Thistle & Clover Diaries Issue 1

Issue I

September 2009

Front Cover The Thistle & Clover Diaries STORIES FROM THE DRESSING ROOM FLOOR

Make sure all important text & objects with .25" (or preferably .5") EXCLUSIVE LOOKS FROM THE FALL COLLECTIONS

TABLE OF CONTENTS Editors' Letter.....................Page 4.

Cloak & Dagger......................Page 5.

Lewis NYC...........................Page 6.

Edelweiss...........................Page 8.

Poupette............................Page 9.

Maria de la Luz.....................Page 10.

Yunhi...............................Page 12.

Rachel Antonoff.....................Page 14.

Rebecka Frรถberg.....................Page 15.

Sublet..............................Page 16.

Amanda Rudey........................Page 18.

Lauren Wimmer.......................Page 19.

Editors' Letter

CAMILLA GALE & RAND NIEDERHOFFER It is our great pleasure to introduce you to the first ever edition of The Thistle & Clover Diaries.

We opened Thistle & Clover in March 2008 with the glimmer of an idea: our store would feature the work of young, up and coming designers. In the short time we've been open, we've refined our aesthetic and found new ways to support our initial vision. We've been featured on Vogue Daily, Refinery29, and Daily Candy. We were also voted Editor's Favorite NY Boutique by Lucky Magazine. We're thrilled by the enthusiasm and the great response we've received from the Fort Greene community. We know it's due in no small part to the work we've done with our new talent.

Since the beginning, we have instituted 2 special programs that promote the work of aspiring designers: Our Open Call and our Tailored Event Nights.

We're delighted that the Open Call has become T&C's hallmark project. It is through this program that we've found some of our most promising new designers, 4 of whom are featured in the following pages.

The Tailored Event Nights we host have also been a fantastic way to showcase new talent and provide a special, meet-and-greet experience to our customers (our exclusive trunk show discounts don't hurt either). This past April, we hosted eco-friendly clothing line Sublet (pages 12 and 13) for an Earth Day trunk show. The party was a huge success and a lot of fun! The picture above was taken right before our favorite Fort Greene mommy group--with babies in tow--joined us in feasting on Lorax-esque cupcakes created especially for us

by Jewels of New York.

With all the fabulous fashion talent passing through our doors each season, we thought it a shame to let their stories go untold. The following pages will, we hope, unveil the sartorial zeitgeist behind our Fall 2009 designers: What inspires them? Who are their style icons? For which kind of girl do they design? An added perk: all items in The Diaries are available for pre-order!

Also, a Fall 2009 roster is listed in the back of the booklet.

Each one of these girls is a force to be reckoned with, and we're positive that this won't be the last you'll hear of them (it's really just the beginning!). So without further ado, we invite you to flip through the inaugural issue of The Thistle & Clover Diaries.

xoxo R & C

Cloak & Dagger BROOKELYNN STARNES

Edie Chiffon Tie Dress, $403 Brookelynn Starnes is the creative mastermind behind Cloak & Dagger, a New York-based clothing line with plenty of promise. Cloak & Dagger is replete with pretty day dresses, well-tailored shirting, and must-have coats. After just 6 seasons, Starnes took the plunge and opened her very first free-standing store--a daunting feat given the current economic climate!

Starnes received a BFA at Pratt Institute, just blocks away from Thistle & Clover's front door. While there, Starnes worked her way through school styling an enviable roster of high profile A-list clients such as Steven Meisel, Drew Barrymore, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Rachel Zoe. She launched Cloak & Dagger in 2005.

Shoulder Patch Shirt $194 Q. What are your key inspirations for this season?

A. The Great Gatsby meets old world France.

Q. What kind of girl do you design for?

A. She’s a coquette. She is very item driven and wants to feel sexy without letting it all hang out.

Q. Where is your favorite NY hang out?

A. My favorite place in NYC is my apartment, and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

Q. What's the best piece of fashion advice you've ever received?

A. The best fashion advice I’ve ever received is to buy great underwear!

Q. What's next?

A. I’m placing a lot of emphasis on prints, embroidery, and fabrics for Spring 2010. I see more stores, a menswear line, and a perfume in our future.

LEWIS NYC ALISON LEWIS

Alison Lewis is one half of the duo behind former label, Mooka Kinney. Mooka Kinney was beloved by a specific type of in-the-know indie darling (do the names Lily Donaldson and Zooey Deschanel ring a bell?). The disbanding of Mooka Kinney had hearts a breaking, but with Lewis NYC, Alison takes her love of vintage styling and party perfect frocks to new and spectacular heights.

