How We Pick Our Indie Designers

We were fortunate enough to be a vendor at the Treasure Island Flea Market last weekend, for those who don’t know Treasure Island it is the small Island (Raiders of the Lost Ark opening scene was filmed there, it hosted the World’s Fair etc) that the Bay Bridge runs through that connects  San Francisco and Oakland. The Treasure Island Flea is a monthly market with hundreds of Vendors featuring, Indie clothing, Vintage clothes, antiques, aprons etc with live music.

If you are visiting the Bay Area try to attend the Market as the selection of wares is enormous, the food trucks are great and the views of the San Francisco Waterfront and skyline are spectacular.

While attending the Market we showed 8 of our most popular indie dresses and were asked on many occasions how we pick our designers so I thought I would put pen to paper and give you a little insight into the process.

As many of you know at Bobbepin we are committed to featuring great quality clothing at great prices and wherever possible locally designed and made items in  our online indie clothing boutique. Our newest designer Everly clothing fits this commitment like a glove. Fabiana & Adriana are sisters that design awesome clothing and manufacture right here in the US, they are the designers of the Zig Zag dress that has taken shoppers by storm and has sold out everywhere,( although we are expecting a new shipment 12/1)

Another one of our popular dresses is also by Everly, their Vintage style dress , you can see that their attention to detail goes right down to the vintage style buttons on the front.

Another popular dress is designed by  Synergy Organic who designs clothing that combines sustainability, with modern yet timeless design. They strive to make clothing that looks good, while being gentle on the Earth, using G.O.T.S certified organic cotton from India, that is dyed with low impact dyes, their clothing is hand made in Nepal according to fair trade practices. Each season they look for ways to minimize their footprint as a business, in both the way their clothing is made and in their daily operations. Their Om Dress shows that style does not have to be sacrificed.

So to wrap up when we are contacted by an indie  designer we first check their price points to ensure that they are a good fit, if they are within our range (we try to keep prices under $100) then we will usually schedule an appointment with the show room to check quality. We also where possible try to work with Local designers as there are so many talented designers that are pushing the design envelope be it with materials used or the manufacturing process.

We are always looking to add talented Indie Clothing Designers so if you have a favorite shoot us an email with their contact information to lisa@bobbepin.com or post a note on  Twitter https://twitter.com/bobbepin or Face Book http://www.facebook.com/BobbePIN

Indie Fashion says Embrace Your Curves

Many plus size women are curious as to the type of clothes that will look good on them when they go to buy clothes for themselves, as a matter of fact,  many plus size women live in fear of buying clothes,  because they have no idea about the type of clothes that will fit their shape or whether they will find their size in the store or online.

Many women are so afraid of making a mistake, that they either won’t buy clothes at all, or they’ll buy clothes that resemble tents, which is to say clothes that are too loose, and unflattering.  Many women might have been told by advertisers that a larger sized woman has to wear dark colors, that she has to wear clothes that fall down to the floor, and that she has no right to even want to look flattering or appealing.

The bottom line is that none of this is true, yes you heard it here its flat out garbage.  The fact of the matter is that every woman has every right to want to look flattering and sexy regardless of her size.  A plus size woman is first and foremost a human being and second, she is a woman.  She has so much to offer to the world, and no one has the right to make her feel that she has to look ugly, because she’s carrying around a few extra pounds.

Many new Indie clothing designers are starting to add larger sizes to their collections and this is filtering down to more commercial stores, Igigi and NYDJ come to mind. This is being nudged along by forward thinking blogs like The Curvy Fashionista & Fashion Shows like Full Figured Fashion Week (FFFW). Not to mention the Italian Edition of Vogue featured full figured models on their cover for the FIRST time.

Here at BobbePIN we are currently in conversations with some plus size designers to possibly feature their brands in our Online Indie Clothing boutique…stay tuned!

In general, shades that are flattering to curvy women are ones that give her the look of a waistline.  It’s even better if she naturally has a waistline, because there are many full figured women that naturally have an hourglass figure.  It’s good for a woman if she’s wearing a dress to wear shades that don’t hug her curves in the hips.  While she doesn’t want to wear something that resembles a tent, it’s best for the item to be a little bit forgiving in the hips and butt.  No one regardless of size looks good with clothes that fit  too tight.

The point is for a woman to find shape flattering clothes, and to get someone to help her to analyze what her body type is.  Once she figure out what her body type is, she can then find clothes that are cut to highlight positive parts of her curves, while hiding any perceived flaws.

Given a selection and a confident state of mind we can all look beautiful because don’t forget “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, just read the woman’s tee below!

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For The Luv of Shoes

Am I a Shoe-a-holic, well no, yes maybe, we all know who we are, and yes we know we have more than enough shoes for ANY occasion but….this pair would look great with (fill in the blank) “Yes that outfit that already has its own shoe colony of 5 pairs but this pair is calling my name, I almost turn into a 2 year old that really must have an ice cream now or the word will cave in! Funny because I am a pretty ordinary/sane person the rest of the time but when it comes to shoes the switch flips and my terrible twin is revealed.

I am not sure what it is about shoes that really gets me going. If I really luv them I have been known to buy two of the same pair, my rationale being that I luv them so much I may wear them into the ground and may never find them again.

Unlike friends I am not always loyal to my shoe BFFs, bringing them home all excited, then when its closet overhaul time I see them still wearing their tags in their box. I feel sad and wondered why I bought them, what outfit would they go with, what must I have been thinking……oh well I convince myself I did not waste the money buying them because I will wear them, just not sure when or with what, in short they go into an extended hibernation. No lets cal it how it is……they get replaced!

Yes you guessed it those BFF shoes never see the light of day (outside of a GoodWill donation) and they become a distant memory, but I tell myself I will not impulse buy shoes anymore, yeah right until the next time.

Do you feel me……feel free to add your stories here or on our FB Page.  http://www.FaceBook.com/bobbepin

Big Box vs Indie

There is a lot of spirited conversation around this subject lately some are adamant that one is right and one is wrong, that’s not my place to tell people how to shop or where to shop as that can depend on many personal issues including budget. I think the most important thing is that we are having this conversation from the coffee shop to major TV Networks, because shopping is a multi-billion dollar industry that is getting increasingly competitive.

Both of these have their Pros and Cons, what comes to mind when I think of Big Box I think huge selection, yes the term One Stop Shopping comes to mind, and of course convenience.  Indie on the other hand has much smaller inventories, smaller selection and  it can take time to find them  (although Search/Social Media  have helped tremendously)   as they don’t have the resources for advertising, marketing or branding.

Cost is a little more difficult as items that are massed produced overseas are generally cheaper but remember  just because a product is priced cheaper it doesn’t always translate into being less expensive because if it doesn’t last, well that’s money down the drain. On the flip side an item that is more expensive doesn’t automatically mean it is better quality, price does NOT equal quality, that’s called snobbery!

Uniqueness is where I believe Indie is in a class of it’s own, because they are produced in smaller quantities they can be much more innovative especially in the world of eco & sustainable clothing. Small Brands even with their limited budgets are in the fore front of this clothing revolution,  just attend any Trade Show incl the behemoth Magic and you will see the tide is turning.

Customer interaction is another area where Indie is unmatched, we recently met with a new Designer who passionately described the process he uses to make his Tees, from concept to final product, you simply cannot get that experience in the Big Box.

Target is trying to bridge the gap a little, while being a Big Box they have successfully integrated (larger)  Indie Brands into their stores . All in all it is a personal choice, but like I said at the beginning it is important that we are having this conversation because that is how change happens, spirited conversations between people with open minds.

Dawn

http://www.bobbepin.com