Friday Fun with a Nautical Slant

Hello-Hello, welcome to an almost-weekend here at The Prepatorium. It’s Friday, the monsoon seems to have finally abated: we actually have sun shining and it’s just plain gorgeous. It seems like a good time for some Friday Fun with a nautical slant, we begin with some amazing cakes.

Fat Girl Cakes / My 1950s Wedding

The next come via Alana Scully Photography/Style Me Pretty (L) and Arte de Ka Cakes (R).

Alana Scully Photography via Style Me Pretty/Arte de Ka Cakes

Here we see a trio of nautically inclined cakes via Bird’s Party Blog.

Bird’s Party Blog

This one is by Miso Cakes, the photo comes via The Cake Blog.

Miso Cakes via The Cake Blog

I like the Nautical Stripes Charm Bracelet from C. Wonder, and the Blue Nautical Stripe shoes by Zara are cute.

C. Wonder/Zara

More jewelry, Betsey Johnson’s Nautical Theme Necklace,on the left, the Nautical Knot Bracelet is by Madewell.

Betsey Johnson/Madewell

Other jewelry options include the Urban Outfitters Earrings or our Needlepoint Anchors Bracelet.

Urban Outfitters/The Preppy Princess

When it comes to apparel there’s no shortage of items at J. Crew, like the Anchor Tee Shirt and the Linen Pocket Anchor Tee.

J. Crew

Equipment’s Whirlpool Anchors silk shirt is on the left, on the right we show the Moschino Cheap & Chic Anchor Heart T-Shirt.

Equipment/Moschino

For your MOTH (Man Of The House) perhaps the Shanghai Anchor Smoking Slippers or J. Crew’s Lightweight Pattern Socks?

Saks 5th Avenue/J. Crew

For the wee Prince, a few styles from Danish brand ej sikke lej, the Sailboat Owl or Sailor Dog tees.

ej sikke lej

From the same shop, your very young Princess In Training may enjoy the onesie, if a bit older the tee could work.

ej sikke lej

Ralph Lauren offers some darling onesies: a vintage print, along with an embroidered navy style.

Ralph Lauren via Saks

One of my all-time favorite infant items: the needlepoint Baby Booties from By Paige.

By Paige

By Paige also has footwear for grown-up girls.

By Paige

But perhaps my favorite nautically influenced shoes come from J. Crew, the Bow Pumps in Ratti Regatta.

J. Crew Collection

They’re not terribly practical they are so distinctive, once worn they are not easily forgotten. But they are darling. Perhaps one would get more bang for their buck by using their pin money for these. The yummy-looking sailboats on the left are by Pink Martinis and Pearls, the collection on the right was shared on The Cake Blog.

Pink Martinis & Pearls/The Cake Blog

Our final item is something new to the Princess, the Reilly tote from Crabberrie Bags, featuring a vintage boat on the water.

‘Reilly’ Tote at PreppyPrincess.com

We hope you enjoy a splendid weekend, be it on land or at sea.

Friday Fun with a Royal Slant

Hello-Hello, it is a Friday. We hope you are about to enjoy a lovely weekend, June is one of my favorite months.

We wanted to share a few things that caught our attention this week, tidbits we thought might put a smile on your face. We begin with this photo:

BBC Facebook

Imagine you are an anchor at the BBC, reading the news. There is a live audience in the background, much like the morning news shows here in the US.  While reading the hits you sense a frisson of unusual energy in the studio, so you turn around to see what in the dickens is going on.

BBC News

The Queen of England was standing in the audience watching the news, just part of the crowd. Her Majesty was on hand to officially open the rebuilt and remodeled BBC Broadcasting House.

In other royal news, tomorrow is the big wedding in Stockholm when Sweden’s Princess Madeleine will wed Christopher O’Neill.

Swedish Royal Court

The couple live and work in the city: Princess Madeleine at the World Childhood Foundation, Mr. O’Neill at an investment banking firm.  The Princess is the youngest child of Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia.

