SF Indie Fashion News Roundup

Phew. The week is almost done-zo, except, of course, for the best part. The weekend part. Wish me luck as I try to sell my 13-year-old car that’s crusted in birdie poop to some brave citizen. In the meantime, do check out all this lovely indie fashion news:

- Designers: feelin’ a last minute vending oppie? Get in touch with Kelly of Still Life and Indie Mart fame. The first outdoor Indie Mart Street Fair event goes down next weekend in Potrero Hill, and they’ve got a few outdoor spaces left. Contact missionindiemart (at) gmail (dot) com if you’re down.

- Bernal Heights boutique Ladita is marking down the sale racks and adding new stuff to ‘em to make room for fall shiznit, so bargains abound.

- Online jewelry shop LittlePretty is having a sale on lovely items by Gorjana, Saylor Sage, Milara Designs, Juliet Ross and more.

- GAMA-GO wants to be your friend with benefits. Hence its new Friends with Benefits Membership Tiers, which are available through July 31 only. Basically, fork over some cash ($80 and up) for membership benefits like limited edition art, a two-year merchandise discount and your name on the window of the flagship store once it opens. All proceeds go toward the opening of the flagship store.

- My Roommate’s Closet just got new merch from Raven denim, Catherine Malandrino and Milly (love!!).

- HeidiSays is finishing its summer sale off with a bang. All sale items in the three Pacific Heights boutiques are now 50 to 75 percent off.

- Hayes Valley’s travelicious boutique Flight 001 is getting its summer sale on from July 22 to Aug. 9, so pop in before your next jaunt and save on this shop’s rad travel gear.

- Want 10 to 20 percent off at Ambiance locations through the end of the month? Check out this flier. Print it and take it into the store for your discount.

- Designers: Wanna be in the November 2008 Bazaar Bizarre show? Applications are being accepted through July 29, so get to it.

- Local plus-size women’s apparel label Harper Greer reports that it will not be losing its Berkeley store, after all. To celebrate, both the San Francisco and Berkeley stores will be offering 20 percent off all sale merchandise through the end of the month.

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SF Indie Fashion News Roundup

Super quickie news round-up, ’cause my head hurts and I don’t wanna type anymore. But these things are good enough to make me want to do it anyway:

- It’s the LAST CALL for Carrots‘ summer sale. We’re talking 70 percent off Stella McCartney, Sari Gueron, Rag & Bone and Narciso Rodriguez.

- As the Stitch blog reminded us, there’s a new craft and music street festival gearing up for a major outdoor throwdown in August. Here’s the Rock Make Street Festival myspace page.

- Stefanie Wolf and When Modern Was (one of my fave fave fave spots for antiques and funky, restored furniture) are teaming up this Thursday night from 5pm-7:30pm with a little summer soiree trunk show featuring Wolf’s latest baubles.

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Indi Denim: Part 2

(** See Indi Denim Part 1 for the ramp up.)

Earlier in the month, I decided to embark upon an experiment and try out Emeryville-based Indi Denim and offer up my experience for anyone out there who might be thinking about placing an order. The proposition is an intriguing one: for $135, design your own custom jeans online and receive a pair unlike any other out there, fit perfectly to your measurements, within a few weeks.

After placing my order on May 30, I received an email on June 4 informing me that there had been a delay in the shipment of my order due to the “quality assurance process.” At the time, the email I received estimated the ship date for my jeans as July 11. Needless to say, I was like, man, I really have to wait six weeks for them to ship? That kind of went against my need it, want it, get it now sensibilities. But I resolved to be zen about it.

So yesterday, June 18, I was surprised to receive another email letting me know that my jeans had shipped and would arrive within 5-7 business days. That’s certainly better than July 11. But I was surprised to read this on shipping email: “Please note, indi orders ship from Mexico, and it may take a few days before your tracking number is found in the domestic UPS system.”

I’ve never seen a message like that on a shipping confirmation email. It struck me as a little strange - but not all that worrisome.

But here’s what I found to be a bit of a letdown, but I didn’t realize the jeans were being made outside the country and shipped in - and that’s less desirable to me for many reasons. I try to buy local or from independent folks as much as possible - it’s sort of a point of pride for me. So I was a little like, uh-oh, am I in sweatshop territory here? Who knows. I looked on the site again today for any information about the manufacturing process, location, worker conditions, etc. I didn’t find anything. That’s not to say that the company is doing anything untoward - they may be running the best little factory in all of Mexico for all I know. But the point is that I don’t know who made my jeans or what conditions they are working in while making them. And I think about that kind of stuff.

