First Glimpse of Fall '07 at Stacia

I know it's still blazing hot out there and the worst is yet to come, but yes, it's time to unveil Fall '07. Designers and retailers traditionally drop the first delivery of Fall in August to get a jump start on sales and hoping that their audience will buy their Fall wardrobe in advance (not necessarily a 'wear now' market.) I feel like Summer's just getting started, but I'm reluctantly shipping my Fall line to stores and putting it up on my web site. Fortunately, I've consistently tried to design a 'transitional' knitwear line with my rayon collection of sweaters that can work for all seasons and temperatures. I don't know about you, but I find it hard to pay $300 for a cashmere sweater in August that I can't wear until October! My sweaters are lighter in weight, almost like a tee, and are made in rayon, which breathes better than cashmere in the heat and warms you like silk in the cooler temps. My favorites this Fall at Stacia are the Honeycomb Trellis cowl neck (love it in Montauk!) and the effortless La Femme trapeze dress in Buttercup. They're easy, wear-now pieces that help you look the part for Fall, yet you won't be sweating it when the thermometer reads 89 degrees during Indian Summer (or during the Santa Ana winds). Check out the complete Stacia collection of knits at shopstacia.com!

Day Trip - US Open of Surfing, Huntington Beach

I took a quick little day trip down to Huntington Beach to watch the US Open of Surfing and to hook up with a life-long friend from Hawaii who's sister, Megan Abubo, is 10th in the world in womens' surfing. By the time we got down there the women had finished surfing for the day, but I was fortunate enough to have a private viewing of four top female surfers catch some waves 'off duty'. We spent the day at River Jetty, the first beach in Newport just beyond Huntington. There's nothing cooler than watching world class surfer girls ripping it up right in front of you on a pretty much deserted beach. These girls were carving out some nice waves while I rode their "back-wash" on my body board (I'm traditionally a fan of long boarding and wouldn't know the first thing to do on a gun!) I've always been fascinated with the surf lifestyle and culture ever since I was 10 and flipped through surfer mags. I was an avid body boarder growing up in Hawaii, but never learned to surf until I was an adult. It's great that surfing and its lifestyle are so mainstream now and have really influenced fashion (remember when Chanel did surfboards on the runway?), whether it's authentic or not is another question. I'm not sure if I'm happy or sad about surfing coming to the masses, but I must say Huntington Beach was a little overrun on junior surf apparel and reeked of Roxy everywhere. If I see another Roxy logo I'm going to hurl. I know these professional surfers depend on Roxy, Billabong, and Rip Curl endorsements, but I felt overwhelmed by all the cropped tees and low slung 'rippah' shorts. I actually think these surfer girls (not all of them are teenagers!) could use a little injection of real grownup fashion and less trendy 'junior' apparel. I would love to see some of these female surfers sport some Stacia 'après surf' hoodies rather than another logo infused hoodie with graffiti graphics. These surfer girls, I mean, women, are real powerhouses and fashion icons in the making. I would love to see some be endorsed by real fashion brands (couldn't you see Chanel sponsoring Sofia Mulanovich?) Maybe I should send Megan Abubo a Stacia freebie and start the trend?

