Inspiration: Stephanie B.

Hi everyone!

Goodness, have we been busy! July was a whirlwind of summer fun, which means we took a lot of trips out of San Francisco to enjoy Mr. Blue Sky. In fact, we spent last weekend in beautiful Seattle to celebrate the wedding of our ex-bandmate to his long time love. It was an amazing time, made especially great because I was able to catch up with my darling friend Stephanie!



Stephanie and FFC alum Leia looking foxy at the wedding.


We met Stephanie a looooong time ago when she was living in Santa Cruz with Finest Dearest’s future bassist, and were even roommates for a while in San Francisco. I have long admired Stephanie’s look—from the perfect hair and makeup to the way she embodies vintage style in her everyday life. I also love that Stephanie’s personal style really reflects her personality: sunny, cheeky and adventurous.


Here’s what Stephanie had to say when I interviewed her a while back:

1. What usually motivates your outfit when you get dressed in the morning?
As a lifelong procrastinator, I have learned that dresses are best suited for my lifestyle...and my figure. They are a one-stop shop, just begging for the perfect accessories! I am also inspired by people watching outside my window on 24th street, very colorful!

2. What’s your favorite reason to get all gussied up?
I love to pull out all the stops for dinner parties and Sunday brunch with my ladies.

3. Something fashionable you’ve been drooling over lately?
A vintage poncho-style trench coat would be lovely. Or, if someone could just buy me a Snuggie, that would fine as well.

4. Favorite places to shop?
The Painted Bird, the Goodwill in Auburn, Savers in San Jose, and the Bargain Barn in Santa Cruz

5. Most embarrassing fashion trend you’ve seen people follow recently? (Or that you've been guilty of!)
Leather leggings...faux or real. Only the New York Dolls can get away with a stunt like that!



Looking gorgeous as Edie Sedjwick for Halloween.

The First Face of FFC

This is Nicole L. Browner. Besides being a real looker, Nicole is also the Content Producer for one of our favorite San Francisco music blogs The Bay Bridged . Beauty and brains! Nicole is humoring us by being one of our first models. Our very first photo shoot is scheduled for one of last weekends in August when we will finally have enough stuff to get up on our site and to make it look like a (real) boutique. Before then, we have to conquer the mother of all trade shows - MAGIC . As always, we are excited and scared. 105 degree weather, back to back meetings with vendors, spring '11 collections (!), poker tournaments (oh, um, I mean, did I say that?!) :)
One of our focuses for MAGIC is going to be shoes, because currently we are sorely lacking in the shoe department, and that makes me sad. Those of you who know me, know I am kind of ridiculous about shoes. And by ridiculous I mean obsessed. Rest easy my loves - I will find those shoes! Until then, goodnight, and stay fancy.
xo
Car

FAQ No. 1 and 2 : Do you sell cologne? / What's with your name?

OK, we knew there would be a teensy bit of danger in choosing a name that may lead people to believe we sell fragrances. However, we were also hoping that a few might pick up on the
origins of our name and some of you have, hooray! For those who are still saying "what the what?" I thought I would tell you about a song called Carey, by Joni Mitchell. I grew up listening to Joni as many of us did (depending on your parents' tastes) and haven't stopped since. When we were going crazy trying to choose a name for our store, I was doing all kinds of exercises - making mood boards and collages, making lists of words, rearranging - and one night while I was working on all this I happened to be listening to Joni Mitchell's album Blue.
“Carey” by Joni Mitchell, describes her wild adventures in the Greek isles. In the song, she soaks up an exotic but gritty travel experience, and though she’s having the time of her life,
she sings: “I miss my clean white linen and my fancy French cologne”. The meaning of this song really resonated with us and has come to define the spirit of our shop. We are for you ladies
who are just as comfortable in a fast-paced urban environment as you are hiking a trail or climbing a tree—looking for adventure in everyday life and looking lovely while you’re at it.
In music, lifestyle, and fashion, Joni is an icon and an inspiration.

xoxo

Car

Model Hunting This Weekend

That's right, we'll be scouring the streets of San Francisco looking for some normal, everyday ladies to recruit as models. We're not 100% sure how to describe the kind of gal that we imagine will grace the pages of our site, but I am confident she's out there!

If you know anyone, please have them contact us at info at fancyfrenchcologne dot com.

xoChr

That's All, Folks!

This weekend Carly and I played our last show ever with Finest Dearest and I don't think we could have asked for a better ending. We had a really great time with everyone--thank you for being there! And while we're on the subject, I'd like to say thank you if you ever let us sleep on your floor or booked us a show, thank you for all of your kind messages recently saying you are sorry we're breaking up, thank you everyone who was involved in our music, from artwork to photography, recording, distro, trombones... Basically, thanks to everyone who cared. We know how lucky we are to have known you all.

Special thanks to Lev for taking all the awesome photos of the show, which you can see more of here, and who is actually going to be our photographer for Fancy French Cologne.

And so with this behind us, I think Carly and I can really focus everything on Fancy French Cologne. Weve dipped our toes in this completely new world, and we're eager to just get in there already!

xoChr

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