Bruno Ehrs via Royal Court

The groom has dual US and UK citizenship, both parties will remain at their jobs in New York following the honeymoon. Mr. O’Neill has officially declined the offer of being titled as “Prince Christopher”.

Ewa-Marie Rundquist/royalcourt.se

Below you see the couple earlier this week at ceremonies marking Sweden’s National Day yesterday.

mm

Traditional Swedish costumes are worn for the event.

Official Princess Madeleine Facebook Page

Tonight there is a private dinner for guests, more from the Sacramento Bee:

The Royal Court said guests include the U.K.’s Earl and Countess of Wessex, Prince Edward and Sophie, Princess Takamado of Japan and princes and princesses from Norway, Denmark, Greece, Luxembourg and Monaco.

Other well-known invites include the CEO of fashion retailer H&M, Karl-Johan Persson, golfer Jesper Parnevik, Roxette singer Marie Fredriksson, Broadway’s “Phantom of the Opera” star Peter Joback and Colombian billionaire Alejandro Santo Domingo.

The ceremony is tomorrow afternoon in the Royal Chapel at the Palace in Stockholm. Following the ceremony there will be a dinner at Drottningholm Palace, where Princess Madeleine was born and raised.

Dick Norberg/Royal

The bride will wear a wedding gown designed by Valentino Garavani.  Methinks we shall see some serious party frocks in the next few days, and a tiara or two as well.

As of this writing guests have started to arrive for tonight’s dinner, below we see the couple arriving.

Aftonbladet. se

Those Vineyard Vines Hotel Suites

Hello-Hello, welcome to an almost-weekend here in the Corner Condo at the Prepatorium.

Today we are engaging in some much-needed Friday Fun, starting with news that Vineyard Vines is decorating hotel suites. From Women’s Wear Daily:

Talk about living the Vineyard Vines lifestyle.

The nautical-inspired brand has partnered with Lark Hotels, a boutique hotel group with properties throughout coastal New England, to create two guest suites.

Below, a suite at the Captain Fairfield Inn in Kennebunkport.

Captain Fairfield Inn

Back to the WWD.com story:

The suites mix the brand’s coastal preppy chic touches with the modern influences for which Lark Hotels is known. Pillows and bed bolsters are made from boardshorts material, and the edging on the window shades is from Vineyard Vines belts.

Another part of the suite.

Captain Fairfield Inn

The Captain Fairfield Inn is the first Lark property to have suites with VV decor.

Captain Fairfield Inn

Next to have the Vines treatment: 76 Main on Nantucket. That property’s grand opening is June 9.

This isn’t the first interaction between the two brands, Lark employees are outfitted by Vineyard Vines. More from the Lark blog.

From managers to housekeepers (and even friends and family!), you’ll see the crew at our hotels decked out in stylish vineyard vines dresses, khakis, polo shirts, tunics and capris.

Lark Hotels Blog

Lark’s other properties include the Attwater in Newport and the historic Danforth in Portland (Maine).

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Our other tidbit involves Friday Fun of the Four-Legged kind, we wanted to share more preppish duds for your pooch.

ParsonsDesignGrad on etsy

The madras coat is by ParsonsDesignGrad on etsy. The shop owner and design whiz got in touch last week about her creations and I just fell in love with them.  One of the niftiest things about the coat is that it is reversible, the flip side of the oh-so-snappy madras is a lovely repp tie stripe.

ParsonsDesignGrad on etsy

The coats are made from re-purposed and upcycled vintage linens, there are some wonderful patterns available.

ParsonsDesignGrad on etsy

If interested in visiting the ParsonsDesignGrad etsy shop, just click here.

We also stumbled across some new styles while endlessly grazing studiously reading some of today’s offerings at Fab.com.

Preppie Pup at Fab.com

These are by Preppie Pup, available at Fab, there are definitely some ‘fashionable’ looks.

Seeing these dapper styles reminded me of the posts we’ve done showcasing The Rover Boutique. Below, some of the images we have previously shared.

Rover Boutique

There are new styles at the Boutique, including the Fieldwork Raincoat.

