How many of you have gone out and gotten yourself some riding boots since our last post? We sure have, but we didn't have to go far ;) We're not the type of people to wish for cold when it's too hot outside (and vice versa) but this season we do have to admit we're ready for the cooler air. Why? So we can rock our skinny jeans with boots, fur lined sweaters (faux of course), and over sized scarves. Don't get us wrong, we love our backless dresses and 4" peep toe pumps, but who doesn't love a change once in a while?
Personally, I look forward to bulkier clothes so I can hide my muffin top a bit better. What?! At least I'm honest! More to love right?
So we've discussed fall trends in shoes, now let's focus on our body's favorite accessory, CLOTHES! This Fall seems to have hotter fashions than any other Fall I can remember in recent history. Natural colors, even gray hues, are in in in. But there's also two major pops of colors to watch out for... Red and Jade Green. BAM! Becareful wearing them together though, you may look like a Christmas Wreath. Wear them separately and you're the cat's meow and stuff like that and such as...and stuff.
Whether it's a top, dress, scarf, jeans (yes jeans), etc... if it's red, it's Fall. If you don't look good in red (like myself) then enjoy being 'out' this fall, at least with this trend. Boooo. However, those of us who don't look good in red typically can pull of green real well...
We haven't received much jade green yet in store but it's coming, it is cominggggg. This color is flattering on most skin tones and with most hair colors. Have green eyes? That's a plus! Work it girl. My fiance doesn't like me in green but I tell him I have green eyes and it makes them look pretty and that's all that matters. But come on, we dress to impress other girls, not our men. It's the truth.
Let's dive more into actual trends than colors... this is our personal favorite trend this Fall, the dolman sleeve blouse (or anything dolman). Love love love... l.o.v.e. (like Ashlee Simpson love, and we all know that's hardcore)
The definition of a dolman sleeve is open to interpretation. The classic definition is a top with a wide arm hole and narrow around the wrist. However, with current trends, dolman sleeves are coming in shorter sleeves (as seen above) which cuts out the 'narrow around the wrist' part. Regardless, they're fun a breezy and figure flattering. Whether it's a sheer top, button down blouse, or cape coat, dolman sleeves look great.
If you cut the section off between the arm hole and the bottom of the blouse, what do you get? A Poncho of course! Back again for another Fall, ponchos are going to be everywhere and on everyone. If you're pregnant, this is your go to piece. If you're drinking a lot of beer while tailgating, ponchos are your answer.
Ponchos come in so many different styles and patterns that the possibilities are endless. Let's say you can't find anything to wear, you just have a white long sleeve tee and jeans and have to cart your kids around all day. You feel boring and drab. This is where a poncho comes in. Throw one on to instantly transform your outfit. Oh and don't forget a great pair of earrings! DUH.
Going with the whole biker boot vibe (as discussed in our previous post) leather is a huge trend this Fall. Are you surprised? We're not either. Find yourself a great leather coat, lined with a fun pattern and you're set. Leather skirts are also showing their faces in a lot of boutiques recently as well, but we're on the fence. Want do you think... would you want one?
These are three styles we've gotten in so far this Fall. All three fabulous. Pair them with your favorite boots and you're set! Put a little edge in your wardrobe
There's so many more new trends this Fall but we'll save them for another day, so stay tuned and check back for 'Fall Fashion Alert: Clothing' second edition. Man that makes us sound so cool and important, huh? ;)
Much like the Wizard of Oz, there's someone here who has been hiding behind the curtain helping run this crazy fashion sideshow know as Blake & Brady. Our Wizard isn't an old balding man with a raspy voice however, and it certainly isn't a man. Her name happens to be Sissa and you may have seen us mention her in previous blog posts. She's blond, vivacious, and bubbly, and we love her to pieces. Perhaps we're biased, but we have a feeling that if you knew her personally, you'd feel the same way.
Since the beginning of Blake & Brady, Sissa has worked behind the scenes with her co-owner and husband Chris. However, just last week Sissa made a huge change in her life. She quit her job of 9+ years in pharmaceutical sales to work full time at Blake & Brady. She's come out from behind the curtain to work at the store and help out with her quickly growing boutique. With the new upstairs expansion opening soon, she has much to do.
