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new orleans southern street style

Southern Street Style: More on Magazine Street

Magazine Street is a well known shopping destination and there are always some stylish New Orleanians scoping out what’s new in stores.This week we head back uptown to soak up the scenery and the styles.

pictures by Liz, text & photo edit by Christy
Twitter: slowsouthstyle Facebook: Slow Southern Style
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southern fashion bloggers

Southern Fashion Bloggers: Summer Sandals

One of the things that I enjoy most about summer is packing away my constricting closed toe shoes for a few months and giving my tootsies some room to breathe. I love these wooden wedges that I recently purchased, they feel less clunky and heavy than my normal “goes with everything” black heels. Taupe is such a great shade to complement a variety of pieces in my summer wardrobe so I know I’ll get a lot of use out of these.

I’ve also been on a hunt for a good clutch and this peppy pink checked one from Banana Republic (via Buffalo Exchange) will be perfect for a warm summer night. 

Check out the other lovely Southern Fashion Bloggers for their favorite sandals and what they will be wearing all summer long.

Beauty Unmade
Fashionably Meg
Where Sexy Meets Classy

Twitter: slowsouthstyle Facebook: Slow Southern Style
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new orleans southern fashion bloggers what i wore

What I Wore: Wish for a sneak peek

I’m rather excited to give y’all a sneak peek of what I will be wearing for a bloggers feature in the Times Picayune! Every month the newspaper puts out a monthly style magazine Wish and I’m thrilled to be featured in it for a second time! Along with five other bloggers I will be sharing my must have summer items and I can’t wait to see the final product in July.

Granted the feature will have better lighting and I will actually be wearing heels but I wanted to show off the great dress that I picked for my portrait. Pardon the terrible night lighting, after my fun professional photo shoot on Magazine Street the husband and I decided to dine at Freret Street’s newest restaurant, Ancora, then we headed downtown to enjoy a nightcap at Bar Tonique followed by meeting a friend at the Apple Barrel on Frenchman Street.
 Check out the spread by picking up the July Wish the Friday after July 4th or by viewing it online.
Twitter: slowsouthstyle Facebook: Slow Southern Style
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french quarter men's southern street style

Southern Street Style: French Quarter

This guy might look familiar to some of y’all.

Yup, that is in fact my husband, Thomas shopping in the French Quarter for some new summer clothes. Where’d he stop? Gnome, French Connection, UAL, and Urban Outfitters were all on the list. Guys are you looking for some men’s clothing stores in New Orleans? Check out my uptown and downtown men’s shopping guides on Go NOLA.

Pictures and text by Christy

Twitter: slowsouthstyle Facebook: Slow Southern Style
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southern style summer what i wore

What I Wore- Summer in the South

In the summer time it is so hard to look presentable when the humidity and the temperature are battling it out for who has the highest digits. Suddenly a tank top and shorts seems like the only viable option, and even a leather sandal seems too heavy. Ladies and gents, summer in the south is a constant battle, and the only way to win is by stocking your closet with cotton and linen pieces that will help see you through to Fall.

I bought this 100% linen dress but needed to find a slip to go under it since it is completely sheer. I might be a little daring, but I’m not THAT daring. The sherbet slip is a fun alternative to a neutral underpinning and I like how it changes up the hemline of the dress. It’s also amazing how good my hair looked on this day. My big secret? I showered then slept on it then ran a pick through it to get the knots out. So why is it when I actually try to fix my hair that I can’t achieve perfectly wavy tresses?

Dress: Flax, Gae-tanas
Slip: A Common Thread, Buffalo Exchange
Scarf: Gifted from Armoire Boutique
Shoes and cuff: Buffalo Exchange

Twitter: slowsouthstyle Facebook: Slow Southern Style
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sheridan french southern fashion designer texas

Texas designer Sheridan French

If you are into bright colors and tribal prints than you’ll love what Sheridan French has to offer you. I don’t exactly remember when or how I discovered Sheridan’s blog, Southern Eclectic, but I remember anxiously awaiting for her clothing line to come out. Her aesthetic is bright and punchy, with a strong Eastern feel both in cut and the beautiful, saturated hues seem quite Indian to me. 





Click through to read the full interview

First off I love how bright and playful all of the patterns you use are! Everything almost feels like resort wear. Can you tell us a little bit about your line?

