It's hip to be square

You definitely need this dress as much as I do. I mean, it's by Study NY, it's made of bamboo jersey and recycled buttons, it's completely convertible to morph into a few different kinds of dresses, playsuit, and more, it's one size, and it's only $176 in The Shop. Did you catch that it's Study NY? You know, Tara St. James? I'd prefer if I had this already to go see Caribou tonight, but I'll settle for getting it in time for my NYC trip.

New York, New York

One more post before I go start my 6PM-2AM shift. With NYFW just around the corner from (or even kitty-corner to) this post, Tara St. James of Study NY is the featured designer on NJAL this week! Make sure you go read her fun interview there (and then read my more somber interview with her here). She just posted some sneak peak pictures from her Fall 2010 photo shoot on her blog and NJAL page - can't wait to see the final images!

Oh! And speaking of my favorite sellers from New York state, I want this by Brooklyn's Cubist Literature (Take Off Your Clothes' sister shop). You know, because one arm is always colder than the other.

In This Corner...Christmas Wish from Tara St. James

After a particularly overwhelming gift-giving Christmas, my family looked at the 3 garbage bags filled with wrapping and packaging and decided to go on a hiatus from giving gifts to one another. That was two years ago. Instead, we decided to spend time together making breakfast, volunteering at a soup kitchen and talking. Not great for all the stores trying to sell us stuff to give away, but great for our budgets and our sanity. I am in a constant struggle between wanting to sell goods to customers and trying to preach restraint. After all, my business depends on sales.

This year we set a minimal budget and are hand making gifts. I won't tell you what I'm making for my boyfriend because he might read this, but I will tell you it has made me rethink the whole idea of giving gifts. And believe me, I love giving gifts. But I don't think they need to be given out all at once in mass quantities. Next year I'm going to buy or make little gifts for people when I want to give them something, or when I think they need cheering up.

As for myself, I need a sweater stone. That's it. Some of my sweaters are in dire need of a little TLC. Besides that, I feel very fulfilled, and am looking forward to Christmas breakfast with my family, sans-presents.

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This Holiday Corner was brought to you by Tara St. James of Study NY. Tara also has a great gift idea if you still need to buy something for someone (or yourself): for the whole month of December, she's donating absolutely everything she makes from her Etsy shop to The Uniform Project. Amazing.

Don't forget to read my interview with Tara here.

Interview with Tara St. James

Tara St. James' Study NY label immediately caught my eye when I saw the runway photos on NJAL. I became even more intrigued, however, the more I found out about this lovely Montreal-born and NY-based designer. Tara's switch from a larger commercial company to starting up her own sustainable line is a bold move that has thus far churned out some amazing results. In case you'd like to know more about it all, do keep reading...

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What's the very first thing you remember designing?

Clothes for Betty and Veronica (the comics). I used to design clothes for them and mail them to the publishers as suggestions for what they should wear in the comics. I was probably 9 or 10.

Do you have a background in formal fashion studies?

I have a degree in menswear tailoring from a college in Montreal. I've wanted to design clothing since I was very little, so when time came to choose disciplines, it was relatively easy. I did have a brief moment in high school when I wanted to go into politics, but that didn't last very long.

What is your most treasured piece of clothing?

Tough question. I try to buy pieces that I can't live without, and that I still see myself wearing in 50 years. At the same time, I'm struggling with trying to live with less, and not put too much value on material items. It's a constant struggle.

Do you wear your own designs?

Yes, all the time. You have to represent yourself!

You used to be the creative director at Covet. How did that come about?

The backers for Covet approached me to design a streetwear brand for the US market. It slowly evolved into the contemporary organic brand that it became, but that wasn't the original vision.

What caused the move from Covet to starting your own label?

I had slowly been growing apart from Covet's parent company, who wanted to take the brand in a different direction. I decided that if I was going to be stubborn and argumentative about my vision, I should at least be doing it for myself.

I love the video you made to raise money to show at NY Fashion Week, and the whole concept behind it. What was the response to this video, and is this a method you’d use again to raise financial support?

Absolutely! The response was tremendous, and it was fun to do! I can't take credit for the video, though. My very talented boyfriend came up with the concept, shot, AND edited it.

How was your experience showing your first solo collection at NY Fashion Week?

