Event: Plenty's Fall Fashion Showcase

Last week I attended the Plenty Fall Fashion Showcase hosted by FASHION Magazine's Joy Pecknold.

Plenty is celebrating 23 years in the industry and carries various in-house labels such as: Propaganda, PDG, Ribbon, Ribbon Luxe, Monk & Lou, and Big Blue. Joy introduced us to some great fall looks from Plenty's various lines.

Plenty's showcase is a great way to see how fashion's runway trends can be accessible for everyone.

Autumnal

Chic Country
Trends: fur, blanket stripes.

 Men's Prep

Men's Street

Prints on Prints
Trends: embellished pants, contrast collars.

Violent Femmes
Trends: Strong women, lace inserts (sheer).

Images via: Dela Cruz PR.

Beauty: Butter London Autumn/Winter 2012 Collection

The Autumn/Winter 2012 trend report contains a huge list of trends and one of my favourites is making its way into the beauty world.

Butter London's Autumn/Winter 2012 collection is reminiscent of the fabric blocking that we saw on the runways this past February at Herve Leger and Alexander Wang.

From the press release:

Sequins! Velvet! Satin! Tweed! This season, the catwalks were abundant with rich texture! We’ve translated this to nails through the infusion of glitter particles and metallic and holographic finishes. The colour tones speak to “earthiness” but are not specifically earth tones – think rust, shimmering greens and silvers. This collection feels future-forward but not futuristic. This season is all about using texture to add interest and depth to your look!

Lovely Jubbly

Trustafarian

Gobsmacked

Shag

Dodgy Barnett

Butter London polishes are $14 and can be found at various retailers across Canada and the US.

Autumn/Winter 2012: Trend Report

In February at New York Fashion Week, WGSN, the world's leading fashion forecaster, curated a list of 10 Autumn/Winter 2012 trends.

And though the photos below may not show it, the hot colours for Autumn/Winter 2012 are: burnt orange, eggplant, royal blue, peach, deep teal, primrose yellow, venetian red, and cerulean (hello Devil Wears Prada!).

Winter Whites
As seen at 3.1 Phillip Lim & Alexander Wang

See, white can be worn after Labour Day.

European School Girl
As seen at Kelly Wearstler & Anna Sui

Fun & flirty

Blanket Stripes
As see at Rag&Bone & Mulberry

From coats to sweaters and dresses, this cozy print will make you want to curl up apres ski

Fabric Blocking
As seen at Herve Leger & Alexander Wang

Colour blocking's more daring sister

Strong Women
As seen at Herve Leger & Victoria Beckham

The juxtaposition of masculine and feminine

Fur
As seen at 3.1 Phillip Lim & Yigal Azrouel

Coats, hats, bags...you name it, and it can have fur

Contrast Collars
As seen at Derek Lam & Moschino

From dainty (Lam) to bolder (Moschino), there are no limits

Brocade & Embellished Pants
As seen at A.L.C. & Derek Lam

Simple designs with rich fabric

Lace Inserts
As see at Charlotte Ronson & Rebecca Minkoff

How daring you are is up to you

Quilting
As see at Jason Wu & L.A.M.B.

Again, marrying the masculine and feminine

All images via Style.com

Giveaway: Win a $50 Gift Certificate from Poppin

It's back to school time and nothing says that more than some shiny new things for your work or home office.

With the company slogan, "Work Happy", Poppin is ready to bring the pretty (and happy) to your work space. They want to give one lucky Haus of Hybrid reader a $50 gift certificate. That is a lot of stationary - I'm jealous.

To enter: 'Like' Haus of Hybrid and Poppin on Facebook and then tag us both in your status - "I entered to win $50 from Poppin from Haus of Hybrid" or something.

Contest closes Friday, September 14 at 11:59pm PST. Contest open to Canadian and US residents only.

Update: Congrautlations Wendy Walt Riding!

Good luck!

Here are some of the cool things Poppin has to offer:

NYFW: My Fashion Week

This season my Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week was short. It fell on the tail end of a visit to the city, so I managed to squeeze in a few shows before leaving. Fashion Week is always...eventful, but I've noticed that there are habits that I've developed over the past 3 seasons.

Here's just a few of the things that shape my Fashion Week.

1) Starbucks (Broadway, between 62nd & 63rd)

I'm not a Starbucks fan and avoid going as much as I can. However, when you're already running late and don't have time to grab coffee before you hop on the subway/into a cab/into your car, the Starbucks next to the Empire Hotel is the way to go. This location is always busy and Fashion Week just makes it insane. But for those few days, it runs like a well-oiled machine. So, don't let the crazy line deter you.