Because Sissa is taking on a much bigger role with the boutique (ya know, other than just being the owner, since that's no big deal right?), we thought it was time we introduce her to y'all, our growing clients turned friends.We sat down with Sissa today to find out her deepest darkest secrets for y'all. Like the fact that she accidentally locked herself out of her hotel room once in just her underwear, and the fact that she kissed George Clooney once in a bar, before he was super famous. Okay okay okay, that last fact totally isn't true, but wouldn't you be so jealous if it was!?
You're not from Anderson (which is the home of Blake & Brady), right?
Nope, I was raised in Alabama and Georgia but somehow fate or destiny brought me to the wonderful city of Anderson.
So, How did you actually end up here?
Let me try and make a long story short (Us girls say that and then it ends up being a long story because we just can't bear to leave out all the fun details! but I'll try my best to keep it short). Like I mentioned, I'm from Mobile, Alabama where I was born and mostly raised. It's a place I love and will always call home. When I was a sophomore in high school my mom and step dad, with me in tow, moved to Marietta, Georgia because of my stepdad's new job. After high school I ended up at University of Georgia where I was a cheerleader. Yep, I was one of those peppy girls with the big smiles at all times, hard to believe huh? *laughs*
Many years later, when I was almost 30 years old I was invited to attend a UGA game (I believe they were playing Tennessee). At this game, I was unknowingly set up with a man my age whose name was Chris. We hit things off but I wasn't quite sold on him yet. He was a bit of a nice guy, and we all know us girls like the bad boys. Eventually though, after about a year, Chris won me over. Fast forward to a few months or a year later. Chris helped me pursue a career in pharmaceutical sales. The job he found me just so happened to be in Anderson, South Carolina, where Chris was from. Eventually we settled into Anderson, together, got hitched, had a couple baby girls, and here we are today, loving every bit about our life together in the Electric City!
That's quite the love story! Now, why on Earth did you decide to open up a clothing boutique?
Well it was more Chris's doing than mine although I may have sparked the very intriguing idea. I've been enthralled by fashion my whole life but never dreamed I'd one day own my very own boutique. It all started with a simple conversation with Chris about how it would be great to open a franchise of a boutique we loved in Alabama, here in Anderson. Then we decided that it may be better to just open up our own unique boutique. We noticed that downtown Anderson had a need for a boutique for all to enjoy shopping at. From there, we decided to take the plunge. With a lot of hard work done by Chris, and my female touches, Blake & Brady became a reality about 3 years ago.
What are you most looking forward to with the future of Blake & Brady?
All the growth potential, most definitely! It is just incredible how much growth our store has experienced in the past year and it can only get better from here. We are shipping product to people all over the nation and even Canada! We hope Blake & Brady continues on this successful path so that one day our daughters, Blakely and Brady, can work at the store and maybe take over. How great would that be?!
Will y'all have an online store any time soon?
We'd like to have one eventually, yes. But for right now, we don't see a need for one. Facebook has been an incredible utility for us. Most of our sales come from fans of our page on there. For those of you who don't know, when we receive new items from UPS we immediately unpack them, price them and hang them up, and take a picture of them. We then email this picture out to our FastTrack Email List informing everyone about our new arrivals and letting them know when we'll post pictures of each new item individually on our Facebook page. About an hour or two after the email goes out, we post pictures as we just explained, of one of our employees wearing the new stuff we got, in a photo album on our page. Our friends can then comment under each picture to order or they can call us at the store. It's such a great system for us and it's fun to see all the enthusiasm that our friends exude when commenting on photos. We love to make our girls (and guys) happy!
How would you define your personal style?
I try and make sure I look fun and fashionable but comfort is also very important to me. I'm not quite a spring chicken anymore although I try my hardest to turn back time! I like flowy tops and dresses, that hide all my problem areas but accentuate my favorite parts. I feel those 'fun and flowy' tops match who I am as a person. I like to dress age and style appropriate. Many of the clothes I personally pick out for the store are chosen for women who are no longer in their 20's. Women who want to look cute and flirty, but appropriate. If I had the choice, I'd wear heels every day every where. But because I've had knee surgery, my poor leg just can't handle the heels so I tend to stick to flats these days.
What would you say is your biggest Fashion 'oops!'?
Funny you ask that. Just a year or two ago, while attending a Clemson football game, I decided to wear those pasty bra things. Ya know, they're not quite a bra but not just a sticker, but they do the trick. Well, the game was very hot and I ended up sweating in the wrong place. Needless to say my pasties (is that even the right word?) lost their stickyness and fell off into the blousy part of my top. How embarrassing! I ended up having to pull the suckers out of my shirt and hide them under the bleachers at the stadium. They were a great surprise for whoever cleans up after the games! Sorry about that! My advice to you, don't wear pasty bra things if you're going to be sweating or getting wet in any way, bad idea! Good heavens, i can't believe I just told you that story.
