It happened again earlier this week. I was working with a customer, focused on getting some tops for the season that will work well with things she already owns. She says repeatedly that she doesn’t want to buy any more black for her wardrobe. I graciously obliged but thought to myself, “Don’t fight it… we all know it’s hard to own an article of black clothing that goes unworn.”  She even went so far as to describe to me the shoes and pants she had envisioned wearing while in the fitting room admiring one of our black tops. Since we have the same top in heather grey she decided to leave her comfort zone and introduce wildly divergent grey to her closet. Funny though after we’d completed the transaction she sheepishly asked me if would not be too much trouble to exchange the heather grey she had just purchased for the same top in black.

This whole incident plays out over and over again at Substance. That’s why it was so refreshing to hear one of our favorite regular visitors, Lori, announce that she was looking for black fabulous pieces to add to her wardrobe. Lori gets it. Not only is she one of the most deeply thoughtful and generous women you will ever meet, she is gorgeous with the same remarkable sense of style. Her chic and well edited taste looks effortless because she invests in pieces that do the work for her. For those of us that are time challenged, or just don’t want to waste endless minutes deciding what to wear, the color black always works. Honestly, we can all find better use for a few extra minutes than standing in front of the mirror.

BLACK = LOW MAINTENANCE CHIC

With our Design Lab Collection™ we are unveiling next week titled “Black Study,” we want to end the pointless quandary on whether or not to add more black to your wardrobe. For this collection we used bold, sculpted textures and contrasts of silk and cotton alongside linen and leather. Our designers added nuances of color with spirited stitch work on dead stock denim.  The silhouettes are figure flattering and feminine all with expert finishing inside and out. It’s a magnificent collection of predominantly black statements pieces that offer timeless, effortless style to any wardrobe.

We are excited to showcase the design talent of our summer intern Sarah Ivancic. She joined the team at Substance just last month and quickly found her flow in our creative process that draws inspiration directly from the customer experience. Sarah is also committed to our sustainable direction and philosophy of no waste. She has taken that conviction a step further by designing an accompanying collection of a crocheted jewelry made entirely from repurposing salvage material. Sarah’s named this collection of all black jewelry “Oil Spill,” recognizing the current event that is endangering the environment. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this jewelry will be given to The National Audubon Society, an accredited charity active along the Gulf Coast in its efforts in animal relief related to the 2010 BP Gulf Oil Spill.

- Christina

Being the Design & Merchandise Manager at Substance, Ayisha is usually loaded with responsibilities.   It’s seldom that she gets to spend time making pretty things.  The last couple of weeks we’ve tried to free her up so some of her bottled up genius could flow into design preparation for an in store event we’ve got coming up next month.

The pile of things she’s created make me smile – exciting color combinations, upbeat stitches and tactile features, all fun to look at and touch.  They are cheerful designs and so great in their representation of new and lovely uses for our cotton tee material.  Great timing!  Our newest shipment of tees will be here next week.  The new tees are all organic cotton and so begin our transition away from conventional cotton tee production.  Why?  The short answer is because we can and it’s better for the environment.

June 6-12th is our Tee Shirt Trade In event.  Bring in one tee you’ve purchased from us in the last few years.  Trade it in for 25% off the price of one of our new organic cotton tees.  The tees you bring in will not go to waste.   We’ll continue to give Ayisha her creative space to make pretty things out of tees.

- Christina