Local Designers

Quote Couture creates inspiring fashion for Fashionistas

 in General Fashion / Local Designers  tagged casual fashion / quote couture by

Quote Couture announced on October 29, 2010 that they have officially launched their line of black and white shirts and sweatshirts which feature inspirational quotes. Quote Couture is a new, San Francisco based clothing brand which has a mission beyond making Fashionistas look and feel fabulous. Quote Couture wants to empower people and spread positive vibes throughout the world and fashion industry. The shirts and hooded sweatshirts which Quote Couture has created display inspiring quotes which are bold and thought provoking. Quote Couture has designed the line to make a bold statement yet remain minimalist; how very San Francisco!

We here in the San Francisco Bay Area love a good cause, especially if we can make a loud noise without looking like we are making a loud noise. Quote Couture has captured this Bay Area personality through their inspirational line of apparel with quotes. There is a quote for every Bay Area Fashionista in Quote Coutures’ line. Here are a few our of our favorite’s:

“Age Doesn’t Matter Unless You Are Cheese or Wine.” anonymous We think this quote is perfect for Fashionistas who reside in Napa, Sonoma, Santa Cruz, Saratoga and anywhere there is wine making!

“It Always Seems Impossible Until It’s Done.” Nelson Mandela
This is the perfect quote for entrepreneurs, start-up owners, inventors and tech-savvy Fashionistas who are starting companies and creating great things.

“The Coldest Winter I Ever Spent Was A Summer In San Francisco.” Mark Twain This is for everyone who has sat in front of the heater, in July, wrapped in a blanket, while living in a drafty, San Francisco apartment.

“The Journey is The Reward.” Taoist Saying
Everyone on Earth can relate to this quote.

Quote Couture tee-shirts are $35 and the hoodies are $65. They are a great way to make a statement in a tee-shirt when the fog sits on the bay, and a great way to make a statement with a hoodie sweatshirt when the fog rolls in and makes us turn on our heaters in July.

Quote Couture is also dedicated to eradicating extreme poverty throughout the world. Co-Founder Chamsi Filali started Team Africa on Kiva, the micro lending platform. Quote Couture also donates a portion of its profits to low-income African entrepreneurs through Team Africa: http://www.kiva.org/team/africa. “You wear something that makes you and others feel good,” says Chamsi Filali, “while empowering people to lift themselves out of poverty. It’s beautiful!” The profile “Chamsi for Quote Couture” already shows 160 loans:http://www.kiva.org/lender/chamsi.

For more information, visit quotecouture.com and Quote Couture on facebook. Happy shopping and stay fabulous 

QuoteCouture

Photo courtesy of Quote Couture

Lex Designs: Hot Up and Coming Designer from Santa Cruz

 in Bay Area Fashion / General Fashion / Handbags / Local Designers  tagged interviews / santa cruz designers by

Lex Designs is a hot, up and coming designer brand out of Santa Cruz, CA. Known nationally as a beach destination, hot surf spot and home to UC Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, Ca is actually an artistic city. The city is close enough to San Francisco and San Jose to remain connected to an International, metropolitan area, yet far enough south to maintain it’s own identity and provide natural inspiration for an artistic community. Due to Santa Cruz’s unique geographic location, creative roots and natural beauty it is no wonder that the artistic practice of fashion design would emerge from beach locale.

Alexis Meschi is the designer behind Lex Designs which creates wearable, fashion forward designs that are inspired by the trends as well as the Northern California lifestyle. Alexis describes herself as an “accidental fashion designer.” She found her passion when she began sewing and creating clothing and baby items for her three daughters. Alexis found she really enjoyed sewing and could not get enough of it, so she decided to try her hand at women’s clothing for herself. After trying out a few patterns, Alexis felt constrained and felt the need to create her own designs in order to sew exactly what she envisioned. She found sewing and designing to be her passion, so Alexis started a blog and began to share with the world what she had created and how she did it. Her blog became an instant hit and the traffic inspired Alexis to begin creating designs that she could share with other women through online and boutique sales.

Lex Designs creates easy and wearable fashions that are made from natural fabrics such as linen and cotton. Her designs can easily be worn all year long here in the Bay Area where the temperature ranges between 50 degrees and 90 degrees during the year. Lex Designs clothing can be worn alone during the warmer months and then paired with a fabulous, fashion forward Lex Designs sweatshirt when the fog rolls in and temperature cools down. Lex Designs creates the ultimate fashion for Bay Area Fashionistas as well as Fashionistas everywhere.

www.madebylex.com

We would like to leave you with a wonderful quote from the designer herself:

“I love designing and sewing and am so grateful to be able to do what I love doing. I love fashion and style and expressing yourself through your dress. With it all, remember that it’s not the stuff that you have or wear that makes life important. In the end what we have or own doesn’t matter. What matters is our hearts and the way we love.

You don’t need money, status or influence to create something of beauty or substance. You need heart.”

HOT Local Jewelry Designer!

 in General Fashion / Jewelry / Local Designers  tagged bay area designers / kathy kamei by

The runways in Milan, New York and of course Paris were filled with the hot new jewelry designs for Spring 2010. Of course large and chunky jewelry, a throwback to 2009, still dominated the models on the catwalk, but one trend that really stuck out and looks to be a favorite of fashionistas is the gold cuff.

The gold cuff was on the arms of models in almost every fashion show. There were different styles of gold cuffs from the simple, Tiffany style of polished and sculpted gold to the outlandish such as Louis Vuitton. Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, we are a more understated bunch. Although we pride ourselves on being anything but conservative, bay area fashionistas like to keep the flash to a minimum; it’s just how we roll. In order for fashionistas here in the bay to follow this trend we need to look further than our own backyard. Local jewelry designer Kathy Kamei designs jewelry not for the sake of fashion but for the health of the soul. As Kathy explains on her website, she wishes to empower women and have them give meanings to their passions. Inspired by her time in Bali, Kathy Kamei designs her jewelry to open the hearts of the wearer, remind them to be mindful and also reach spiritual fulfillment.

Kathy Kamei’s designs can be found in earrings, necklaces, bracelets and of course the most important piece of jewelry of the season; the gold cuff. Her “Large Life Circle Cuff” for $365, is a stunning piece in gold with silver trim along the sides. This handmade work of art features many small circles in varying sizes pieced together to form a fabulous cuff that is unique yet understated. Not only is this cuff extremely of the moment, it is a fabulous jewelry piece that can be worn season after season. Cuff’s come in and out of the forefront of fashion, so this cuff is the perfect fashion investment. Every fashionista in the Bay Area should own at least one piece of Kathy Kamei designs. Not only are her designs timeless works of art, they represent everything bay area residents encompass from an internal point of view.