Inspiration: Seth B.

That's right, we're introducing the male element into these here inspiration posts! And there is honestly no better dude to kick it off with than our dear friend Seth. He is the only guy that's ever asked me: "which set of cufflinks do you think I should wear?" Seth can tell you what era the camouflage pattern he's wearing is from, he doesn't mind telling you if he likes your blouse, and he plays a clear bass in Stirling Says. In other words, Seth rules.

I recently saw Seth on his birthday and watched his other band Pills play (sorry for the blurry photos...). Read below for some of Seth's opinions on clothing, and if you like what you read he's got many, many more opinions right here.

1. What usually motivates your outfit when you get dressed in the morning?
Context of the day. If I am going to work office-ish clothes. Days off depends on the weather, which in San Francisco changes at the drop of a hat so layers are almost always a must.


2. What’s your favorite reason to get all gussied up?
Friends’ get–togethers mostly, birthdays, cocktail parties, and what-not. But I like getting dressed up as much as possible and always wish there were more reasons to do so and not look out of place or like I am wearing a costume.



3. Something fashionable you’ve been drooling over lately?
I have been really into woven brown leather shoes lately, I am on the lookout for a good pair of calf boots at the moment. I really like some of John Varvatos’ new styles but will never ever be able to afford them. Also, I want a watch. I have had two really great looking watches but one was stolen and the other is too heavy and messes with my tendonitis (I know, lame).


4. Favorite places to shop?
Clothes Contact on Valencia and Mission Thrift have given me many of my favorite clothes. Almost always second hand except the old undies and socks. Any chance I get I check out army/navy surplus stores too. Well made, stylish and it fits like a dream! I also really want a Uniqlo to open in San Francisco.


5. Most embarrassing fashion trend you’ve seen people follow recently? (Or that you've been guilty of!)
I wore girls jeans for about a year when I was a younger man but got over that thankfully. New trends that are on the bummer radar is the tendency of “the kids these days” to wear clothing that is becoming more and more baglike, too many pleats and baggy on top tight on the bottom pieces.

Lights, Camera... Think About Snakes!

Today we drove down to Palo Alto to do a practice photo shoot before we do the real thing. The thing we were most worried about was being able to photograph darker colors and still make the detail stand out, or being able to see the detail when a pattern is really small. We also wanted to just play with the settings and backdrop to see what kind of lighting, angles etc, we liked the best. What we found is that we have a lot of options and flexibility which was kind of a weight off of our shoulders. Also, Lev really knows how to bring the best out in people. For example, he says:

Think about puppy dogs:

Um... ok Christine....

Think about snakes:

Um.... OK uh, both of us...

Look like you love each other:
That we can do :)
Good thing we aren't the models. Anyone else want to take a crack at it?

xo
Carly + Christine

Farewell to Finest Dearest

Hi everyone!

If you haven't heard already, the band that Carly and I have been in for almost six years is calling it quits at the end of this month. I think we all agree that playing in Finest Dearest was one of the most amazing times in our young lives, and we feel so lucky to have shared so many experiences together. We had sooooo much fun, and I have never felt more at home than I did in that band with my finest dears. Together we saw so many new parts of the country, met a ton of great people, learned a lot about the world and each other and ourselves (sounds cheesy, but it's true!!). I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend my twenties. But alas, we have sown our wild oats and are all moving on to new (and more "grown-up") efforts.

To say our proper goodbyes, we're playing a final show in San Francisco, and just released our final album, Good Enough, on iTunes today. Click here to learn more about the show and click here to download the record from iTunes.

Our First Shipment Has Arrived!

We have reached another milestone, friends! We received our very first shipment last night as we were in the midst of our weekly business meeting. How exciting! Here's a picture of me opening the box... unfortunately we can't give away too many details about what's inside, but rest assured we are very excited about its contents.

And this is just the beginning! We will be receiving many more boxes like this one throughout the summer, and indeed year-round from now on. And still, somehow none of this seems very real yet... I wonder how many milestones it takes till you can stop pinching yourself. Where's that pesky Tootsie Pop owl when you need him?