Which Celeb's style do you love?
Jennifer Aniston comes to mind. I couldn't pull off her style but I love it regardless. She's got that sleek yet conservative look going on. Without trying to be sexy, she just 'is' and that's rare in women these days. I also love Carrie Underwood's and Anne Hathaway's style. They dress conservative yet fun and classy all at the same time. I've yet to see an outfit on Carrie that didn't absolutely flatter her figure. She always look so perfectly put together.
What new fashion trend do you love and what can you live without?
I just love love love white jeans! Whether they're skinny, cropped, or bootleg, I love them. I think we should throw away the 'no white after labor day' rule. White is timeless and perfect for so many occasions. On another note, I'm not a big fan of parachute pants. They've been trying to make a come back for the past year and I'm just not jumping on that bandwagon. MC Hammer can keep his pants.
Give us some Fun Facts to finish up...
Many people don't know that we carry men's denim in our store. Men, once you go designer jeans, you'll never go back, that's a promise. Ladies, buy a pair for your man and see how quickly he falls in love.
What else, hmmm... I love to play tennis. When I'm not working or doing activities with my girls, I am playing tennis. It's my outlet and a great way to stay in shape of course.
Well there you have it y'all... everything you've ever wanted to know, or didn't want to know, about Mrs. Sissa Sullivan. Our Wizard of Blake & Brady.
Want to see Sissa in action? Here she is talking about her wonderful boutique and giving more information about the new 'Loft at Blake & Brady'! It took a while to get Sissa to sit down in front of the camera but once she gave in she did a great job! If the video doesn't work for any reason, Click Here for a larger version of the video if it will not expand below.
Fun facts are meant to be, well, fun! Like the fact that a hippo can open it's mouth wide enough to fit a four foot child inside. Next time little Tommy finger paints your walls with chocolate from his ice cream sundae, you know what animal to introduce him to at the zoo.
How about the fact that, like fingerprints, everyone's tongue has a unique print. Or, banging your head up against a wall burns 150 calories an hour. New exercise anyone? I wonder if Gold's Gym will read this blog and soon after start a head banging workout class. If so, we'd like credit for the idea and a small monthly deposit into our primary checking account from all money earned in these revolutionary head banging classes.
These are all interesting facts huh? Well we have some more for you. Facts about Blake & Brady and how they came to be! Don't you sometimes walk into a place of business and wonder "How did they come up with their name?" "Who runs this show anyway?" or in a boutique's case "Who decides what clothes they bring into inventory?". We have some answers for you straight from the horses mouths... errr... well the mouths of the people behind the name. Let's begin...
How and when did Blake & Brady get it's start?
The store made it's debut about two years ago in downtown Anderson. There was a need for a fun and fashionable clothing store downtown, so we filled that niche. Little did we know, we would eventually expand from just a simple local boutique in a small quaint town to one that ships nationwide and caters to women of so many ages.
Who is this Jennifer girl?
Jennifer was our first new hire at Blake & Brady and quickly grew from a basic employee to our store manager. She's one of the best decisions we ever made! She's in the store nearly every day we're open and is typically the one who answers the phones when you call. She is amazing at putting together outfits and serves as a personal shopper to all customers that walk through our doors. To top it all off, she models our clothing in the pictures we put on Facebook. Smart and pretty? She's got it all and we're lucky to have her.
So where did the name 'Blake & Brady' come from anyway?
Coming up with a name wasn't as easy as most would assume. We went through about 15 different options. In the World of boutiques, there are so many names that are overused. You know what names I'm talking about. We didn't want to be just another obscure clothing store with a name that blends in with everything else. We knew we wanted a unique name, and one that was family oriented. We thought about using our last name 'Sullivan' but it came off as a bit masculine, so that was thrown out. Then we thought about our daughters names which are Blakely and Brady. Saying 'Blakely & Brady' out loud over and over just didn't sound 'right', it didn't have that ring to it. It was about one syllable too long. Back to the drawing board we went.