The Rover Boutique

This one has a bit of the Barbour touch, don’t you think? Just in time for spring, the Boutique also has some cute new bowtie collars, like this seersucker style, definitely today’s Pretty in Pink.

The Rover Boutique on etsy

On that cheery note, g’bye until next time!

Spring Surfing, A New Style of “Mommy & Me”

Hello-Hello, and welcome to a Friday, where once again we are seeing gray, gloomy skies. It is after all, February in The Great Midwest.

The abundance of dreary days spurred a spot of online window shopping this week, as we sought out some bright and vibrant hues. Fortunately, the springtime fashions are arriving in stores and online, so we were able to indulge in dreams of sunny skies and warmer temps. While looking at the styles we noted the preponderance of patterned sweaters that are made of printed fabric, as opposed to the pattern being woven into the material.

We have several examples of the technique, starting with Bean’s Lightweight Printed cardigan ($59.95). The material is described as “premium pima cotton for silky softness, nylon for extra durability and a bit of Lycra® elastane for a consistent fit”.

LL Bean Printed Cardigans

Many of us grew up wearing sweaters with the pattern woven into the garment, like these, also from Bean. The handknit Fair Isle ($199) is seen on the left, the iconic Norwegian sweater ($139) is on the right.

LL Bean

More examples of the printed sweaters, a springy style from J. McLaughlin. This is the Durango Sweater ($155), also printed (and in a lovely selection of color palettes!). It is a cotton/modal blend with a touch of spandex.

J. McLaughlin

Talbots’ cardigans are often a blend of 60% cotton/40% rayon. It is a comfortable mix of fibers, I have one and it has worn well. Below left, the Tapestry Paisley Cardigan.

Talbots

Lilly Pulitzer also offers printed cardigans.

Lilly Pulitzer

Someone here at the Prepatorium has several has seen these in person (cough-cough), the newer technique allows patterns that are more intricate and detailed, and colors that are rich and bold.  Initially I wasn’t crazy about the method, but gradually have come to like it, deciding there is room in the closet for both styles. Does anyone else have strong feelings about the fabric…good, bad, never noticed?

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Another style we have noticed more this spring, the knit blazer. Below we show it as interpreted by Brooks Brothers.

Brooks Brothers

Talbots also offers a knit jacket, this is the Ponté knit Colorblocked Jacket (149).

Talbots Ponte Knit Blazer

And here we see LL Bean’s version, the Comfort Knit Blazer ($49.95).

LL Bean

It brings to mind an old theory of mine: as a rule, if the word ‘comfort’ is in the name of a garment, it’s unlikely to be terribly chic or elegant. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but when viewing the gray version, in particular, the look goes a bit downhill.

Knits can be a beautiful thing, especially when traveling. Talbots has multiple pieces in the Ponté knit fabric shown above, arguably several would work on a business trip. The freedom from wrinkles alone make the textile meritorious of inclusion in many a wardrobe. But the knit blazer….? Below, Old Navy’s version ($34.94).

Old Navy

Observations? The jackets with patterns and/or tipping (the contrasting color edges seen on the Brooks Brothers & Talbots pieces) seem less offensive than the solid colors. Also, gray looks rather ghastly, reminiscent of sweatshirts and yoga pants. Again, nothing bad about those items in one’s closet, they have a place. It’s just similar material turned into a blazer looks very odd to yours truly.

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The final trend we noticed when surfing through some of our favorite sites, color blocking.

Via LilyWhiteClothing.com

We see it in Lilly’s Heidi Cardigan ($148).

Lilly Pulitzer ‘Heidi’ Cardigan

As well as J. Crew’s Colorblock Cardigan ($89.50).

J. Crew

And Kate Spade’s Colorblock Tees ($68).

Kate Spade

As Lilly notes in describing its Irene Dress (below left), “We’re on a colorblock kick!” The frock on the right is the Colorblock Tiff Dress from Kate Spade ($358), on the far right, Kate Spade’s Colorblock Blanche Dress ($498).