“I have always been a huge collector of vintage, and I always get such a thrill out of finding that perfect piece. I wanted to bring that feeling into my clothes.”

Fall 2009 takes inspiration from timeworn circus photographs, and emblematic images of women from Dustbowl America in the '20s and '30s.

Up next for Lewis? Spring 2010. "It's very California Dreamin' meets sexy secretary. I try not to look too much to the future; for me, it's just important to keep being able to do this.

It’s a lot of hard work but it's also rewarding to see a garment you created on a cute girl walking down the street!"

T&C MAD LIBS *If I could have anyone wear my clothing it would be Winona Ryder. *The closet I’d most like to raid belongs to Jane Birkin or Marianne Faithful circa the 1960s. *If I had to survive on only one thing for a year it would be sunshine. *My favorite fashion moment was discovering I could wear vintage bathing suits as jumpers.

"I love the Sylvie dress. I think it's really beautiful, but also easy to wear." $350

Inside Pages

Edelweiss

SARAH SEILBACH

Marlene Dress $279

Jane Obi Dress $265

A graduate of SCAD, Sarah Seilbach moved to New York and freelanced for Elise Ă˜verland and Vena Cava, where she refined her aesthetic. Now the force behind Edelweiss, Sarah designs for a woman who looks to be "elegant and creative at once"--much like herself!

Sarah brought samples from her first ever collection to our Open Call.

From the moment she walked in the door, we were smitten with her easy silk dresses, wearable color palette, and chic silhouettes.

Edelweiss's Spring 2009 collection centered upon an erudite interpretation of 17th century Indian naval garb. This translated into contemporary silk tops, dainty epaulets, and vintage button detailing.

For Fall 2009, Sarah pays homage to the 1940s conception of Hollywood glamour: icons such as Katherine Hepburn in Philadelphia Story, Lauren Bacall in To Have and To Have Not, and the ultimate femme fatale, Rita Hayworth in Gilda, are all paid their due reverence. The result is a tight, well-tailored, and feminine collection, with a dash of film-noir mystique.

Poupette GERI KUHN

Poupette Bracelets $60 Since Fall 2008, Geri’s delicate yarn and gold bracelets have quietly amassed a cult following with our savvy Fort Greene customer base.

It’s no surprise, then, that this self-taught, Red Hook-based Parisian has jewelry designing in her blood.

Her grandfather owned a bijouterie, and it was there that she first became exposed to her craft.

Poupette,'little doll' in French, was the pet-name her mother called her as a child. However, her style is by no means prissy; Geri describes her aesthetic as “euroclectic” or “gypsy chic." It's an easy leap of the imagination to imagine Geri's customers as Dos Equis drinking bohemes who surf in the morning and bonfire by evening. Her pieces are intended to be layered over one another, thereby creating an effortlessly chic/boho look that’s quintessentially French.

Poupette 14K Leaf Ring $273

Q. What are your key inspirations for this season?

A. I reached back into my past, (when I used to live in Africa)- an organic, earthy, ethnic collection came out of those memories.

Q. What destination most inspires you?

A. My favorite place in NYC is The Pier in Red Hook for sunset, my local escape.

Q. If you could have anyone in NY wear your collection who would it be?

A. Gina Gershon, the sexiest woman alive (to me!).

Q. Do you have a Style Icon?

A. Brigitte Bardot in Et Dieu...Créa La Femme.

Q. Where do you see the line going?

A. Waiting for the wind to bring me the next inspiration.

Maria de la Luz

ANDREA BARANOVICH & BARBARA PISCH

Andrea & Barbara met while studying fashion design in Florence, Italy, and found in one another a sartorial soulmate. They vowed to one day start a clothing label together.

The girls logged some major fashion miles working in art direction, sales, and fabric production until they felt ready to branch out on their own. Fall 2009 marks the debut of Maria de la Luz. The collection centers around simple, flattering silhouettes that incorporate flashes of color and texture. “We were really inspired by a lot of vintage, as well as deadstock textiles that we acquired from an old Upper East Side fabric store that went out of business. Our color story stemmed from this collection of textiles: navy, apricot, creamy white, washed-out black, and royal blue.”

Q. What are your personal styles?

A. Classic, with a twist of the unexpected. We are both attracted to well-crafted pieces with a history. We love accessories that are strong and elegant, such as antique gold cocktail rings, amazing heels, vintage clutches, and great silk scarves.