2) Between show breaks at Rosa Mexicano (61 Columbus, between 62nd & 63rd)

To be fair, I've only ever had their soup and guacamole. But! It's the best guacamole I've ever had. It's made to order right in front of you! Pair it with a margarita (frozen or on the rocks).

I actually just recently ate all this myself

3) Sunglasses

Remember that extra vodka soda or glass of bubbly you had at [insert designer/store/magazine/website name]'s party last night (open bar, of course)? Sunglasses hide that. Remember when you got home at 4:00am and you had a show to attend at 9:00am? Sunglasses hide that. Sunglasses hide everything. Aside from protecting your eyes from UVA/UVB rays, they also make you look really cool when you're walking into the NYFW tents and when you're sitting front row at that 9:00am show (plus the lights are really, really bright).

Sunglasses: Spitfire

4) Flats

I am not rich. I (much to my dismay) cannot afford to take cabs or car service to and from the Lincoln Center (or SoHo, or The Standard, or The Piers) all the time. Whether you have regular flats or Dr. Scholl's Fast Flats, they are a must-have if you're broke like me. I have been saved many a time by doing my commute in flats

5) Thank-you Cards

Send them to the PR team of the shows you attend. It's just polite. I always go with Love + Mark'd.

Spotlight: Ora Bags

Finding great local designers to support is one of the great privileges and challenges of being a blogger. Vancouver has plenty of great local designers, but the number that fit my personal aesthetic are few. I was fortunate to come across Ora, a local handbag company that uses new and vintage leather pieces.

Recently I had the opportunity to ask Randi Obenauer, the designer of Ora bags a few questions about the company and her Fall 2012 collection.

How did you get started with Ora Bags?

I started making the fist bags while I was still a student at Helen Lefeaux School of Fashion Design. I had previously studied both Fine Art and also Automotive Upholstery. Through my upholstery work, I was familiar with leather and industrial sewing. I used some scrap leather I had and made two bags for myself and my sister, and was quickly overwhelmed by the reactions I got wearing my bag around the city. Before long I was in a few shops, and Fashion Magazine did a little write up on Ora, and it all snowballed from there.

Where does the name come from?

I really love the concept of the Aura as the light around the body, or spiritual energy. I related the word to letters from my name, Randi Obenauer, and changed the spelling. 

What was your inspiration for the Fall 2012 collection?

I'm really inspired by vintage fashions and also by the medium of leather. I'm also totally self indulgent within my design process, I make bags that I want and need, and I make them from beautiful leather that's strong and durable. I expanded my line for Fall 2012 to include more unisex options, including the extra thick Riley briefcase. The Kinley fringe leather bag was the bag I had been dreaming of for quite some time, I love the extra long fringe. I also gained immense inspiration working with so many talented individuals on my Fall look book and video, I'm really looking forward to future collaborations!

What's next for Ora Bags?

I'm already excited for a new collection and photos and video for Spring 2013, I really love the entire process of dreaming up and orchestrating each new collection. I'll be introducing more unisex options and more small accessories in future lines. I'd really love to see Ora appear in the pages of some international publications and I'm hoping to gain more retailers worldwide.  

Ora bags can be found

Vancouver:
Nouvelle Nouvelle
Whoa! Nellie
Sitka
El Kartel

Victoria:
Sitka

Seattle: 
Craft & Culture
Cairo

San Francisco: Photoblog

A month ago, I went to San Francisco with some girlfriends for the Outside Lands music festival. The festival was awesome - it's music, art, wine, food, and beer focused...so basically adult Disneyland.

Native Shoes - a festival must

PDX art

Hey-my-flight-was-delayed-and-it's-only-10-but I've-been-up-since-3am margarita 

More PDX art

SFO Civic Center

Best. Coffee. Ever.

Always the blogger. Outfit heading to Of Monsters & Men concert

Hey it's @sarallin & @em_rossco

Hofbrau Haus steins remind me, so much, of Oktoberfest 2008 - Biergarten in SFO 

Of Monsters & Men concert at the California Academy of Science - music, food, science, and cocktails might be the best combination ever

Art

Fried Chicken Yum Yum from 4505 Meats

Wine Lands!

Chocolands!

Live mural paintings 

Frickles from Those Fabulous Frickle Brothers

Pre-gaming pre-festival

Party brunch! (9 mimosas later...)

Pretty

Denim on demin (DIY vest & t-shirt)

Gilroy Garlic Mac & Cheese from Homeroom

Brunch at Straw

Obviously

Egg-in-the-hole brioche toast

Chocolate chip pancakes with Nutella maple syrup

Jenga french toast

Red velvet waffle with vanilla cream cheese frosting

Malaysian nachos

Stevie Wonder & his keytar

'Everywhere you look...'

Chocolate peanut butter pie while waiting in line for Ike's

PART of the line at Ike's

Best sandwiches in SFO 

Big bite