Style Icon of the Week - Katie Holmes

I must say, Ms. Holmes has had a major transformation lately. I love her new do - I've always been a fan of the bob and it is especially fitting for her new grown-up style. I won't hold it against her for marrying a psycho movie star, but who can say no to Mr. Risky Business! But I think her transformation as a style icon has more to do with her new role as a mother. All of a sudden she has this natural ease about her and a more classic style. I used to take yoga with her at Yoga Works on Montana back when she was engaged to Chris Klein and she definitely was sporting the post-college look and certainly not Seventh Avenue worthy. So maybe Cruise did have a hand in it or at least we can give him some credit for her new role as a Mom. I'm loving her more sophisticated looks with the big dark sunglasses (so very Audrey), the white trench coats (for us folks without Tom's allowance money, you can snag a similar find à la vintage London Fog - I actually collect them!), long wide leg trousers with cuffs, leather waistcoats (very Kate Moss in fact!), and Chanel stripey beach tunics. I actually think Ms. Holmes would look fabulous in one of my spacedye tunics on her next beach outing in the South of France! And maybe paired with her new signature high-waisted, wide leg cuffed pants, she should try my honeycomb jacquard retro-cardigan and ditch Chanel. But the most adorable accessory of them all is little Ms. Suri, who I think would look fantastic in a Stacia Baby spacedye dress and crochet panty next Spring. So here's to Katie (and Suri!), who's transformation is a design inspiration in itself!

Stacia Baby Debuts at Children's Club Trade Show in NYC

The Stacia Baby collection for Spring '08 is finally completed and being mailed off to my NY showroom to make its debut at the upcoming Children's Club trade show in New York. This is the first attempt to expand my baby collection beyond the basic spacedye hoodie. Now, I've embarked upon a full- fledged collection of dresses (with panties), leggings, bloomers, hoodies, and sweaters. And my inspiration, of course, was Kaiulani Rose, who at 8 months has been the perfect fit model for my sample size 6-12 months (available sizes will be 3-6 mth thru 4T.) Get a sneak peak of the collection at the Children's Club trade show at the Javits Center from July 29th thru July 31st (booth #2718). My favorites (as modeled by Kai) are the crocheted tank dress with matching crochet panties (of course!), the color-blocked spacedye hoodie dress (a must!), and the eco-friendly bamboo beach tunic with matching crochet bloomers (cuter than cute!) I sure hope the line does well at the show so I can get these puppies put into production so all the little girls out there can don some cute Stacia next Spring. And let's not forget about the boys. I do have a 3 year-old boy and certainly wouldn't leave out the original Stacia baby muse, Campbell Duke. I have great washable cotton unisex pieces - the quintessential beach hoodie and matching leggings with quirky elbow/knee patches, both available in solid and spacedye for Spring. Hopefully if all goes well, they'll be available at a baby boutique near you next February!

Road Trip - St. Johnsbury, Vermont

On the road again...this time its my first trip to Vermont to my husband's quaint hometown, St. Johnsbury. I'm not a fan of being land-locked, but I must say this little town that is somehow stuck in time has charmed my pants off. It sits up on a hill with it's winding roads and New Englandesque Main streets and hosts the best intimate natural science museum, The Fairbanks Museum, and an eclectic library/art gallery, The Antheneum, all a stone's throw away from each other and the local fire station, post office, and town hall. I found some unexpected design inspiration at the Fairbank's Museum's display of live Vermont wildflowers. I've just named one of my new Spring '08 cotton colors, Wildflower (the shade of a Vermont Fireweed flower) - how appropriate! Next, I discovered the block prints of local Vermont artist, Sheri Pearl, who's graphic interpretations of organic flowers will be a sure inspiration for my next 'reverse-print' technique (maybe for next Fall!) So although I was land-locked and without my usual ocean-inspired experience, I must say I was able to score some great unexpected inspiration from this quaint little Vermont town. Just it's lush, natural beauty (everything in a 20 mile radius is green!), and the antiquey architecture (Hollywood should be filming here!) were enough to get my juices flowing again, just in time for designing Fall '08 (already!!)