The F Word

Dear Readers,

Lest you think we are neglecting you, I thought I would do a quick check in. The problem is, we have been waiting. Waiting for our website to be done, our logo to be finalized and all of the vendors to approve our paperwork. So we have nothing amazingly exciting to report- and that is just not great blogging material. However, now that you are reading you may as well continue, yes?

As I was enjoying my aunt's 60th birthday / surprise brunch this weekend, I was realizing how tiring it is to talk about the business sometimes( yes already, don't judge me :/ ) I used to have a hard time when family members asked me about our band also. I don't know what it is- maybe you feel like everyone is eager to be proud of you and you are like - well yeah, i mean in Minnesota we played to the piano player that went on before us, his wife, the other band and one poor journalist who heard us online, so we are basically huge.
Not to say that we didn't have some marginally successful nights in our own hometown, but for the most part we ended up just doing it for fun- because we are all friends, and we liked making music.

It's different this time. If we don't have some degree of success I might be seriously dissapointed. I might feel like a failure, and I might be embarrassed. I don't want to be talking to my family a year from now about how we are struggling just to keep our heads above water ( especially since I now owe them my first born - thanks mom and dad and stepdad and stepmom!)

The point is, I'm in a mental preparation phase. I need to be ready to work my hardest, perservere, and if absolutely necessary, be ready to let everything go and chalk it up to a great life experience. I'm just saying - hello Failure, I'm aware of you - if you come anywhere near me I'll punch you in the face- and if you are stronger than me, at least I went down with dignity.

-Car

Inspriration: An Unexpected Theme of Pets + Ladies

Hi everyone!

It's been a while since we'd done an inspiration post (mostly because people are so camera shy...nudge, nudge) but that doesn't mean we haven't been inspired! Here are two sites you should all check out:

Introducing All Mighty, an adorable online shop run by two sisters out of an old Victorian house in NY. The shop is named after their Boston Terrier, Mighty, and the look of the entire site is just over-the-top adorable in honor of his cuddly cuteness. All Mighty is a far cry from what Carly and I are putting together over here at FFC Headquarters in terms of the theme, but it's inspiring to me nonetheless because it's two ladies running an awesome online store out of their house--and they make it look like so much fun! I also think the site is uniquely approachable and really captures their friendly point of view without being precious in a bad way. Good design and good ideas, executed well--it's lots of fun! Go see for yourself!

Next up is Pawesome.net, which is actually where I learned about All Mighty! Pawesome.net is an all-things-pet-and-animal site that is also run by two ladies in SF (my friend Sarah and her co-founder Sonia). Pawesome offers a huge range of info on everything from pet advice, to information about adoption to hilarious YouTube videos. They even do pet profiles, such as this one of my cat Eleanor. I encourage all of you to check out Pawesome, it's a great resource and really fun.

Have fun surfing the net!

xoChristine

Let's say it again together - Live and learn!

Woweeeee, could we have ever imagined that we would be in the middle of so many things at once? I really didn't expect to learn this many life lessons in a few short months. If I had a nickel for every time I, or someone in my vicinity has said "live and learn" lately, ...well, you know. To put it vaguely, while we have been regaling you with tales of trade shows and mythical dresses, there is a lot more going on behind the scenes than one might think. Namely, we have been desperately trying to get our store BUILT. Everything that you will see when we launch the store, from our logo all the way down to the poses of the models will have more thought behind it than you, the customer (er hopefully, OK, not you Dad :p, but hopefully *some* of you ) will ever be privy to. And let us assure you, it has not been easy.

Without going into all of the gory details , we have had to learn a lot about the way we work with each other and the way we work with other people. We can't accomplish every facet of this business on our own , so naturally we have had to hire other people to work with us. How do you communicate effectively to someone, the store that already exists inside of your head? The customer you have already met in your daydreams? And that you would rather have your store look like the fake bathroom in the lovely BellJar boutique than anything else? See even you don't know what we are talking about (well some of you probably do, and you guys rule).

With that in mind, I think the main thing we've learned is to be clear and as specific as possible about your initial ideas with web designers and developers. Even if a detail seems too tiny to mention, mention it, and early on. You won't be sorry. You will save time, money, and headaches. If you don't have a vision yet - sit down and brainstorm. Gather images you like, observe the competition, focus on helping to create something extraordinary - and know that sometimes that means letting go, too.