We are in a shop!

Starting today, Dear Fashion Journal can also be 

found in a store in Amsterdam! If you are curious and 

fancy leafing through the pages, just hop on your bike 

and visit this address:

Statement Store BY AMFI 

Spui 23 1012

WX Amsterdam

For more info about the store, follow this link.

The ones located outside Amsterdam can still order a
copy to be delivered straight to their doorstep. 
Just click here!

BAM!

 Today the postman rang once to bring us an early Christmas present! Keep an eye on our site's top bar tomorrow, they might be a buy-button popping up!

 

The Week

This is The Week, when a stack of 250 Dear Fashion Journals should arrive fresh from the oven (or the printer) on our doorstep ready to be sent to friends, strangers and all the fashion enthusiasts who wish to get themselves a copy!

Fingers crossed all will go well and there are only a few more days of patient (or nerve-wracking) waiting left!

Houston, we have a barcode!

Today we got something for the back cover of Dear Fashion Journal - a small barcode for mankind, a giant leap for a magazine. :)

Q&A with Joanna Gniady

In the series of introducing the contributors of Dear Fashion Journal, we now present to you Joanna, a Polish illustrator. She loves dandies and decadent moods, and with the help of her scissors she makes collages so beautiful that her last name might well be Scissorhands.

1. Name: Joanna Gniady

2. Age: 31

3. Please fill in: I am a _____because_____.
I am an illustrator because there are many wonderful things to draw.

4. What would be the name of your autobiography?
“Coffee, glitter and magenta”

5. What was the latest thing that inspired you?
Edward Hopper’s exhibition in Madrid.

6. Your biggest fashion fetish?
Polka dots. And shoes. No idea why.

7. What is your first fashion memory?
Wearing a dress and tracksuit trousers at the same time. I dressed like that to the kindergarten and believed that that was the coolest outfit in the world.

8. What have you learned recently?
The word “albaricoque”. The most tasty Spanish word, I think.

9. What are you known for amongst friends?
I make red lipstick prints on their cheeks when we are kissing hello/goodbye. They always shout at me.

10. What is the most important thing to have around you when working?
A cup of coffee.

+1: Which piece of your own work do you like the most?
I’ve chosen the picture called “The Wisdom Tooth”. It’s a part of the set “Queens of Disaster”.

Joanna's website:
www.joannagniady.com

Final Countdown

If I had an ukulele band, we would rock this day by playing Europe's legendary "Final Countdown" to you. Unfortunately, I don't have a band or any ukuleles, so I'll let these guys take care of the musical part:

Moselele - The Final Countdown by Noys R Us

These tunes are to say that most of the pages of Dear Fashion Journal have now flown over to Suzanna Knight, a brilliant illustrator and spelling geek who cooks awesome casseroles and is Dear Fashion's proof editor. Whilst the misspellings are getting corrected, I am finishing up the journal's masthead and list of contents. Guess this is literally our final countdown before proceeding to test printing and the complexities of indie publishing, so hurray and high fives to that with some old snapshots from behind the scenes!

Left: Illustrations in progress
Center:  From an accessory photo shoot where the whole team from photographer Rein Janssen to stylist Olga Vokalova had to stand on a table.

Right: First design boot camp with Sarah Meers

In Case of Cravings, Part 1.

Going to a party without a brand new outfit might feel like tap water on a bubbly occasion -unsatisfying. Whilst working on the Dear Fashion Journal, we threw some pasta on the wall of master plans to find easy fixes to ease your cravings for the new and shiny. First in the series:

How to defeat garderobe boredom

We often chase the carrots we can’t have: grass seems greener on the other side, and new clothes lose their luster quicker than a vegetable rots. However gloomy this may sound, there is an easy solution that will take you from fashion devastation into elation: borrowing, lending, renting and exchanging! 

Libraries aren’t only for books and swotting, but also for clothes and swapping. There are stores specialized in hiring out designer bags, vintage dresses and everything in between: worn today and gone tomorrow, borrowing these fashion treasures can be easier on you wallet than any ownership. 

Fashion libraries:

Albright Fashion Library - New York, US
More info here

Vaatelainaamo - Helsinki, Finland

Lånegarderoben - Stockholm, Sweden

Bag Borrow Or Steal - Webshop

Rumours tell that there might be a fashion library in Amsterdam soon, too.