But one day, Sissa was playing tennis when one of her girlfriends chimed in and said "What about just cutting it to 'Blake & Brady'? Genius! However, we had to run this past our oldest, Blakely, and make sure she was okay with her name being shortened a bit. Being the level-headed little girl that she is, she agreed that the name was fine and shortening it didn't bother her one bit.
So... there you have it folks! We arrived at our name 'Blake & Brady'! It's such a fun youthful and timeless name, that we hope everyone loves just as much as we do.
Now, where did you come up with this logo of yours?
An Anderson University student actually helped create our logo. We like to keep the community involved in our store, so having a logo created by a local student was perfect for us. The ampersand sign, the '&', was actually hand drawn which makes it very unique. Cool huh? We tried the logo in a few different color combinations and once we saw it in blue and brown, we knew it was perfect. Seeing our name in lights, aka on the awning of our store, was an exciting day!
What about product, how do you decide what to order?
Ordering product really is an art. It's difficult but fun all at the same time. We feel it's one of our biggest strengths, as a store. With Jennifer, Laurin, and Sissa combining all of their expertise and opinions, we're able to bring items into stock that many different age groups love. We have loyal customers ranging from high school girls to Mom's of high school girls! While shopping online for new fashion to bring into stock, we pay close attention to pricing. We make sure that we can provide our customers with affordable prices and that they'll be happy and comfortable with every purchase they make with us.
Do you only carry clothes?
No way! We try to cover the entire wardrobe. From shoes, to skirts, to tops, to earrings. We've got it! With so much new stuff coming in every day, it is exciting for our customers. We love having all the beautiful ladies coming by our store daily and helping them find what's best for their style and body. Also, with the great food and entertainment downtown, we love it when girls come park, shop and enjoy the whole downtown experience.
Tell us something that many of us may not know about the future of Blake & Brady.
Well how about the fact that we're expanding our store upstairs! Same building, same location, but it will be two floors soon instead of just one! We're hoping to open around the week of Easter if all goes according to plan. Once the upstairs is open we'll be able to bring in more inventory for all of our customers to oogle over! The new space is going to have a loft feel to it with tons of big windows letting in all the downtown charm. We're sure everyone will fall in love with the new space and all of it's contents!
How's that for some fun facts for y'all!? Did you learn something new? Blake & Brady has a strong reliable foundation built on fashion, fun, and family. This will always stay the same.
By the way, you fun lovers, if you can't get enough of us, become a fan on facebook (if you're not already), or follow us on Twitter, we'll tweet ya back! Click the cute buttons on the right side of our page to go to each page.
Now, get off our blog and go out and enjoy this beautiful weather! Or you can take your computer outside and read more of our blog at the same time. Perfection!
Hello Ladies (and gents), let's take a short intermission from discussing Spring Fashion and switch topics over to Online Shopping! We all do it, it's an epidemic.
You know the drill. You find something you absolutely love online, place an order quickly without your husband (or parents, or whoever watches over the finances) knowing and you anxiously await the package to arrive (because it's exciting and because you need to make sure you intercept the package before someone else sees it). It's like Christmas without a big fat hairy man and cookies. Well, we don't know what your FedEx or UPS driver looks like, but ours isn't big and hairy; and he's never asked for cookies! And thank goodness, because we don't bake.
Many of us, when shopping for clothing online, don't pay quite enough attention to the way the clothing fits on the model, the fabric the piece is made out of, nor do we take into account that model may be built much differently than we are (and this is true in most cases, if it's not, then you have been blessed by the skinny model Gods!). We have three tips for you to keep in mind when online shopping for clothing. We like to call them the three 'F's!
Let's talk Foto (it's spelled with a 'ph' normally, we know, but then that ruins our three 'F's, plus it looks cute spelled with a 'F')...
For those of you who have never worked in clothing retail, you probably don't know about the tricks stylists and photographers use when photographing a model in a piece of clothing. Their big secret to make, let's say, a baggy dress fit tight on a model is using a clip. Yep, a clip. They pull the fabric back and clip the dress in a way that makes the dress appear like it's fitted and it flatters the model's body. Sometimes, when stores really want to get crafty they use their other secret weapon, their hands! They have the model pose awkwardly with one hand behind their back pulling the dress tight. To the untrained eye, you may think the model is just making another one of those weird artsy modely poses, but really they're pulling a fast one on you.
