clever nettle - vintage & fashion in portland, oregon

OPEN SEASON / FASHION SHOW

anja — Tue, 15 May 2012 02:57:04 +0000

As I mentioned in my last post, I made some clothing that appeared in this year’s Open Season fashion show. I made some simple silk and satin dresses to accompany Jesseca Anne‘s jewelry. I spent last week sewing a ton, made everything a few days before the event. So far, the above photos are all I have of my work, because I started to take video footage but it wasn’t looking very good so I quickly tried to switch back to photos, but it was over so fast! I’m counting on the legit photo people to have something for me. Let me know if you come across any more pictures from the show! I think Jess and I are going to do another shoot together at some point so maybe they will appear somewhere else. Felt super weird to have my pieces up there since I’m just starting out and I hope they didn’t look too amateur compared to the rest. Of course all my buddies have been super kind and supportive, a million thanks for that. I also got to spend a whole bunch of hours with the amazing Katie-Louise Ford, but I think she deserves her own post. So now, more photos from the show!

You know you’re at a Portland fashion show when there are crazy dresses that look like reconstructed wedding bits and bellydancer models.

The RAW Textiles dyed silk organza dress on the left is my #1 favorite piece from the entire show. Rio has such amazing skills, she uses unconventional natural dye techniques and I’m always impressed with her work. I love the vintage-like cut, the subtle dye patterns, and the fact that the dress seems incredibly lightweight and comfortable. On the right is one of Sara Bergman‘s new looks, she had such a great, colorful collection. We’re going to be shooting together again at the end of the month and I’m excited to see everything close up!

Above is my favorite lil’ model ever, my ultimate wedding photography partner, Miss Carlie Armstrong! She walked for Jesseca in a golden dress that I made and and also for her friend REIF, who made one of my favorite collections of the night. Tuff girl 60′s mod vibes with leather, snakeskin, sheer fabrics, and amazing shoes.

I’m a bad reporter and I don’t remember which line this is from, since this guy walked for a couple different things. All the male models were the crowd favorites, since they got to do things like dress in giant sleeping bag creations, slam whiskey at the end of the runway, etc. Everyone loved it.

Honey Owens ruled while walking for Shadow Sisters. Loved all their prints and models.

Equal parts elegant and sweet, Dawn Sharp was great as always.

Another beautiful piece from Sara Bergman.

Poler was so awesome. Really chill camping vibes, totally lighthearted with some novelty (that was still totally functional), another “only in Portland” kind of thing, but I mean that in a good way.

Isaac Hers

The final piece of the night, a gorgeous wedding dress by Dawn Sharp. Carlie took this photo!

ANN-YA / OPEN SEASON FASHION SHOW

anja — Thu, 10 May 2012 17:37:34 +0000

This weekend there will be some ANN-YA dresses walking the runway at the Portland Mercury’s Open Season fashion show, my pieces will be accompanying Jesseca Anne (spell it right, people!) jewelry. The above photo is part of the Mercury’s Ladies in Waiting feature, photographed by Neil DaCosta. I still have a lot of work to do, last minute-pressure, so I don’t have any sneak peeks of my work to show you. I’m working with lace, silk, mesh and satin in shimmering champagnes and black, channeling some Egyptian imagery vibes but keeping it modern. Hope to see you at the show!

VINTAGE SHOP UPDATE

anja — Wed, 09 May 2012 18:53:36 +0000

goldenrod layered silk top / 90′s rayon tap shorts / leather western ankle booties / chestnut leather doc martens / button fly high-waist shorts / 70′s crochet chocolate top / denim crop-top tie shirt / 60′s cut-out studded suede heels

soft rayon minimal tee / 90′s pastel rose sheer lace dress / rose print semi-sheer shirt / gold print rayon blazer / 70′s slinky one-piece jumpsuit / 60′s velvet batwing capelet / 80′s chiffon layered skirt / sheer daisy crop top

60′s nautical ruffle blouse / 80′s asymmetrical stripe tank / corduroy floral overall dress / 90′s berry print straw bag / 80′s layered mesh stripe top

90′s goth platform boots / 80′s violet & gold fair isle sweater / 90′s wooden heel platforms

BEAUTY / ALIMA PURE

anja — Tue, 08 May 2012 14:30:20 +0000

Alima Pure is a locally-owned natural cosmetics company, run by a team of ladies who specialize in mineral makeups. They got in touch with me to work on a little partnership, sent me some products to review and we also did a little interview! to feature a local company (woman owned!) that makes quality, natural products, because that’s the kind of thing I like to use. I am absolutely not a makeup expert, and really prefer to wear as little as possible. I don’t think anyone should ever feel like they HAVE to wear makeup. I am almost always bare-faced, except for lipstick or some kind of tinted lip product. It’s definitely not because I have a perfect complexion or anything, it’s mostly laziness on my part- not wanting to figure out which products are good, which ones work for me, and committing to the added daily steps of application and removal. BUT, if a nice local company wants to send me some natural cosmetics, I will totally give it a shot.

