Shop tons of Short North retailers in one spot! Tigertree, Collier West, Rowe, Milk Bar, Lady Bird, Jinny… and that’s only part of the list of vendors offering amazing discounts “from seasons past.” It’s Saturday 3/28 – Sunday 3/29, noon-6pm both days, at 1195 N. High St. (next door to Milk Bar). My goal this weekend: leave the sale glassy-eyed and with smoke coming out of my hair, with nothing left to pack up but an empty table and some hangers. Little help?
Archive for March, 2009
March 27th, 2009
March 26th, 2009
Sue Londons are pretty much my favorite shoes. Hands down. And today, I want to share with you all a little blurb of advice: get terry cloth inserts. Now, this is a suggestion I always give to customers looking at flats in our store, but for some reason I did not abide by it this week.
Seriously, terry cloth inserts (I get mine at Aldos for $7.99) save your feet and your shoes. They protect the interior leather from getting gross, and provide a little extra padding for long treks. It’s the cheapest way to avoid that “my feet feel sticky” feeling with flats.
And speaking of flats, I think we still have some Sue London Wedges in clearance… call us (614.299.2910) if you’re interested and we can let you know what sizes are left!
- Jill
March 19th, 2009
Ok so firstly I thought it only proper to introduce myself to avid blog readers. My name is Maddie and I am the newest member of Team Substance. I started a few weeks ago as an Intern and I am currently working on the April Design Lab Collection of vegan re-purposed Espe bags. Because of my recent up-close and personal work with these bags, I thought it would be a nice opportunity to talk about the Espe products and what makes them special.
Espe is a Toronto, Canada based company that produces 100% cruelty-free, animal free, purses that feel and look just like leather and suede, for about 1/4 of the price of a leather bag. You might be wondering, since these bags are polyurethane, aren’t they bad for the environment? Wouldn’t owning a leather bag be more environmentally friendly? Not with these! Espe doesn’t create or release any of the toxins that leather tanning and coloring releases into the environment.
So whether you are a vegan, or a rare steak kind of a girl, you can know you are buying a product that is cruelty-free, green, and stylish for all the years to come. Be sure to check out the website for the new April Design Lab Collection of bags coming soon! OH! and if you love the idea of green, vegan products, check out our new Melissa Shoes below!
- Maddie
March 18th, 2009
Our Melissa shoe shipment has arrived for spring! We’ve got three styles of the rubber shoe favorite, and they’re all up on our website, too. Also newly arrived this week is our 2nd batch of Indigenous Designs – with easy organic cotton jersey sundresses (they’ve got built-in shelf bras) and sheer cropped wrap sweaters to throw over anything. The rest of our spring Espe handbags and wallets are here (the Valise is back in basic brown), and Lenora Dame is here too with lockets and charms with her signature vintage feel.
March 12th, 2009
(you can see a little bit of mannequin shoulder peeking out…)After being playfully chided by Christina recently on the volume of scarves I must own, I decided to try to compose a photograph. I didn’t nearly do the collection justice, in fact the whole endeavor turned out a little awkward so it’ll have to be a topic I revisit. This poor mannequin is wrapped in maybe half of my scarf collection. I didn’t bundle her in all the practical winter numbers; nor did I bust out the 30+ vintage scarves I’ve collected over the years that I used to regularly tie in my hair (I could match any outfit, no matter the color scheme).
Scarves are easy, they add color and texture to an outfit. They can even help distract from figure flaws and/or ill-fitting shirts on laundry day. Scarves are fun to shop for and buy, being practical and affordable. They make great gifts. They keep your neck warm, preventing you from needing a heavier jacket or another sweater. And if you accidentally buy one that’s a little too sparkly, your 3-year-old niece will love it… so really, you can’t go wrong. Long story short, a collection of scarves is never a bad thing. Especially with the added bonus that it’s easy to store a lot of them in a small space.
- Ayisha
March 5th, 2009
Some of my favorite things we carry or make ourselves are those that cannot be mass produced. Clothing, shoes and accessories made by artisans have hand crafted details that give them character well before they have an owner to develop wear marks of good use. They appeal to me because they are unique designs conceptualized far away from the noise and chatter of the fashion runways. They range from fabulously minimalist to breathtakingly ornate but they always reveal curves of pattern, stitches or layers of detail that someone had to craft by hand for more than a few moments along an assembly line. They are the product of time spent learning a craft and loving the process. Two such lines we carry are Taytu handbags and Jim Barnier Shoes.
Taytu bags are made in Ethiopia with fine Ethiopian leather and suede. This company evolved from an ethical collaboration of artists and the country’s leather and textiles manufacturers to develop unique products for the contemporary world market.
Jim Barnier shoes and boots are handcrafted in the US. The company’s founder learned his craft while working in firefighter and police boot making factories of Southern California. His roots give his product a timeless, utilitarian yet modern urban style.
- Christina
March 4th, 2009
Springy shipments just keep rolling in. We have all kinds of light and airy cotton dresses for – get this – $48. Wide-leg dark wash Levi’s trouser jeans are back, and so is the Spiewak Horatio coat (a favorite lightweight windbreaker from last year that we all wanted back in our lives again). Luxurious navy cropped cashmere cardigans from Christopher Fischer are the perfect transition piece, and we have lots of jewelry add-ons, from cascading beads to gemstone stackable color. Call or come take a peek!