The wardrobes of friends, siblings or anyone in your social circle might also contain an impressive array of exciting pieces. Organizing a swapping party or inviting someone on a private exchange date is not only fun but can also bring something new and refreshing into your closet. In the most urgent outfit crises, sneaking to the wardrobe of your better half might also be an option, especially if you have the guts to pull off boyfriend-girlfriend doppelgängerness.

Q&A with Sarah Meers

Next in the series of questions and answers with the contributors of Dear Fashion, we present to you Sarah Meers: a concept creator, illustrator and Kinder surprise enthusiast, who is also our partner in crime (metaphorically, that is).

1. Name: Sarah Meers

2. Age: 24



3. Please fill in: I am a ______because______.

I am a concept developer, brander and a secretly starting illustrator because I am bad at making choices.

4. What would be the name of your autobiography? 
Sarah And A Cat Called Harry. It's quite sad, because I don't have a cat called Harry.

5. What was the latest thing that inspired you? 
I found heaven in a chocolate dessert in a super market.

6. Your biggest fashion fetish?
I have a small, non-working clock that is often hanging around my neck. Also quirky jewellery with little monsters will always find its way to me.

7. What is your first fashion memory? 

In high school I learned that wearing band shirts was very cool and thus in a rotating manner I only wore three shirts for a year. One band I only knew by name. That, I think, is true dedication to fashion in the making.



8. What have you learned recently?
How to make a stop motion movie! This was accompanied by the knowledge of how to cut out a zillion of dancing dinosaurs within one hour.



9. What are you known for amongst friends?
I am now hearing (for the first time I may say) that I am clumsy and chaotic. And I have to confess this is true. Besides that, I make great pancakes.

10. What is the most important thing to have around you when working? 
I am known for working in complete chaos and disorder, so it is a bit hard to pinpoint what bits and pieces are laying around. But probably it is my favorite black pen which always gives me a feeling of security as it has helped me through all my exams in school. And chocolate. There is always chocolate somewhere.
Note from the editor:...and that is one of the reasons we like working with you! 

+1: Which piece of your own work do you like the most? 


Amongst others, this illustration that was made for Dear Fashion.

More about Sarah:
Pup Concepts - Sarah Meers

Q&A with Suzanne Van Heerde

Introducing to you: a budding writer, stylist and one of the contributors to Dear Fashion. Her name is Suzanne, and she is a creator of fashion fairy tales, who dresses in impressive fur coats and shimmering shirts to look like a character from her own Wonderland. 

1. Name: Suzanne Van Heerde

2. Age: 23





3. Please fill in: I am an __________because_________.
I am a stylista living in a bubble because I have come to realize that the things I create and put into to practice don’t really exist. It’s just a dream world that I manage to transfer to my immediate surroundings (for now.) It’s like a Disneyland for adults. In my world all girls walk in sky-high neon coloured heels, furry and glittery outfits. The boys are Casanova’s in tailored suits and we live happily ever after in huge lofty spaces that look like former tacky Chinese restaurants in red and pink tinted light.

4. What would be the name of your autobiography? 
Ssuuzzaa in Wonderland

5. What was the latest thing that inspired you? 
Tokyo (surprisingly, everything beyond their fashion)

6. Your biggest fashion fetish?
Shoes. I think every girl (and some boys) start out with a healthy obsession. However, I have found myself to be addicted to hunting down bizarre shoes (mostly online) and then purchasing them if within my budget.

7. What is your first fashion memory? 

There was a dress up day at my primary school. All the girls were asked to dress up as their preferred future profession. I chose to be a housewife decked out in pearls, red lips and a pastel flowered long gown.



8. What have you learned recently?
All that I long for does not exist, yet.



9. What are you known for amongst friends?
Again, shoes.



10. What is the most important thing to have around you when working? 
The right people.

+1: Which piece of your own work do you like the most? 


I think my blog is my most honest and sincere form of work because it isn’t a project. This particular image (on top of the post) was created not all that long ago in a moment that felt ecstatic because everything was the way it should have been at that point.

Suzanne's website:
www.suzannejacobine.com
Blog: www.saaht.blogspot.com

Q&A with Olga Vokalova

Next in the series of questions and answers with the creatives who have contributed their skills to Dear Fashion, we introduce to you Olga: a designer extraordinaire and a very dear friend of ours.

1. Name: Olga Vokalova

2. Age: 28



3. Please fill in: I am a __________because_________.
I am a designer because I wanted to be.

4. What would be the name of your autobiography? 
Silent Shout

5. What was the latest thing that inspired you? 
Work of an artist called Viktor Vejvoda

6. Your biggest fashion fetish?
I am into glasses because I feel smarter whilst wearing them.

7. What is your first fashion memory? 

Purple tights with big dots.



