Color Blocking : Love it or Hate it?

It seems that no matter where you turn, there is no escaping the latest craze of color blocking. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, you should probably stop living under that rock of yours and open your eyes to what everyone can't seem to get enough of. Color blocking is putting the brightest, boldest colors together to form pure fun and flirty fashionista bliss. I must admit, it takes a brave soul to strut their stuff down the street in a bright orange and green ensemble and I most certainly not one of those people. If you're still rather shy when it comes to color blocking like myself, no need to feel left out, because even you can still take part in this season's biggest trend.  If brights on brights just isn't your thing, you can substitute one of them for a neutral piece to come up with a classic outfit with a refreshingly trendy twist. So add a little splash of color to your look, because all of the designers these days are making it hard to resist. From BCBG to Bottega Veneta, dabbling in color blocking is on everybody's to-do list and soon enough it will make Brynn Capella's. Watch out Bottega, because the holiday collection from Brynn Capella Inc. will feature color blocking that is sure to mix things up, so stay tuned! Until then, you can stay trendy by adding the perfect pop of color to your summer wardrobe with the Lauren Crossbody in Emerald Isle.

Lauren Crossbody in Emerald Isle

This bright green handbag is complimented with tan zippers, it is THE solution to those of us fearful of full-on color blocking. The Lauren Crossbody is perfect for carrying your sunscreen for a day game at Wrigley (or U.S. Cellular if you REALLY must) and even those purchases made at one of Chicago's fabulous street fairs. What better way to carry all those things you need for your summer festivities, but stay stylish in the heat than with the Lauren Crossbody by your side?

Meet Sasha

Hello! 

My name is Sasha and I have recently picked up where the wonderful Katie left off. It is evident that she made a huge impact on Brynn Capella Inc. and will truly be missed. We wish you good luck Katie on all your future endeavors, we know you will be great!

The beginning of my internship has already proved to be a huge learning experience. I'm lucky enough to get advice about the industry from Brynn directly and she has been great about answering my thousand upon thousands of questions, which has been really insightful- thanks Brynn! I'm definitely learning a lot about this side of the industry and getting a better idea of what I want to do with the Apparel Merchandising degree I am in the process of earning.

I have loved fashion ever since I can remember. When I applied for this internship, my first thought was "PURSES?! I can SO do this!" I was immediately intrigued and have finally gotten the chance to see what really goes into making what happens to be my favorite kind of accessory. From the design process and production to making sure that theses Brynn Capella originals find a home with fashionistas lucky enough to own one, we get to see every step of the way.

Lauren Crossbody in Champagne

An amazing outfit can give you the confidence to make you feel totally unstoppable. As much as I love clothes, I have always held a special place in my heart for purses. When I was 12, I saved up to buy myself a large Von Dutch bowling bag, because I thought it was super trendy-- and look at how well that investment worked out for me. I probably would have been better off buying a goldfish, because even a goldfish would have outlived that trend. Lesson learned was that trends may come and go, but a classic handbag will always be by your side to keep you looking and feeling good. That's why I am thinking about making the Lauren Crossbody in Champagne my new best friend...thoughts?

In this short period of time, I have already learned that these pieces are Brynn's pride and joy, but there is much more to this business than these being "just purses." For everyone who has criticized Apparel Merchandising and Design students, you have no clue what really goes into making all this stuff happen and let me tell you- it's tough work! I still have so much to learn and am so excited to get started!!!

Till next time,

Sasha

FashionChicago!

Seated left to right (me, Katie Sink and Allison Mack)

I was so excited that FashionChicago finally came! During the week, we separated and organized all the bags, so when Friday rolled around, we were all ready for it! It took a little over an hour to set up and put all the bags into place. Then within the first hour, we sold a Wyoming Yellow Edie and a Winchester Lauren with continued success throughout the whole night! While we interacted with the customers, we enjoyed h'orderves and Luna Bars, with a sneak peek at the runway show. 

Mercedes and me

There was a lot of good energy and excitement amongst the people and the vendors. On the second floor was the DJ, styles of Angie, she played awesome hip music as people were mingling and shopping around. On the third level was the fashion show that ran about an hour long. It highlighted some great Chicago Designers, such as Nora del Busto and from FashionStar, Barbara Bates! 

All the interns, Katie, Allison Mercedes and I, went and had a great time! Getting a chance to be part of that experience was really awesome and we're all glad we got to be a part of it. 

The Transition

It all comes to an end, and we are never prepared for it.  I am rounding out my last week at Brynn Capella Inc. along with apartment hunting and getting ready for a summer history course – can you say YUCK???

