Alternative Apparel Blog

Birds of a Feather Rock Together: Join Us for the Earth Day After Party!

 
As most of you know, today is Earth Day. While the end goal is to remain eco-conscious year ‘round, today is the one day when we should show our support and work toward a common goal of long life, health and prosperity for all. For green tips and easy ways to take positive action, check out some bright ideas from the Environmental Protection Agency.

In honor of Mother Earth’s big day, Alternative is co-hosting a post-Earth Day celebration along with Atlanta boutique and spa Aviary Organic Beauty Collective. We’d like to invite all of our local Alternative fans to join us tomorrow, April 23 at 6pm as we kick off the summer with a fun-filled eco-event at Studioplex in Atlanta’s historic Old Fourth Ward District. Earth-loving partygoers can browse shops and galleries while listening to live music from Atlanta favorites Ocha La Rocha and The Carnivores and enjoying complimentary hors d’oeuvres, wine and locally brewed Sweetwater beer.

Of course, no Earth Day celebration would be complete without an opportunity to raise awareness. Encouraging attendees to make a difference with what they wear, we’ll be selling our eco-friendly Think Earth Tee at the event and donating 100% of net proceeds to national environmental nonprofit Global Green USA. (Don’t worry, if you can’t attend, you can still make a charitable donation in exchange for your tee online here.)

Check out the event invitation and details. Hope to see you there!

Psst…in case you didn’t know, Alternative is also celebrating Earth Day with 15% off our entire eco-friendly Alternative Earth collection, now through 5.3.10. Just enter code CEARTH at checkout. Happy Earth Day!

New Music From Thieves - Free EP Download!

New music from Thieves this week - check out "Swan Song," now playing on our blog's Music Box as well as our iPhone app.  It's a great jam that's simultaneously chill and rocking.  It's mellow without being dull or somber, and the vocal melodies are quite lovely.  You can also check out the video for this song below...

And some good news: you can get "Swan Song" plus all of the other tracks from their Divider EP for free!  It's a little present in celebration of Earth Day this week - downloading music digitally can generate a 40-80% reduction in energy use and carbon emissions vs. producing CDs and CD packaging for sale in music stores!

Just visit their website at www.isoldthetruth.com and download away!  You can get more info on the boys of Thieves by visiting their official Myspace page.

And as promised, here's the video for "Swan Song":

They're Here! Our Exclusive Designer Collaborations with Richard Chai and Jeremy Scott

 
Attention fashionistas, today is the day you’ve all been waiting for! Alternative’s highly anticipated designer collaborations with Richard Chai and Jeremy Scott are now available at global fashion hub Refinery29.com!

Our exclusive Richard Chai and Jeremy Scott for Alternative Apparel collections—which debuted to rave reviews in February at New York Fashion Week—will be sold in limited quantities on Refinery29’s virtual pop-up shop starting today through May 20th, bringing our innovative creative vision from the runway to your closet.

Richard Chai and Jeremy Scott each designed three signature looks utilizing our high-quality, cutting-edge fabrics. The NYC-based Chai, who was recognized earlier this year for his accomplishments in menswear with a nomination for the 2010 GQ/CFDA Fashion Award, worked with the luxurious, sheer modal silk fabric to create several reworked and reinterpreted t-shirts for an original, ultra-feminine take on the classic tee. Using Alternative’s super-soft and refined micro-modal spandex fabric, celebrity favorite Jeremy Scott created a series of sexy, sophisticated little black dresses and bodysuits which take on various incarnations with raised necklines, hoods and shoulder details.

Don’t miss out on these exclusive pieces, available for one month only! Shop the Collections at Refinery29.com.

Ellenitza's Pick: Sandrine Bonnaire in "A Nos Amours"

If you're a fan of 80s French schoolgirl chic, you have to check out A Nos Amours, Maurice Pialat's 1983 film. In her movie debut, Sandrine Bonnaire plays Suzanne, a teenager claiming her independence from her suffocating bourgeois family. Her performance reveals a girl who is both smart and naive, just on the cusp of adulthood.




Suzanne's style evokes the sexy insouciance of youth in revolt, and the stripes, knits and bright colors are totally on-trend this season. Below are my picks from Alternative Apparel to re-create that breezy, vintage French look.

               
From left to right: Katie Sport Dress, Striped Seafarer Tunic, Mickey Contrast Stitch Tee and Disheveled Cannes Cardigan.

Alternative Apparel’s contributing blogger Ellenitza, a freelance artist and graphic designer in sunny So Cal, taps into the hottest trends to help boost your wardrobe and build the perfect outfit with her fab fashion advice. Check out more of her favorite things and inspirations at ellenitza.blogspot.com.

Win Music From Metric!

Really excited to add "Gold Guns Girls" by Metric to our music player this week! They've been indie-rockin' us steady for the past decade and have definitely established themselves as must-know band that's inspiring a new generation of young up-and-coming bands. I personally have been a fan since first hearing their song "Grow Up" in a Polaroid commercial back in 2000. I spent a good hour on the internet afterwards tracking down the song title and artist because I was (and still am!) totally in love with that song.  Metric writes great songs which just get better when Emily Haines' sweet vocals get laid on top.  Perfection!

We were super lucky to have Metric stop by the Daytrotter Horseshack in Austin during SXSW and snag some Alternative gear.  If you are a fan of Metric, I'm happy to report that they are some of the nicest folks we've ever met.  And ladies, FYI: if you want to get the Emily Haines look, she just so happened to pick up one of our Yoko Linen Tanks in vintage black.  We were totally digging their basic black wardrobes.

This week we're gonna give one lucky winner a copy of their latest album Fantasies (which features "Gold Guns Girls") as well as something black.  You see, we're digging Metric's look and feel, so the winner will snag anything in our online store that comes in black.  Plus we're gonna send you some of the sweet Alternative shades that Emily is rocking out in the photo above.

Wanna chance to win?? Just leave a comment on this post by the end of the week! It's that easy. Last day to put your name in the pot is Sunday, April 11th - we'll select one lucky winner on Monday, April 12th.

And if you'd like something a little more mellow than Metric, make sure you check out Emily Haines solo album Knives Don't Have Your Back.

Ellenitza's Pick: A Patch of Blue

  
Inspired by seascapes and clear skies, I'm loving blue this season. It's been a while since blue was big, so I guess it's about time for it to cycle through the fashion palette. It's been a key color in spring collections - from sailor stripes to faded denim, blue is cropping up in lots of current trends. Here, I styled Alternative Apparel's Seafarer Tunic in Nantucket Navy in two ways - one look for cool spring evenings, the other for warmer temps. I mixed different hues and shades of blue for a more urban-chic look, but I think the same top would look great with faded blue jeans or a white skirt for a more laid-back beachy style.

Alternative Apparel’s contributing blogger Ellenitza, a freelance artist and graphic designer in sunny So Cal, taps into the hottest trends to help boost your wardrobe and build the perfect outfit with her fab fashion advice. Check out more of her favorite things and inspirations at ellenitza.blogspot.com.