8. What have you learned recently?
I can’t eat an elephant.

9. What are you known for amongst friends?

Being "the dancer". Note from the editor:...and a Quote Generator, splurting out sentences that would make brilliant quotations. I have a great collection of those in my notebook.



10. What is the most important thing to have around you when working? 
A pencil.

+1: Which piece of your own work do you like the most? 


This closed dress with an open back.

Olga's website:
www.olgavokalova.com

Good morning from the depths of cyberspace

Yesterday, Dear Fashion got featured on a ecologically oriented trend & design blog (check it out here!). After being excited and jumping around for a while, we started browsing through the other topics Sara Francisca Lisot, the writer of the blog, had stored in her archives.

It's probably not surprising what happened then: we clicked a link here and another there, opened new tabs and all of a sudden we were lost in the depths of cyberspace. But as you know, it's one heck of an inspiring place to be lost in, and so it was this time: we ended up running into {R}evolution Apparel, a fashion venture by two girls who traveled around the world to see what buying in America was doing for the rest of the Earth. They are now working on their own brand that is about sustainable design and local production, but we won't go too much into detail with that (if you fancy reading more about them, you can click here). However, what we would like to share is a video clip from their blog, where they talk to people on the streets asking what sustainable fashion means to them. Many thoughts there that made us nod in agreement (and a few that made us chuckle)!

{r}evolution reel: What Does Sustainable Fashion Mean to You? from {r}evolution apparel on Vimeo.

So, thanks for the feature and also for indirectly and digitally introducing us to {R}evolution Apparel and this clip, Sara!

Q&A with Daria Hlazatova

Having been lucky to work with some creative talents with plenty of passion to spread bits of their skills for others to see, we decided to introduce them to you by asking them a few questions. Here is our cover star Daria, a collage guru and fan of Harry Potter:

1. Name: Daria Hlazatova



2. Age: 26



3. Please fill in: I am an __________because_________.
I am an artist and illustrator because I am not very good at other things.



4. What would be the name of your autobiography? 
Something like “Daria Hlazatova and a Half-sharpened pencil”.



5. What was the latest thing that inspired you? 
Music, Elgar in particular.



6. Your biggest fashion fetish?
I don’t know if it is a fetish for a girl, but I like wearing bowties.



7. What is your first fashion memory? 

When we were travelling in Lithuania back in the early 90s my mum bought me a really extravagant striped playsuit. I was about 4 then, and I didn’t quite like it, but I remember whenever I put it on I was the centre of universal attention. I was the lady gaga of my playground.



8. What have you learned recently? How to write my name in elvish script.



9. What are you known for amongst friends?
I mostly talk nonsense and read too much. I think friends remember me for my weird taste in music and movies and for being underdressed in winter.



10. What is the most important thing to have around you when working? 
My cat thinks that she is that important thing, but she isn’t. So I’d say, good music or audiobook.



+1: Which piece of your own work do you like the most? 


I like some of my pieces more than others because they are connected with some significant events in my life. These two are.

Daria's website:
All Pencils of Mine are Sugarplums 
Daria's illustrations available for purchase here

Planking

Today, we have been planking.

And no, this does not mean we have been lying horizontally on top of random objects. Instead, we have been reconstructing the contents of Dear Fashion, mixing the pages, taking some bits out and adding new ones in. This all has happened on a thing called plank, our dearest friend and companion for the coming weeks.

"It's just a bit too warm to go outside anyway, isn't it?" said the editor who spent 97% of this lovely sunny day indoors playing with the plank. For sure, she will be pale as an empty word file all year round, but that's alright: tanning is so passé anyway. This song, however, is not.

Dear world,

Today is the day when we are officially introducing you the official website and blog of Dear Fashion Journal. Most likely this is also the first and the last time we are ever going to use the word official, for we like keeping things casual.

Dear Fashion is a printed matter about personal stories, creativity and - as you probably already guessed - fashion. However, we don't hype the hottest, hippest or (add any superlative here) collections, but rather parade fashion outside consumption. We stick our noses into the relationships between people and clothes, explore new ways of being creative and dig through the closets of modern dandies to reveal what style really is.

This blog is about the bits and pieces we run into whilst making the journal ready for printing. It's about inspiration and updates, how are wes and how are yous.

PS. If you fancy immediate updates, keep an eye on our chirps on twitter and posts on facebook!