Q. For which girl do you design?

A. A girl who is not afraid to take the subway in Lanvin heels! Sexy, yet understated.

Q What’s on your list for Fall?

A. We're currently coveting Hermès bangles, and heels with trouser socks for Fall.

Valentina Sailor Dress $363

Yunhi YUNHI LEE

Yunhi Lee's serious design pedigree, paired with her emphasis on high quality tailoring, makes her one of Thistle & Clover’s most popular designers. After graduating from Parsons, Yunhi landed a dream job: working under Derek Lam while he was design director for Michael Kors.

"There, I learned so much about developing a collection from scratch, and acquired a love for fine fabrics and beautiful garment construction.”

Yunhi has also worked for bannername companies such as Gap, Banana Republic and Club Monaco.

"I like collecting things when I am traveling and I love hunting for vintage, especially accessories and shoes (I have small feet, so this works to my advantage). I generally like simple, understated pieces with beautiful details that work into my wardrobe and lifestyle.”

“After years of working for big names where the product is mass produced, I yearned to create garments that were more meaningful and would have a more intimate connection with the customer.” Yunhi launched her first solo collection in Spring 2009 at T&C by way of our Open Call. “I look for items that are unique without being overpowering," she says of her aesthetic.

Mila Shrunken Jacket $390

Morgan Knit Ribbon Top $208

Perry Boyfriend Jacket $425

Q. What are your key inspirations for this season?

A. For this season, my inspiration was more literary: Holly Golightly of Truman Capote’s “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” in modern Manhattan. Treading the streets of the Lower East Side was my muse.

Q. What kind of girl do you design for?

A. She lives in or around the urban area and has a fine appreciation for fashion, design, arts, etc. She is confident and therefore effortlessly fashionable (it is a mindset after all); she has an active lifestyle, and needs a versatile wardrobe that takes her from work to dinner/cocktails/weekends.

Q.What are your favorite pieces from the collection?

A.The tailored jackets that have a slightly more accentuated shoulderI can’t wait to wear mine! I also love the lightweight knit tops with the undone bows.

Rachel Antonoff

Q. What kind of girl do you design for?

A. Well, I quite literally design for my friends. Almost every piece is made with one of the them in mind, and I use them as my models. They inspire me because they, like me, love the idea of costumes and having an excuse to dress up.

Q. How do you like to see your favorite looks accessorized?

A. I am a huge fan of vintage hats. I have been collecting them for years. I think a fantastic hat is the perfect exclamation point on any outfit. I've never been a big jewelry person.

Q. Any favorite A. Nan Kempner weren't allowed tain restaurant

fashion moments? being told that ladies to wear pants in a cerso she took them off!

Rachel Antonoff is a West Village resident with a penchant for old school musicals and Brooklyn styling. Her label is a study in quirky romanticism: off beat prints and oversized bows abound.

For her Fall 2009 collection, the selfdescribed gym clothes addict puts a heavy emphasis on wearability. "I like the idea that life is an adventure worth dressing up for, and that a special outfit can brighten up an otherwise dull day. I design for girls that feel the same way!"

Her inspiration this season derives much of its underlying aesthetic from the ballet. “I saw The Nutcracker with my mother this season, and became obsessed with the New York City Ballet.

Ballerinas are the most absurdly graceful, enchanting beings.�

The Bess Sweetheart Dress is named after her boyfriend's mum! $288

Rebecka Fröberg

Northern Lights Necklace $365

Cloudberry Necklace $265 Rebecka Fröberg, a Swedish expat and current Brooklynite, originally enrolled in FIT as a graphic design major. On a whim, she signed up for a silversmithing class, and has been designing ever since!

Rebecka draws inspiration from Swedish landscape and historic folklore, titling her collections "Serene Forrest" and "Pure Water."

Up next for the Brooklyn-based jeweler? A completely eco-friendly line. "I have finally found a caster that uses 100% recycled metals. Almost every part of my [next] collection will be green."

Q.What advice can you offer aspiring designers?

A. Pay attention to your surroundings.

There is a lot of inspiration around us that has nothing to do with fashion, but can be translated into your pieces. Don’t do what you already see out there. Know what the trends are, but make it your own thing, your own distinct style.

Q. What do you listen to when you're designing?

A. I like to listen to Lucinda Williams and Fever Ray when I’m sketching.

Q. How do you like to see your jewels worn?

A. Layers! I like one, two, or even three necklaces layered at different lengths.

Sublet

TARA EISENBERG & INNESAH SELDITZ

Tara Eisenberg & Innesah Selditz founded Sublet after the two met by chance through a Craigslist posting in 2005. The label's name is a nod to their fortuitous fashion connection. Innesah set up shop on Tara’s couch for 3 months and their line was born.

