing short of spectacular collection of felted wool bags and flowers!!! The first few that she made were out of here almost as soon as they got here, so we are thrilled to have more. Each one-of-a-kind piece is very special in its coloration with exquisite hand-made beaded details in handblown glass and Swarovski crystal beads. They take my breath away! The only hard part is choosing.....
Felted wool has become one of my favorite art forms, and we certainly have a lot of talented artists is this area. Ruth Spencer happens to be my other favorite, with her innovative silk/wool color combinations and quirky styling. Ruth just brought us a new collection of her polka dot scarves, and we have quite a few colors in her curly neckpieces as well.
While we are in the worm and cozy area.... we have fabulous handwarmers for the winter ahead (or, in some cases, the winter NOW!). We have fancy Victorian felted wool ones from London , soft and fluffy knit ones from France , and stitched jerseys from San Francisco . These are the greatest holiday gifts too!!!!
Ana Livingston has completed our first collection of her bold and colorful necklaces and earrings! I am SO happy to finally have COLOR in our jewelry selection that I can hardly stand it!!!! But you will.....
Susan Riedweg must have known that we were going to have spring clothing collections early when she completed our spring handbag collection early as well, We have the best collection ever of both her bags and new cosmetic purses..... She has become our newest addiction.....
In the bag department....we have just gotten some charming passport bags and cosmetic cases of fine Italian leather with wonderful screened photographs from an artist in New York. We have quite a nice selection of motifs in addition to the ones we have pictured.
We have new jewelry from Jill Schwartz, whom you know and love.
Talya Baharal just sent us a great new grouping of her sterling silver earrings.
.....and there's SO MUCH MORE.....
We have great gifts for everyone.....fun and whimsy to bring a smile or a giggle.
I could go on forever, but then who would be ordering more dots and stripes???
This is a very exciting time of year for us.....both with the holidays ahead and a change of the seasons coming.....it gives us the best of everything! Part of that "best of everything" is having all of you be so gracious and supportive over the past fourteen years.....We wish you and those you love, EVERYBODY, the joy and blessings of the holiday season!
Love to you all,
Kati
415.362.3437
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