Taking my place is the beautiful Sasha, but when I first met her, I of course had to be protective of Brynn.  I mean, this is MY territory, right?  Wrong.  Sasha was amazing right when I met her.  She’s smart, hardworking, fast learning, and is going to make a great impact at the company after I’m gone.  I have no worries about leaving her to take over.

Allison (PR) and myself (Merch) enjoying pizza during set-up

 The things I am going to miss are the random conversations Brynn and I have in her car and our multiple stops to Taco Bell when we need our fake Mexican cuisine cravings satisfied. Why do they never get my order right by the way?  When I say I want a chicken Gordita Crunch, that doesn’t mean BEEF people! 

All jokes aside though, the most I am going to miss are the people that I have met during this internship.  I had great discussions with the ladies from Veronica Riley Martens, Juliet Jewelry, Red Belly, Squasht by Les, Stylish Girl, and Evon Cassier bags.  I hope to keep building relationships with them in the future.

Mercedes, me, Allison and Brynn (Blue in the front)

My number 1 group of girls, however, has to be the fine young ladies that I spend time with in the office.  We have had to get up close and personal in Brynn’s slightly tiny office, and I have become good friends with all of them.  We are definitely a dominating group of girls.  Look out future - here we come! 

Anna Hovet - Chicago Designer

I wanted to introduce you to another Chicago designer that is making a splash into the Chicago fashion scene, Anna Hovet. 

She has a very contemporary edge and her style includes abstract designs and patterns, she's very urban and innovative, not to mention highly creative. I met Anna at the Florodora Boutique last week, when both her and Brynn were having trunk shows.  I had the pleasure with talking with her, about her travels over Europe and a little bit about her line. Anna is super adventurous and a risk taker! She is a witty, small blonde and was wearing one of her very own designs! It was a cute red flowy shirt that within a split second she snapped in the back and made it a tight fit. Anna Hovet's styles are very unique and the most original designs I've ever seen. You can wear her clothes many different ways, upside down, inside out, the creativeness goes on and on! I've never met a designer like Anna Hovet, so be sure to check her out!

Plan.Shop.Post.Click!

Our Marketing lady, Blue, may have gone into some details on our fabulous photo shoot from Sunday, but I am going to reveal the truth.  The dirty details. What really goes on in planning a photo shoot before we hit the set.

I’ve done a couple photo shoots in the past for creative assignments, but I have never been a part of a Brynn Capella shoot…it was definitely an entertaining but crazy ride.

First, I collaborated with the amazing Allison (our PR intern) to research trends of the 70’s as well as determining what approach we should take to suggest that era without duplicating it in a cheesy way.  After we formed our concept board, we set off to the best part- SHOPPING. 

Brynn put a lovely dent in her credit card limit at Nordstrom and Anthropologie, but we got some great pieces for our models including high-waisted pants, loose tops, and other menswear-inspired outfits.  Paired with the array of Brynn’s fall bags, and we were looking forward to some “shagalicious” photos.

Oh, but the ride was not over for me yet.  Because Brynn and I are type-A people on caffeine, we decided to make sheets of all of the outfits, with all of the bags, with all of the pose suggestions in neat little packets…and yes, that did take me FOREVER to complete because my boss always likes to make last minute adjustments to ensure perfection.  Love you Brynn ; )

On the day of the shoot, all of this hard work definitely paid off.  It was definitely the smoothest running shoot for Brynn so far, and I couldn’t help but smile at the final product that I helped create.

Fall 2012 Photo Shoot

Last Sunday was our photo shoot for our Fall 2012 Liberation Collection!  


So much planning goes into a photo shoot, that I didn't realize, from rounding up the perfect outfits to coordinating everyone's schedule.  With Chicago's finicky weather, we had to reschedule the shoot, originally planned for Saturday, due to the rain. Of course, with 0% mentioned, it still drizzled a little.  Ugh!  


But we were ecstatic to have our photo shoot nonetheless.  

 

Carla and Kelly were troopers changing on the streets of downtown and Nicole made their hair look beautiful!  The day started off at the Board of Trade and ended up all the way to the South Loop.

Brynn had a goal to have every bag in the collection shot with our two models Carla and Kelly.  So we had to be on it, getting the next outfit ready, so no time was wasted.

Aside from the cold weather, us girls were ready to face through it, strutting all around the loop in style! This four hour shoot was very fun and flirty! The energy that day was groovy and the bags never looked better!  It that was a great success!