Both girls were of the same mind when it came to the ethics behind their line. Sublet uses organic fabrics in tandem with fibers that employ sustainable practices, such as hemp, bamboo cotton and remnant silk. Fashionable and eco-conscious you may ask? “It just always felt like a natural progression."

What kind of girl does Sublet design for? "The best accessory for our clothes is a girl who doesn't give a damn and is trying to do it all."

Maybe that's why they've cited such carefree and hardworking damsels as Miranda July, Au Revoir Simone, and Rilo Kiley as inspiration for their Fall 2009 collection.

Q. Do you have a background in fashion?

Tara: I’ve always been very DIY with my outfits. I also have worked with MOMA. Inessah: I went to school for fashion design. Before Sublet, I was the Associate Fashion Editor at Women’s Health.

Q. What are your personal styles?

Tara: funny + functional (my wardrobe usually involves animal prints).

Inessah: Fort Greene boutique meets tomboy.

Q. What kind of girl do you design for?

The girl that’s running around and doing a million things at once. Artists, do-ers, dreamers, creatives, and optimists.

Q. What are your key inspirations for this season?

Brooklyn girls, 70’s silhouettes and Annie Hall.

Deborah Petal Dress $304

Deli Dress $235

Amanda Rudey

Laurie Garnet Earring $150 Amanda Rudey is considered a rare breed these days: A born and bred New Yorker. The 26-year-old founded her eponymous jewelry line immediately after graduating from Harvard with a degree in sociology.

"I just happened to wander into a bead store and fell in love with creating jewelry. The sales girl told me to take it slow on my first trip to the store, but I wanted to buy up the store’s whole inventory. I indulged her, and bought only enough to make one necklace, but I was back the very next day. And I haven’t stopped making jewelry since then."

Amanda's delicate, semiprecious drop necklaces and chandelier earrings have already amassed her a devoted following (both on the UES and in Fort Greene!).

Q. What kind of girl do you design for?

A. Smart, elegant, flirty, unique, feminine, and fun-loving.

Q. How do you like to see your favorite looks accessorized?

A. The Josie Earrings look great with a little black dress. And the Forget Me Not necklace is the perfect touch for jeans and a T-shirt, or even business attire.

Q. Most memorable fashion moment?

A. In My Fair Lady, when Audrey Hepburn comes down the stairs in her gown.

Q. What advice can you offer aspiring designers?

A. Be persistent and have fun!

Lauren Wimmer

Three Way Necklace $250 Lauren Wimmer graduated from Wellesley College with a joint major in sculpture and art history. After moving to NYC and realizing that largescale sculptures were problematic to store in her cramped starter apartment, she began to focus her efforts on jewelry making.

Q. What kind of girl do you design for?

A. I design for a decisive girl that will see a big statement piece and react to it. She knows what she likes. She’s stylish but never trendy.

Wimmer's now 5-year-old collection clearly references this background in the 3D arts. Her line is comprised of vibrantly colored ribbon-wrapped pieces, paired with tactile, geometric stone beads.

T&C MAD LIBS

For the current season, Wimmer used imagery of greenery creeping through dilapidation. "Leonard Cohen used the term 'dangerous garden' in an interview I heard. He talked about being [beyond] the sexual dalliances of the past. It inspired a lot of sensual images of bizarre spotted orchids, exotic plants and organic textures sharp and smooth."

*If I had to describe my personal style it would be disheveled preppy tomboy that occasionally gets a femmy urban eclectic makeover. * My favorite fashion indulgence is seeing anything Isabella Blow put together. * The best fashion advice I've ever received is, "Just wear it with confidence." * I’m currently coveting a Tomas Maier sheath dress for Fall.

Fall 2009 Designers CLOTHING 88 Orange Amanda Uprichard Cloak & Dagger Dace Demylee Edelweiss Eskell Lewis NYC Lily & Jae Maria de la Luz Rachel Antonoff Sublet Sunner Trovata Wren Yunhi

JEWELRY

Amanda Rudey Bittersweets NY Catbird Debbie Fisher Jessica DeCarlo Lauren Wimmer Max Steiner Made Her Think Melissa Joy Manning Ongwat Poupette Pyrrha Rebecka Fröberg Sapna Mehra St. Kilda Sunday's Best Swallow

ACCESSORIES

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