Stacia on Blonde Upclose Video

I've recently been fortunate to hook up with a fellow super Mom and entrepreneur, Amber, of hip retailer, Blonde LA. We both had baby girls a month apart and both have a passion for fashion. Amber invited me down to her Santa Monica shop on Main St. last Friday for an informal video interview for her web site. It's called 'Blonde Upclose' and she periodically interviews new designers and introduces them to her online fashion community. I was told to "bring a few samples and the baby." I was very excited for Kaiulani to have her video debut at only 8 months! Amber's babe, Flynn and Kai hit it off, crawling on the dressing room floor, sharing toys, and pulling up on each other. By the time we got started, though, Miss Kai had conked out. So the first half of the video you'll notice she's fast asleep and missing her debut! Oh well, we had fun anyways, especially with the aid of Amber's side-kick and brother, Leyton (or Lulu as he likes to be called). He was kind enough to point out the best styles from my Summer line, and Amber looked fabulous in whatever she put on of my designs. All in all, it was great fun (thanks to the mimosas provided by Amber's hubby!). I'm fortunate to have my line featured at Blonde and enjoyed the exposure for my little, up n' coming brand, Stacia. Cheers to the Blonde LA family! P.S. If you love fashion, you should join Blonde's LA online fashion community - great for networking and meeting fellow fashionistas.

Style Icon of the Week - Kate Hudson

I've always been a fan of Kate Hudson ever since her star turn in 'Almost Famous' as the hippy groupy, Penny Lane. In the fashion world she's always been defined by her boho-chic style of dress - a sort of laid-back California vibe with a bohemian edge. One minute, boho-chic is in, the next it's out, but as far as I'm concerned it's always a valid look as long as you don't take it to the extreme. And here lies, Kate Hudson, who always has just a hint of hippie-style. She's been seen about town here on the Westside lately with her new (and sometime off and on) beau, the ever-boyish, Owen Wilson - in my opinion, a step up from her ex-hubby, the John Lennon wanna-be, Chris Robinson. My favorite look of hers is this cute, white pointelle babydoll dress she wore recently in L.A. paired with the flatest of flats. The perfect amount of boho-chic with a touch of Audrey Hepbhurn in there with the cute shoes. I think Kate would be very much at home in one of my Stacia crochet babydoll dresses from Summer in either Venetian or Cameo. This slightly hippie-chic dress with delicate crocheting at the chest is available at shopstacia.com. And if I was styling her, I'd accessorize the summery dress with some London Sold flats - my new favorite comfy shoe! These flats are guarantee blister proof and you're sure to get double-takes when you stride down Montana Ave. in a pair of bronze ones! London Sole is having a store-wide Summer sale now so there's deals to be had too. From 'Almost Famous' to Style Icon of the Week - Kate Hudson is a designer's dream.

Art as Inspiration

As a designer, almost anything can inspire me. My children especially have always been inspiration to me. Their simplicity, playful innocence, and natural eye for color are what all designer's strive to achieve in their designs. Take my 3-year old son, Campbell, who in preschool scribbles, splats, sponges, and creates these simple masterpieces of color and shape. Tired of plastering his art on my fridge, I finally concocted a way to display his work on a rotating basis in my studio, and at the same time allowing me to draw inspiration from them daily. I'm currently working on new spacedye colors for Summer '08 and many of his paintings have provided me with the perfect color combinations to experiment with my space-dye technique. One of my favorites is a watercolor dot print in watermelon, lemon, seafoam, and tan color combination which will be great for my Summer knit dresses! Campbell's favorite drawings are ones he calls "rainbows" which are color pencil circular scribbles in every color under the sun - his version of a rainbow. I'm sure one of these will make it on the Fall '08 line too!

What's Checking at Retail

Summer is in full swing and stores are getting their reorders in here at Stacia. So what's checking at retail this Summer? Well, my stores are telling me it's the Riviera hoodie (pictured), the Calypso drawstring shell, and the Capri crochet beach tunic. Buyers from New York to California have reordered one of my fave hoodies this year - the chevron jacquard spacedye hoodie in Riviera. It's the perfect pullover for those nippy evenings by the bonfire at the beach. Another hot seller this Summer has been the chevron jacquard shell with drawstring empire in Calypso - a great sleeveless alternative to the basic tank. And the perfect beach coverup for the Hamptons has been the crochet beach tunic in Capri. Its super light-weight fabric and rainbow colored spacedye pattern makes it easy to just throw on over a bikini and short shorts (ditch the pareo!) So the customer is king at retail and has spoken. It's always fun to find out what people are buying from the boutiques I sell to across the country. And suprisingly there's always a consensus, even from Long Island to Newport Beach. I'll be anxious to see what's checking at retail next month now that Fall Transition has hit the floor!