I don’t do neutrals well. Ha! Seriously though, I just adore bright colors. They make you FEEL good. Literally! If you are down or not having the best day, throw on a bright pink top or fabulous orange dress and your mood is instantly lifted. It really is amazing, and I love channeling that through clothes. If I can design an article of clothing that will truly make someone uplifted when worn…well, that just might be the best job in the world!
You live in Fort Worth, Texas. How does that city influence your style, if at all?
Fort Worth still has a small-town feel even though it is a large city. Everyone is so laid back, super friendly and the vibe is relaxed all the time. It is definitely a family town, too, so when designing my line I certainly took my lifestyle here into account. I needed to be able to get dressed in the morning and look cute – AND be comfy! – through school drop-off, grocery shopping, throwing the ball for my dogs, lunch with the girls, business meetings, and date nights. A tall order, I know, but I like setting the bar for myself high. I created pieces that met all of these conditions and I am so happy with the result. 


In addition to your clothing designs you also run a blog, Southern Eclectic. How did you go about choosing the name?
You know it just suddenly came to me! I started my blog before I started my clothing line as a creative outlet to get my mind off of diapers and baby bottles. I was trying to think of the perfect name that would encompass me as a person. The Southern Eclectic literally popped into my head and I was like, yes! That is it!! If I could pick one word to describe my style, it would be eclectic, so it was instantly fitting. 
Describe the woman who wears the Sheridan French line.
Well, as I said above, my primary goal was to design colorful pieces that would take women through the craziness of their days and still keep them chic. I also wanted to create pieces that would work for my teenage nieces as well as my mother. That is a big age span – 13 to 75 – but using classic lines solved the problem and now my nieces and mother wear my line beautifully! I am adding in several more styles for 2012 and cannot wait to show everyone…plus bags, baby and home!! Everything was designed for a fabulous life full of color…because there’s nothing better!

The Sheridan French line is available for purchase online or at a handful of retailers across the country.

All pictures courtesy of Sheridan French
Twitter: slowsouthstyle Facebook: Slow Southern Style
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freret street southern street style

Southern Street Style: Seen at Freret Market

Learn more about Kate and wear to buy what she makes after the break.

I ran into Kate McNee at the June Freret Market. While everyone was wilting in the hot weather she really stood out in her neon vintage Hawaiian style dress. Kate makes these crazy good fascinators and tiny hats. I love how festive these little pieces of art are, perfect for anything from a quirky cocktail party or even a wedding. For purchasing info and her contact information click here.

Photos and text by Christy
Twitter: slowsouthstyle Facebook: Slow Southern Style
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etsy freret street what i wore

What I Wore- Birds On The Brain

I used to be quite the adventurous dresser. If y’all could see the crazy things I wore in high school you’d laugh and that’s okay because I thought most of it was funny too. I remember my favorite shoes well. I bought them in Belle Promenade mall (ain’t dere no more) and the year was, oh never mind the year they were baby powder blue and had the same sheen as a 1950s diner booth. Oh yea did I mention the stacked wooden heel with white trim? Jeffrey Campbell could probably sell them now and ladies would eat them up for breakfast, or brunch since this is a New Orleans based blog. If anyone from Jeffrey Campbell shoes wants to hit me up I’ll gladly describe them to you. I’ll even let y’all call them “The Christy.”

Anyway.

As a teenager growing up in the South back in the 90’s (there I said it) most of my classmates were pretty conservative and all I wanted to do was rebel and wear outrageous things for the sake of being different. I dress downright dowdy compared to the strange wardrobe choices I made in the springtime of my life. However sometimes you have to live a little and have fun, hence this little friend that I picked up at Freret Market last weekend.

Click through to see the rest of the outfit.

The trick to wearing a whimsical outfit is keeping the entire getup in sync. Here I kept the color palette completely the same throughout with mint green and bright pink so everything tied in and made sense vs. making a hot mess. You can’t just throw on something silly with a pair of jeans otherwise it will look, well silly instead of fun.

Look I even sort of match my new back patio decorations! Our “outdoor dining room” is getting a complete overhaul, complete with a fountain and pond as soon as we get around to it. 
Headband: Dreamer76 via Freret Market
Necklace: seen a million times here
Glasses: OGI via St. Charles Vision
Tank Top: French Connection
Skirt: Forever 21 via Buffalo Exchange
Shoes: Toms via Buffalo Exchange
Twitter: slowsouthstyle Facebook: Slow Southern Style
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charity north carolina

Half United: Fighting Hunger Through Fashion



When I first discovered HALF United I was intrigued with their “buy one feed one” motto. Founder Carmin Black and Danielle Garrow both design shirts for a good cause, for every product purchased they feed a child in need. Based in Wilmington, NC HALF United not only helps feed children in their community but also in Fiji, Liberia, and formerly in Haiti as well.
   