In this photo I went all-out and used the Color Balancing Powder (a cool product if you get flushed easily), the Satin Matte Foundation, the Satin Finishing Powder and some of the Satin Matte Blush. Obviously that’s more than I would normally use (compared to nothing), but it still gives a pretty natural, nice look. I spoke with one of their makeup artists about my product preferences, and said that I never use blush because of my tendency to get all pink (after a drink, when it’s hot, etc), but she encouraged me to give their blush a shot anyway. Combined with the other powders, it actually seemed really nice! I checked back in with my face (yo, face) a few times throughout the day and it never looked weird, even after a cold bike ride home. Apparently I CAN wear blush, who knew? The only downside to the overall look was that upon close examination, it did have a bit of that “makeup look”, you know, like when you look at someone’s face and all you can see is the way the makeup gathers around the pores and gives it all away, but I think it was my fault and I didn’t try any of the tricks to fix it. Their makeup artist gave me a bunch of handy tips for that “chalky” issue, like spritzing your face to set the powder. Or, using a damp brush application or even applying a tiny bit of moisturizer over the makeup. Next time I will give that a shot. They also sent me some brushes which was a makeup miracle because I am a total makeup baby and didn’t already own any. PS, I’m wearing a self-made ANN-YA malachite dress.

Natural cosmetics always have the most beautiful colors. It looks like roses and sage, pretty dusty old 1930′s dress colors. I also tried the Lipbalm, in Sweet Pea and Sugar Plum. They were totally nice, no weird taste (always such a bummer when that happens), really mellow colors and I didn’t have to re-apply over and over again. I think the sign of a good lip balm is that you aren’t forced to continually re-apply, I always feel like I’m being tricked by the ingredients when that happens.

I did a little interview with Alima’s Creative Director, Terresa Clark, to learn a little more about their Portland roots and the natural cosmetic world in general. Check out the beauty archive (small, but growing!) on the blog for more fancy lady beauty posts. Don’t miss the coupon code to score some free lipbalm!

Hello! Thanks for taking the time to talk about Alima Pure. Can you let us know your connection to the brand and how you first became interested in natural cosmetics?

My name’s Terresa, and I’m the Creative Director. I have been with Alima Pure for about 6 years, and before that worked for several conventional cosmetic lines. Over the years, I started to realize that perhaps all of the chemicals in the products that I was using were not only unnecessary, but could be harming my health. The more aware you become, the more difficult it is to justify using conventional products.

I admit I’m not a makeup expert, so for those of us who are still getting to know the world of natural makeup, why are mineral-based products special? Are all mineral makeups created equal, or are there specific details that a buyer should be aware of?

If you read the label on most of the cosmetics you own, you will see some of the same ingredients that make up Alima Pure products. The difference, of course, is that conventional lines contain many additional ingredients that you won’t find in our products. In fact, Alima Pure’s Satin Matte Foundation contains only four ingredients, and each one of them is a mineral. Sadly, not all mineral foundations are created equal, you do need to read the ingredients for minerals as well. Several years ago, as minerals were rapidly gaining popularity, many cosmetic companies decided to jump on the bandwagon and introduce their own mineral lines but if you read their ingredients, many of these brands contain just as many chemicals as their liquid counterparts.

Portland is pretty famous for being environmentally-conscious, having lots of organic farms, kombucha drinkers, all those natural buzzword type things (that I admit to totally fitting in to). Was Alima Pure founded locally? Do you feel that there’s a specific type of client or retailer that is drawn to mineral makeup, or is it reaching beyond the expected realm?

Alima is definitely a true Portland company. Our founder, Kate O’Brien, started the company upstairs in her home. At the time, back in 2004, minerals were just becoming popular beyond the health-food store shopper and those with health concerns. It has only grown since then, and we have customers from all age groups, all socio-economic categories, and from countries all over the world. The main thing that Alima Pure customers have in common is that they are not willing to compromise on either purity of ingredients or on range of color.

Are there any events (local or otherwise) or special promotions that you’d like to let us know about?

We are happy to extend a special promotion, exclusively for our Clever Nettle friends! We’re offering a free lip balm (any color) with any purchase $40 or more now through Sunday, May 16, 2012. The coupon code is “CLEVERLIPS”, and should be entered during checkout.

DARLING BUDS OF MAY PARTY

anja — Mon, 07 May 2012 16:49:18 +0000

Thank you so much to everyone who came out to the Darling Buds of May pop-up shop opening party on Thursday night! It was a total success and it made me so happy to see our space filled with friends (and friends-of-friends, and cool strangers to meet, etc!) on a miraculously sunny evening. There were so many people wearing floral prints, not to mention our ladies who were wearing flower headdresses and posing people with the flower stick (Sarah’s invention) all night. Floral frenzy. I have to admit that I was extra stoked to see the dudes trying on my selection of mens vintage, because I’ve had it stashed away for so long and it proves that my taste in menswear is at least acceptable, yessss. We ran out of booze and sold a ton of amazing things, and it really leveled-up by having all the other vendors there as well! There are some mini vendor profiles on the Facebook page, which we’ll be using over the next month to keep you up to date with new arrivals and things like that.

