Tais Elyse Designer. Stylist. Shopper

FIRST, 

A Recap of Our Sample Sale Last Friday.

Party goers flocked to our sample sale for a touch of spring cleaning. And cleaning they did: people cleaned out Our Cuban Kitchen’s chicken fricassee as well as the designer samples in the loft. Shoppers were given a chance to become acquainted with local indie designers they would not have known otherwise. In a time when runway-emulating, uber-trendy mass retailers like H&M and Zara dominate the mid-price clothing market, it was refreshing to look through Josie Adele’s non-trendy jewelry, Silver's body-transforming jumpsuits or Jasmin Zorlu’s unapologetically outlandish, sculptural headpieces at the party. The sample sale and party was a reminder that supporting local designers is not only an ethical cause, but also a way to broaden one’s personal style beyond mainstream tastes. Though San Francisco gets a lot of flak for being a sartorial laggard in comparison to other fashion-forward cities, there is definitely no shortage of talented indie designers.

 Here are three upcoming events that will allow you to support local designers and get you in the mood for springtime dressing.

1. Tais Elyse Style Lab at Citizen Clothing, Thursday, April 28, 5-7 pm, free
Join us for happy hour nibbles and personal style consultations with Tyese and then shop for some spring threads at Citizen Clothing in the Castro. "5 Essential Spring Must-Haves to Stand Out"

2. Benny Gold Grand Opening at Benny Gold, Saturday, April 30, 11am-7pm, free
The skatewear shop (and purveyor of selvedge denim) will celebrate the opening of its larger Mission location with drinks and the debut of its spring collection.

3. Capsule Design Street Festival at Hayes Valley Park, Sunday, May 1, 11:00am – 6pm, free
There is a good chance that festival attendees will find something to spruce up their spring wardrobe among wares that will be hawked by 130 local designers.  

Although the majority of fashion trends have a finite expiration date, color in the spring time is definitely not one of them. In the fashion world, spring is touted as a time to pack away finally the drab wooly layers that have cocooned you through the winter and exhume the bright, refreshing pieces that will give you a sunny disposition to match the weather. This spring is no exception; colors, alongside the military green and safari khaki of past seasons, have saturated the SS11 runway and since then have seeped through a plethora of lookbooks, editorial spreads and street style snaps. But this spring, the colors are bolder and bigger: fluorescent hues are outshining the predictable whites, lemons, and roses associated with warmer weather clothing and being delivered in the form of persimmon suits, coral chinos, and lime green leather jackets. 

The explosion of starburst colors has inevitably given rise to the hackneyed question: do these runway colors translate to off-the-runway locales? Is it practical or even in your best interest to wear colors that might potentially be offensively obnoxious to other people? And even if you stay away from colors that threaten to scorch eyeballs and wear milder colors, will anyone take you seriously? Although fluorescent hues might be tricky to style and wear, I say a resounding yes in response to the last question. Though colors give an unmistakably youthful feel to an outfit, whether you are wearing magenta socks or royal blue chinos, they also signal that you are bold, fearless, and definitely worthy of other people’s attention. 

Come to our Spring Sample Sale and Party at Cotton Mills Studio on April 15 so you can be in the know about upcoming trends!