May 23, 2013

Maximize Summer with These Lovely Local Maxi Skirts

Let your hem down with the summer wardrobe essential: a maxi skirt. We’ve found some of the chicest locally-designed skirts to spruce up your closet.

Marine Layer‘s basic women’s skirt, $70, wraps a slew of neutral tones into one piece. A contrasting vertical back hem in black adds some sporty pizazz.

Curator‘s Claudine Skirt, $75, is the perfect balance of length and utility. A tie waist adds femininity, while the eco-friendly fabric keeps it in the sustainable style realm. Even better, this organic cotton maxi’s a deal: it’s currently on sale.

Alyssa Nicole‘s Accordion Pleat Maxi Skirt, $48, adds a feminine touch with its vertical pleats. Another plus: the textured maxi is also handmade.

Amour Vert‘s Mia striped maxi, $104, flatters the body with well-placed diagonal stripes. Its hidden pockets and ec0-friendly modal fabric make it a super soft and comfy winner.

Saffron Rare Threads now has a multi-print maxi skirt, $88, that looks like a piece of modern art.  The bold print will add flair to any outfit.

More San Francisco designers

Runway Recap: SF Fashion Week Runway 2 – Ready to Wear

Alyssa Nicole designer Alyssa Casares (right) and model share the runway at the end of the night.

Day two of the San Francisco Fashion Week runway shows drew an audience itching to see the week-long event’s ready-to-wear lineup. Designs from Victor’s Promise, MIKELSEN, Alphyn Industries, Boditecture by Wen Guo, CHUI CHUI by Tracy Wong and Alyssa Nicole paraded down the runway to electro-industrial beats while guests lit up the venue as they snapped  pictures with their phones.

The show began with the convertible fashions of Boditecture, with models untying, unzipping and unwrapping their cocktail dresses to become elegant evening gowns, a two-piece ensemble and a bathing-suit ensemble perfect for poolside lounging.

The rest of the night offered a variety of looks, ranging from the Victorian Goth-inspired dresses of CHUI CHUI to the blush-worthy undergarments of men’s loungewear designer Victor’s Promise. MIKELSEN designer Michael Seneriches showed San Francisco-in-the-70s-inspired patterns with modern twists, while Alyphn Industries appealed to the gadget hungry onlookers in the crowd with jeans and jackets sporting built-in Smartphone sleeves and pockets. Closing the night was 19-year-old designer Alyssa Casares, whose line Alyssa Nicole dazzled with 30′s-inspired cocktail dresses and soft silhouettes that would compliment any frame.

Standouts from the night include CHUI CHUI’s black lace bandeau paired with a layered skirt and silk-wrap tie, MIKELSEN’s one-shoulder dress in blue and green that at first appeared to be painted on and Alyssa Nicole’s ruby-red cinched-waist cocktail dress with cut-out sleeves and layered skirt.

Below, a few images from the show, produced by the San Francisco Fashion and Merchants Alliance:

This CHUI CHUI design caught the attention of many, thanks to its lace bandeau and matching trim on a layered skirt secured with a large pink silk ribbon.

A black lace top-layer added a darker element to this sexy, one-shoulder ensemble by CHUI CHUI.

Guests snap pictures after the model transformed what started on the runway as a mini-tube dress into a full length evening gown by Boditecture.

Men's loungewear by Victor's Promise

Shoulder cut-outs and textured, polka-dot fabric brought a contemporary edge to this girlish Alysssa Nicole dress.

Alphyn Indiustries sent Smartphone-friendly jeans down the runway.

Designer Michael Seneriches (left) walking the runway at the end of his show

Photography courtesy of Shaun Tiangsing

More San Francisco fashion shows….


Alyssa Nicole Launches Accessories

Lime Green Turban from Alyssa Nicole.

If you’re searching for locally-made accessories under $10 this summer, look no further than the Alyssa Nicole online boutique from 19-year-old designer Alyssa Casares. From her new accessories line, you can score a tough-girl-goes-handmade copper agate ring or a lime green turban perfect for sidestepping the burdens of unruly locks for a cool $9.99.

Along with her debut accessory line, the label also offers affordable clothing and bridal wear with cute and flirty silhouettes fitting for the fickle summertime weather in the Bay Area.

More San Francisco fashion news

Runway Recap: L’Affaire

Last weekend’s L’Affaire by Epifany delivered a fashion show benefiting Project Night Night, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping homeless children by providing special Night Night packages with blankets, books and stuffed animals to shelters around the country. Models donning hair and makeup courtesy of Pigment Cosmetics presented to the crowd looks from Alyssa Nicole, Sarah Liller, Inlush and GB Shrive Designs.

Below, a taste of what went down:

Alyssa Nicole

Alyssa Nicole

Sarah Liller

Inlush

Inlush

GB Shrive Designs

GB Shrive Designs

Sree Ramisetty, Charleston Pierce, GB Shrive Designs

Photography by Christophe Tomatis for SF Indie Fashion

Shift to Neutral: Alyssa Nicole Fall 2010

Done up in khaki, camel, mocha and gold, the Alyssa Nicole fall 2010 collection is a local source for apparel in autumn’s most on-trend neutral hues. [Read more...]