We’re going to be open all month, Tuesday thru Saturday from noon – 6pm. Please come and visit! 213 SW Ash, suite 209. And now, for more photos (and some instagram collages) from the party!

DARLING BUDS OF MAY POP-UP SHOP

anja — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 18:00:25 +0000

Hey friends! For the entire month of May I’ll be hosting a pop-up shop called Darling Buds of May with my buddies Summerland and Yo Vintage! We are setting up shop at the 220 studio and filling it with vintage, new & designer goods and it’ll be an awesome chance for you to shop our stuff in person! We’re opening on First Thursday, May 3rd and celebrating with an opening night party. 6-10pm! Come hang out, shop and drink with us while celebrating the onset of spring/summer, you know it’s happening. The opening night is going to be extra special because we’ll be sharing the space with some other local favorites: AK Vintage, Better Late Than Never, Seaecho, Solestruck, Fieldwork Flowers and also art by Pattern People and psychic readings by Psychic Siamese Terror! It’s going to be fun. Bring your lady friends, bring your gentlemen friends too, ’cause I’ll have a cool selection of men’s vintage as well. Northwest vibes, the good stuff. If you can’t make it to the party, don’t fret, because we’ll be open all month (Tuesday to Saturday, 12-6). Really hope to see you there! I might not have time to post anything else on the blog till after we open, this week is going to be crazy. See all the date/time/address details on our poster below.

Clothing: Clever Nettle, Yo Vintage and Summerland
Model: Sydney Babcock
Photography: Anja Verdugo
Hair & Makeup: Sarah Radcliffe and 220 Salon

VINTAGE SHOP UPDATE

anja — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 16:38:43 +0000

90′s abstract flower blouse / 90′s neon cotton sweater dress / 80′s rayon all-over print tee / 80′s red leather shoes / 90′s neon rose dress / 80′s jantzen canvas shoes

A very very bright shop update today, full of neon and super colorful pieces for your summer wardrobe. I’m putting up all of this week’s items right away since I have a lot of very busy days coming up, so have at it! Please pay special attention to the grumpy kitten earrings! I’m going to have a ton of new pieces that aren’t online yet at the Darling Buds of May pop-up shop this Thursday, don’t miss it! I’ll be posting all the info and a special photoshoot for that in a couple hours.

80′s cropped pink cotton sweater / 90′s black & white polkadot dress / 80′s magenta dot shirt / 80′s coral red triangle shirt / 90′s tropic wrap skirt dress / celestial crinkle top (not listed yet) / oversize tie-dye teal shirt / 80′s grumpy fluffy kitten earrings / 70′s tiny blossom shirt

BLONDE FOR A MINUTE

anja — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 01:35:19 +0000

Yesterday I got to be blonde for a few hours. There was a time in my life when I was very, very blonde (as a toddler, even though I was born with dark hair) and I’ve spent a lot of years wondering what it would be like to bleach it all out. I have a blonde wig somewhere, it actually makes an appearance in my etsy shop’s profile pic, which I haven’t changed since 2005 (lazy). Lindsey fixed my roots yesterday and we ended up making everything a bit lighter than before, and I went home a bottle blonde, 90′s yellow style. Blonde hair definitely doesn’t work with my skin tone, but it was still fun for a minute. I’m blue again now, a very bright turquoise. Can’t wait for it to fade into that weird ocean pastel that I like so much!

FASHION FRIDAY

anja — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:00:56 +0000

BY CECY YOUNG

I’m getting my hair done today, committing myself for the first time ever to actual upkeep. I’m usually so bad about that sort of thing, but the thought of going back to regular brown hair is too sad to even consider, especially with summer coming up. My friend Lindsey has her own little hair studio called Garland, she does an awesome job. I’ve been re-coloring my hair different shades of blue since the first time, but my roots are outta control and it’s time to have them fixed. I’m also getting a cut, a bit shorter than the last. I’m sure all of my hair thoughts are REALLY INTERESTING to read, so I’ll stop talking and let you stare at some mega babes who have colorful hair.

LONDON FASHION WEEK GIRL BY KRIS ATOMIC / ARABELLE

BY ELENA RENDINA

UNKNOWN / HAIR DRESSER REMPEL

LOVE AESTHETICS

BY AN LE

ON FILM / THE WEAVER WOMEN

anja — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:30:02 +0000

My favorite thing about the internet is that it helps me meet really awesome people in real life, away from this glowing screen. Most recently, I spent some time with Hannah and Kelty, multi-talented twin sisters who run The Weaver House. These ladies can do it all- photography, design (both web and paper), expert vintage hunting, video-making, and probably a million other things too. They are statuesque natural beauties with really warm personalities and it was so great to hang out with them, lots of West coast vibes in the studio that day! We shot some photos for my plant portrait project, and they brought along an old Polaroid camera that we used to take the above images. They even brought me a plant, first new addition to the studio! I’m excited about potential projects with these ladies, and keep an eye on their blog so you’ll know when their new site launches. It’ll be good! I have a stack of awesome postcards that they made to prove it. Also, here’s a photo from a recent post of theirs that I really like (multiple exposure, no surprise there that it’s a favorite!):