What's in My Closet - Summer '07

It's finally heating up here in Santa Monica! Most may not realize that here on the Westside near the ocean it doesn't really get hot until July (May Gray and June Gloom months tend to be a bit chilly). Finally I can don my favorite Sharon Segal tanks that I just ordered. My LA showroom also represents this fabulous t-shirt line from retail guru, Sharon Segal of Santa Monica. In the past I've been partial to the C&C line of cotton tees, but ever since conglomerate Liz Claiborne bought them out, the line and its quality have become mainstream and boring. Thank God for Sharon's silky tees to save the day - cool fashion details in a super-soft washable cotton modal knit. Check out her tees at Electric Ladyland's funky web site (check out Stacia at Electric Ladyland the next time you're in Scottsdale, Arizona!) or buy direct when you're in Santa Monica at Sharon Segal's shop in Fred Segal. My favorite topper for these fab tanks and tees has been my very own spacedye cropped knit jacket (see above.) It's the perfect cover-up for the basic tee to add a splash of color. And it keeps your shoulders covered from the sun and wards off the A/C chill when indoors. My daily staple has been the Kaleidoscope color way. With its multi-colored palette, it pretty much goes with every color Sharon tank I own. Its empire-waisted drawstring and pretty little cap sleeves always makes me feel a tad more feminine when I slip it on over my utilitarian tees. So that's my uniform this Summer - the Sharon Segal tank and my Stacia cropped jacket. Comment and let me know what's your staple this Summer!

Road Trip - La Jolla and Carlsbad

I just got back from a road trip down to some of San Diego's cool beach towns - La Jolla and Carlsbad. The main purpose for the trip was to take my 3 year-old son to Legoland - yippee! Not much design inspiration here at this suburban nightmare, but the quaint little beach towns of La Jolla, Del Mar, Encinitas, and Carlsbad were chock full of inspiration for my Spring '08 collection. We spent the first day at La Jolla Shores and I attempted to teach my son to surf on a foam board rented at Surf Diva (they have a great new bikini shop too on Avenida de la Playa!). The waves were mushy and uninspiring, but I did get my son up on the board! The shopping is great in La Jolla along Prospect and Silverado (check out Stacia at Happy Endings at 931 Silverado!) overlooking the picturesque Cove. The Cove was by far the best place for free diving and snorkeling (beats out crowed Hanauama Bay!) Driving up the PCH 101 and exploring Del Mar (check out Stacia at The Rare Earth at 2710 Via de la Valle!), Solana Beach, Cardiff by the Sea, Encinitas, and Carlsbad was a blast. My favorites, La Jolla and Carlsbad have been the main inspiration for my new Spring '08 "Surfrider" collection of spacedye cotton knits. The 'La Jolla' spacedye colorway is a mix of blues and greens that make up the colors in the La Jolla Cove where I went diving. 'Carlsbad' embodies the many washed out beachy colors of this funky little surf town - peachy corals, sunny yellows, and sky blues. My new favorite Spring dress, the "T-shirt" mini dress in Carlsbad spacedye with drawstring waist and patch pockets, is perfect for the laid-back vibe of Carlsbad (with a bikini underneath and some gold thongs you're ready to go from beach to dinner in my washable cotton dress.) I also designed a crocheted tank in 'La Jolla' which I'm anxious to don next Spring. So the trip was a success, Legoland and all, but I'm always sure to find inspiration along the coast. My Spring/Summer collections are continually inspired by the ocean, the beach lifestyle, and the many colors in nature around me.