It was less stressful than I anticipated. Of course I was nervous and anxious and in a huge rush to get everything done, but it all came together with very minor glitches. That said, I started crying as soon as the last model walked off stage, so I guess I was more terrified than I expected.

I was intrigued by your recent article on Ecouterre, “Does Social Networking Help or Hinder Independent Fashion Designers?”. Now that you’ve become ‘That Girl’ by using Twitter and what not, do you think social networking will remain an important part of building and maintaining a successful label, or do you feel it’s necessary mostly to get the label started?

I think it needs to evolve. I wrote a lot about my process and emotions about starting a new line on the blog and via twitter. Going forward, I plan to keep networking, but may communicate differently with my audience (that is, if I actually have an audience - part of me thinks just my brother and boyfriend read my blog).

You’re involved in a co-op store in Brooklyn where you get to interact directly with your potential customers. Are you looking to sell your pieces in more brick-and-mortar shops, or are you planning on focusing on this one shop and online?

I do intend to sell to boutiques. My first account will be Kaight in NY's lower east side. She has a great eye for sustainable fashion and always buys up and coming brands.

Everything in your first solo collection is organic and sustainable. Do you see future collections continuing in the use of these materials?

Absolutely, I have no intention of ever using non-sustainable textiles. I used mostly organics with Covet, so I'm used to the challenges of sourcing these materials. I enjoy the challenge!

Do you intend to still create your upcycled zipper jewelry, or will you be focusing on your Study NY label from now on?

I make the jewelry at night to decompress, it's therapeutic for me. I will keep doing it until I run out of zippers or move on to something else.

What inspires you most in creating new pieces?

Inspiration comes from everywhere for me. Sometimes it's art, or a book or film. Or a city I've been to. It really depends on the season. I used a lot of mathematical equations for Spring 10. I might incorporate some more into Fall 10. We'll see.

The idea behind your first collection, ‘The Square Project’, is simply brilliant. What do you have in the works for future collections?

Thank you! I love the idea of convertible clothing that can be worn several ways. I touched on that in the Spring collection but I'm really exploring the concept with Fall. All about the layers!

Finally, what is your favorite piece from your collection?

So hard to choose! I love the bubble shirt that turns into a tube dress. I also really love the pixel print jumpsuit. I made that piece the night before the show!

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Visit Tara's blog to see where Tara and Study NY go next. And visit her NJAL page and Etsy shop for some gorgeous sustainable pieces you can buy for yourself or some last minute Christmas gifts. (P.S. The entire Study NY collection is set to be available on NJAL this February - set your bookmarks!)

In This Corner...I Am Not A Paper Cup

I have attempted to go No Impact for the month of November, not a terribly difficult feat considering I don't eat meat, I walk to work and I live in New York, where life is relatively sustainable to begin with. However, one of my apparent vices that I was unable to kick during the past month was buying coffee from local (fair trade, organic) coffee shops in disposable paper cups. I know, I know, coffee is not grown locally, so it's a vice in itself. But I'm taking baby steps!

Enter my new ceramic "paper cup" bought for me yesterday by my very considerate boyfriend. It is available at the MoMA store and Whole Foods, among other places. While it is going to encourage my coffee habit, at least my trash bin at the studio will no longer be filled with used cups and lids. Like I said, baby steps.

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Today's Corner (the very first Corner in fact!) was brought to you by Tara St. James of Study NY, whom I previously mused about here. You can also read more about Tara's first solo collection, The Square Project, here. And stay tuned for an exclusive interview with Tara, coming up soon on this very blog.

(P.S. In case you missed the memo, "In This Corner..." is a new segment on my blog, where a guest designer will write the post and let us all know a little bit about what goes on upstairs. Much more coming up!)

Study NY

Today's weather was positively spring-like. If it weren't for the debut of this year's red cups and holiday drinks at Starbucks, I could've pretended quite well. Especially with these oh so pretty and perfectly hued new Spring 2010 pieces from Tara St. James' new label, Study NY. Tara is the former creative director of (Montreal-based) Covet, one of the only labels I tend to buy in brick-and-mortar stores. The aim of Tara's new label is to create sustainable clothing by using "recycled and organic materials as much as possible, while leaving as little a carbon footprint as is manageable." Best of luck Tara!