Black and White and Grey for Fall

With some red for good fun!

Cotton Cardigan, Plaid Cypress Skirt, Hama Hama Top, and Striped Hester Skirt:

Good Lookin' Mannequins

Hey everyone! Just wanted to share two of my favourite looks from the Vancouver shop at the moment. Both are casual but put together, and very, very comfortable.

On the left, we have the Richmond Skirt and Mt. Pleasant Top in "Moroccan Blue." On the right is a printed American Apparel cardigan and one of our Ribbon Tees layered over a Hester Skirt (the denim shown is already off the web store, but there are still a few kicking around the shops).

Below is a close up of one of the new lace Dancing Leaf necklaces Noriko dropped off for us last week--sooo pretty, and a good way to inject a little feminine flounce into an otherwise clean-lined look. Noriko even makes a point of using only B.C. wine to dye the lace this lovely pink-purple; she is too cute!

Lily Spotlight: Greyhounds

The gals at the studio tend to use particular silk screens in spurts, and lately I've been noticing a lot of greyhounds in the shop. They're such happy little guys, scampering along in groups...

Lily Spotlight: Cardigans

Surprising no one, I'm sure, for today's Spotlight I thought I'd focus on one of my very favourite things in the whole wide world: cardigans! As anyone who's met me more than twice can attest, I personally wear this versatile sweater style constantly and can often be heard telling folks in the shop that just about anything can be nicely paired with one (I can hear Glenda laughing now, in fact...). But it's true! Cardigans are that rare combination of comfortable, attractive, and flexible, making them an indispensable part of every woman's wordrobe.

Named after James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan (apparently in an attempt by merchants to make a quick buck off his fleeting post-Crimean War hero status in 1855), cardigans were originally worn as a warm, casual alternative to waistcoats. Mysteriously, one is never supposed to do up the bottom button on them--I have always been under the impression that this was because the Earl was a fairly rotund man and it was considered poor form to do up your own bottom button when he could not. He looks pretty slim in all the images I could find of him, however, so this information may be of questionable veracity.

My internet trawling also dug up the fact that our Earl had the dubious honour of leading the charge of the Light Brigade and, according to Wikipedia, "typified the popular stereotype of the snobbish, arrogant, bone-headed and incompetent aristocrat of the period." Wow. At least his sweater is well-considered (and guaranteed never to impel you straight into the Imperial Russian Army)!

In the shop right now are unisex American Apparel cardigans covered with our lovely silk screens (available in grown-up and toddler sizes!), as well as the last few Emmerdale Cardigans (so named after The Cardigan's debut album)!

Vancouver Update: Fall is in the air...

Despite the continued sunny days, fall is definitely in the air of late. The shop is full of nice, cozy browns and greens, I've pulled my boots back out, the fleecy Oscillator Dress and boiled wool goodness of the D.D. Jacket (as we call it in Van!) are starting to make a looooot of sense--life is good. Yesterday--while buying a bison tea towel--someone even told me about a pet buffalo a friend of friends of hers has in Alberta; apparently the buffalo even drives around with his "owner" in some sort of modified Cadillac!! I swear, we hear the best stories in here...

Here are a couple quick snaps of some of the new things we've gotten in recently (and I apologize, as glenda takes much, *much* better photos than I do!):

Unisex adult and toddler-sized cardigans! (xs+sm, $52; sizes 2+4, $32)

Super cute leather satchel-style purses ($93)

We have lots of other fall things in as well, including a smattering of the D.D. Jacket in brown and raspberry (more coming on Friday!), a fantastic, light blue cotton purse called the Randy Bag ($86), and our very first wool mittens of the season (thanks, Steph!). We'll do our best to get photos up soon, don't worry! In the meantime, relax, sip some nice, hot tea and watch the leaves change. Lovely.

Studio Update: New Girl and New Cardigan

A couple new items to Smoking Lily: ME! and a fantastic new cardigan. The cardigan will be available in 1 - 2 weeks, starting in black wool with beautiful blue buttons. It looks great on its own or tied with an Obi Belt. (I hear rumors of the cardigan coming in grey and cream. Shhhh)