Find out more about the company after the break.

Is there any one thing that made you decide to do this? 

DANIELLE – I have had a passion for fashion and retail my whole life, it’s what I know and what I am good at. I was actually going to start my own line of t-shirts, when I re-united with Carmin. We were best friends in high school but lost touch over the years. When we came together years later, she was looking for help designing the HALF women’s line. After she told me about the company, I instantly knew this was an opportunity that I shouldn’t pass up. I loved the idea of combining my love for designing with the mission to fight hunger…fashion with a cause. 

CARMIN – Before Founding HALF UNITED, I grew up in a home where giving back and fashion were placed as top priorities. My father was a minister, my mother an interior space designer for retail stores. I always loved both philanthropy and the fashion industry but never thought I could find a career that would combine the two seemingly unrelated worlds until I was accepted by TOMS shoes to be a part of their “Vagabond” program. It was my job to travel the country in a 15 passenger van (loaded down with TOMS shoes and other merchandise) with two other female team members to help spread the word about the TOMS One for One movement. At TOMS I learned how to correctly run a business that gives back. This knowledge combined with everything I lived through as a child made this type of business the perfect fit for my life. I love using fashion as my means of supporting a cause I truly believe in- eradicating global hunger!

I’d love to share some more inspiration behind the line. There is an obvious Native American influence with the designs, how did that come about?


DANIELLE – I honestly don’t know why, but I have always been drawn to clothing reminiscent of Native American culture. I love feathers , fringe, and the intricate patterns and colors seen in Native American prints. We all collectively thought that this would be a great theme that would work well for the guys and girls clothing collection. We weren’t even thinking if it was trendy or not, which turns out it is! 

CARMIN – I feel the same as Danielle- I love the culture, the lifestyle, the feeling our designs give you that you’re somehow free. Two summer’s ago I worked with American Indian children from the Apache and Navajo Indian Reservations in Arizona and while I cannot say these children or their families ever wore feathers, or loud patterns, or any other thing we’ve used in our designs- I can say that they somehow felt like they lived life at a slower pace than the rest of us in the US, as if they were somehow more connected to the world around them. Of course this only my opinion based on my own personal observation- these people just seemed at peace- somehow I hope our designs speak that same message- to slow down and take a look at others around you- and in our case we are hoping that you will think of the child you’ve fed every single time you put on your HALF UNITED merchandise. Currently Native American inspired-design is on trend and while we were coming up with our line’s theme we really didn’t think about that, we just wanted to create pieces that we would love, and in doing so it turns out others feel the same.




Where do you see the future of the company going? 
HALF is constantly growing and changing, the one thing that is constant is our mission to fight global hunger. We are fortunate to be constantly approached by numerous organizations and companies that want to partner with us. Our goal is to sell as many of our products as possible…THE MORE WE SELL, THE MORE KIDS WE FEED! In the future another exciting goal is to only work with sustainable fabrics and to give back specifically to the men or women who make our products. How awesome will it be if one day we are not only feeding children in need with every purchase made, but we are also taking an active role in creating sustainable employment and changing entire communities!? These are goals that we are not far from and will stop at nothing until they have been accomplished.

Will it expand past t-shirts or are y’all going to keep it nice and simple?


Yes, we plan to expand! We are actually in the beginning stages of designing our Spring/Summer 2012 collection. We hope to branch out from just graphic tees and include more complex styles and designs, yet keeping our price point and customers in mind. We will be debuting our Spring/Summer ’12 Collection at the Atlanta Apparel Trade show, happening in October of this year!
Twitter: slowsouthstyle Facebook: Slow Southern Style
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new orleans southern street style

Southern Street Style: Seen on Magazine Street

I love this week’s pick for southern street style. Every summer I go into survival mode and keep cool vs. creating stylish outfits. The only way to beat the heat and humidity is by having a few reliable wardrobe staples to get you from here through October. I like to call these pieces my summer survival uniform.

 Liz snapped a picture of this lovely lady and I imagine she’ll get a lot of wear out of her wonderfully wide leg, wispy trousers these next few months. Throwing on some tried and true accessories adds a personal touch to any outfit and I love how she keeps the silhouette simple but piles on the details with her jewelry and bag.

Pictures by Liz, text & photo editing by Christy
Twitter: slowsouthstyle Facebook: Slow Southern Style