Lilly Pulitzer/Kate Spade/Kate Spade

More examples: the Long Sleeve Sunshirt in Caribbean ($78), Stretch Perfect Shirt in Hydrangea ($88), and Boys’ Pullover in Spearmint ($49.50), all from J. Crew.

J. Crew

I have long been fond of this style (in moderation), it adds zip to garments that usually have clean lines and minimal embellishment.

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Our final tidbit today has nothing to do with dressing humans, but rather, feline fashions. Behold, United Bamboo’s 2013 Cat Calendar.

United Bamboo

Why are we so crazy about it? It is all about the sartorial selections of those starring in the pages of the Calendar.

United Bamboo

How cute is the little Regatta Blazer?

United Bamboo

Or the Ruffle Pleat Dress?

United Bamboo

It kind of takes ‘Mommy & Me’ to an entirely new level.

United Bamboo

With that we say Happy Weekend!

A Touch of Tiffany Blue & That Brooks Brothers Blazer Dustup

Hello and happy Friday.

We begin today with a look at the new Tiffany store that opened in Soho, it’s a fun way to start the weekend. The topic isn’t so much how the store looks now that it’s opened, but the fun way Tiffany dressed the construction site. First, how the space looked back in June, via the good folks at Racked.

Racked.com

Here is a mural Tiffany commissioned for the site, it took fashion artist Danny Roberts more than 130 hours to create the artwork.

Photo Courtesy Danny Roberts via Fashionista

The company’s creative minds made a delightful graphic in advance of the opening.

Tiffany & Co. Instagram

The grand opening featured the company’s robin’s egg blue, Matchbook Magazine shared this picture.

Via Matchbook Magazine Instagram

At its Fashion’s Night Out events the jeweler even offered treats in the trademarked color.

Jasmine Snow Instagram (@Jassnow)

It’s always a delight to see companies take a distinctive element of the brand and have fun with it, a touch of whimsy can be a good thing.

Which brings us to a little kerfluffle about this.

Brooks Brothers

That would be the now famous Brooks Brothers Quilted Blazer.  A more detailed look.

Brooks Brothers

The dust-up about garment evidently started on the the Brooks Brothers Facebook page, but reached a much bigger audience following this blog post in the Journal:

WSJ Speakeasy Blog

From the piece by Ray Smith:

Critics said that that kind of blazer (and the scruffy model) belongs in some fashion designer’s collection, not at classic Brooks Brothers.

If coveting the abomination the “reengineered blazer,” there are additional colors, one needn’t be limited to classic blue.

Brooks Brothers

I can’t help it, the gentleman in the catalog photos shrieks hipster. Yes, this statement comes from one reveling in her hard-earned status as a not-entirely-youthful consumer. (Cough-cough.)

Here is how the ghastly item is described by Brooks.

Certain to become your “go-to” piece this season, our quilted blazer takes the casual comfort of a down-filled jacket and blends it with the familiar structure of your favorite blazer. Cut in a trimmer fit that tapers to the waist and provides more room in the chest and shoulders, this blazer has modern appeal.

The debate raged on for several weeks, ultimately things hit a point where Brooks responded via its blog, “Of Rogues and Gentlemen“:

We just figured it was time to put our two cents in.

We know, we know. It’s not a traditional blazer by any means.

Well, it is navy. And it does have lapels.

That said if fashion pushes the boundaries of what we wear, style is the careful collection – and adoption – of the best of fashion.

True style has to be flexible.

Oh and for the record, we decided to file this under the outerwear section.

There. Now we’re done.

Frankly, yours truly doesn’t think the words quilted and blazer belong next to each other.  If The Consort or a sibling showed up in the garment they would be asked to surrender their place at the Prepatorium.

However. It’s a piece of clothing, and lord knows Brooks has to pursue a younger demo to stay in business. That way when this old crankenstein goes in to shop the store will still be there. We’ll just need to take our HDS (Hipster Deflecting Shield).

Until next time, may everyone’s weekend be filled with sunshine!