And here ends the update. I’ll be back with images and a final review once I receive my pair.

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Sass Pass

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Sometimes a Carrot…

…is just a carrot. And sometimes, it is a chance to save 40 percent off s’pensive, but lovely stuff from designers gracing the glossies.

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SF Indie Fashion News Roundup

News, news, news you can use:

- Rose & Radish is having its latest Switch Sale right now. While the boutique and gallery changes up its interiors to prep for the next installation, you’ll find great deals on a selection of this Hayes Valley shop’s artisanal wares. Buy online, pick up at the store this week or next.

- Going to the North Beach Festival this weekend? ooma wants to give you a mimosa, so stop by the shop. You’ll also find new jewelry by local artists, as well as some great last-minute Father’s Day gifts.

- The folks at Honey Ryder are participating in the Hayes Valley Block Party this Saturday and Sunday. Head down to the Hayes ‘hood for this Moroccan-themed event, complete with belly dancing, live music, Moroccan food and perks from the local businesses along the main drag.

- Sample Angel is getting its sale on starting today with lots of summery dresses from labels like Single and Akiko.

- This week, Gama-Go came out with a rad new line of messenger bags. There are six new styles available in two different sizes, the Go-Right (larger) and the Go-Might (smaller).

- Still need something for dear ‘ole Dad? Save 20 percent on guy-friendly typewriter key cufflinks from The Weekend Store with the coupon code DAD08.

- Another Dad discount you can take advantage of before Sunday? Thanks to a promo from Billion Dollar Babes, you can save 20 percent on purchases of $50 or more and get free shipping at Kiehls (they have great dude-friendly skincare products) when you place your order before the end of the day tomorrow (June 13) and use the coupon code SFBABES at checkout.

- This Saturday, Divisadero boutique Still Life launches its Summer Designer Series with a party from 7 to 10 pm. Stop by to check out work from The Feathered Leopard.

- Also on Saturday, at the exact same time, Root Division will be celebrating Under 100, a new exhibit featuring a slew of art from local peeps for under $100 a pop. Here’s the fashion angle: During the event, local artists will be there screen printing their designs on t-shirts, bags, paper, etc. You can bring your own or buy print-friendly materials at the show.

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Be a Dr. Martens Designer

Got a soft spot for Docs? The iconic footwear (or should be say arse-kicking) company Dr. Martens has launched a design contest that allows anyone to create a pair of decorated, tricked-out boots online and submit them - the winning designs (they’ll pick two) will be sold in stores.

But the best part has got to be the online design tool. Back in the day man, you got a silver paint pen and drew weird squiggles and dots on the backs of your boots and thought you were really bohemian, sort of a Dead Head with a slight infusion of head-stomping punkitude. Oh, wait, that was just me. But yeah, this new tool is prett-aye, prett-aye cool.

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RSVP: Glam.com’s Spring Mix Party

Be sure to RSVP by tomorrow if you want to attend this event at the Ambassador next week.

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Barneys Wants Your Tees

Old tees? Barneys wants ‘em for an upcoming holiday collection made from recycled t-shirts.

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Sales, News, Sales, News

Lovin’ me some spring sales and cool news from indie-minded shops and local SF boutiques. I’m not going to go into detail on these because I’m waaay tired right now. But sometimes, short is sweet, eh?

- Maneater Threads: San Francisco-based online retailer is having its quarterly 30 percent off sale on sale items through March 31.

- Gama-Go: Go nuts for all the new wallets, hoodies and coin purses at this San Francisco fave. And oh yeah, get a rad free book with buys of $100+.

- Honey Ryder: Head to Hayes Valley and score 20 percent off your purchase through April 4 when you mention the mailing list email. Designers like Audrey Hu, Black Halo, Daftbird, Kim White and Melissa Joy Manning.

- Sample Angel: They’re clearing the racks with discounts on the already discounted designer garb at this Presidio Heights shop this weekend. I’ve gotten some sweet deals here…

- Harper Greer: Plus size local fashion designer in downtown San Francisco is offering a free scarf with purchases of $100 or more to celebrate its spring arrivals.

- Porcelynne: I already mentioned this earlier in the week, but I’ll say it again because I’m a fan. Big saving on online purchases (like $12 and under) when you buy from Jennifer’s online store.

- Dollhouse Bettie: Woo woo! New items from Stacey Dash are in. Super cute for the demure little vintage gal.

- doe: Don’t forget doe’s weekly photo contests. Why? Gift certificates. Duh!

- Pop Junkie: Two words. Hoodie Sale. ‘Nuff said.

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