Here's a great example (for those who learn visually):
Such a sweet innocent pose, looking all model-ish and stuff... BAM, you've been fooled! This girl doesn't have a bad back, she's no granny. She's pulling that dress back with her hand. Perhaps she's too skinny for it or perhaps it blouses awkwardly on the sides and she's trying to hide it. We added the back view as well so that you can see she's doing it at a different angle as well.
Buyers beware. Watch how models are standing! Don't say we didn't warn you! You can't always detect a clip but you sure can detect the 'hand pull'.
When we post pictures on our Facebook page of Jennifer in a piece of clothing, She always stands 'normal'. We want to make sure you know how the dress will fit just by looking at the photo so that you can be confident with your purchase.
Speaking of Jennifer, want to know why she's such a great model for our clothing? Because her body is just like yours! She's in shape and slim but she has curves and she looks great! She's not another skin-n-bones model who makes a pouty face just to make her cheek bones appear higher. She's the real deal Holyfield! When you see Jennifer modeling clothing, what you see is what you get. Which brings us to discussing, THE Fit.
A BIG mistake we women make when shopping online is assuming that dress we love will look the same on us as it does on that 5'10", 100 lb model. First of all, these lovely underfed (that's a guess, not a fact!) ladies do not typically have large chests, or any ta-tas for that matter. They also, typically, don't have big hips or big booties. Their legs go on for miles and they have no arm fat that jiggles when they waive 'hi'! They're not like you and me. They make clothing look fantastic, true story, but they don't reflect how the product looks on a real woman. When online shopping, make sure you keep this in mind. If there are reviews under a product, read them! If they have measurements, jot those down too. There's nothing more dissapointing than getting that gorgeous ruffled front dress in the mail, only to try it on and it doesn't fit or it's unflattering.
Here's a comparison, Twiggy vs Jennifer:
Okay Twiggy, if the dress is that tight on you, how on Earth is my junk in the trunk (and the dashboard) going to fit in that dress!!? Get the point?
Now, here's a simple tip all of us can understand easily, always try to examine or find out what Fabric a piece of clothing is made out of. Typically you can tell from looking at a photo what fabric the item was made out of, but when in doubt, ask! Some of us look great in knit or cotton, while others of us prefer jersey or a poly blend. We all have different bodies and our bodies look better in different fabrics. Personally, I choose items with more 'give', fabrics that stretch a bit so that when I eat too much and have a food baby, I don't feel like I'm suffocating! Come on, you all know what it's like to overeat and about pass out at the table!
So there you have it, three great tips to keep in mind when shopping online. You can thank us later, or just come in the store and do it in person! :)
Welcome to Blake & Brady Boutique's first blog post! We're beyond excited to share with you our inner most fashion and fun thoughts.
If you found our blog from our facebook page, website, or store front we welcome you and thank you for your continued support. If you just stumbled upon our blog or heard about us from a friend, we thank you for stopping by and can't wait to get to know you and have you get to know us! Is this starting to sound like one of those awkward Academy Award thank you speeches? If so, disregard this whole paragraph. Moving on...
Allow us to introduce ourselves (does anyone hear trumpets?). We are a vibrant yet relaxed clothing boutique located in Downtown Anderson in the wonderful state of South Carolina. Although our actual store is located in the South it does not limit us to shipping only in this region. We sell and ship to customers all over the United States. Yes, it's true. We were established by Owners Chris & Sissa Sullivan who named the store after their two cutie-patootie daughters. Don't worry, neither Chris nor Sissa are writing these blog posts so we (I) get to brag about their little ones without being called a boastful parent. They really are cute, seriously, I mean it. Chris & Sissa are accompanied by their absolutely gorgeous (see there I go bragging again about something that isn't mine, which makes it okay!) store manager Jennifer. Chances are that if you have commented on our Facebook page or stopped in the store, you've spoken to miss Jennifer. She's also the girl who models all of our wonderful new arrivals for us in the photos we post on Facebook. Somedays she may rather not be in front of the camera but we twist her arm until she screams 'uncle'! Okay maybe not but that sounds like it would work well!
Jennifer in one of our quickest selling dresses!
We, at Blake & Brady Boutique, do not take ourselves too seriously. We're the type of people who trip walking up the stairs, spill drinks on ourselves even though we were sure we had the cup to our mouths, we wake up with bad hair days sometimes, and we sing Mariah Carey in the shower when no one is around. We are real, normal, every day people, just like you. We are silly and aren't afraid to make fun of ourselves.
You know those cute clothing boutiques that have just the most adorable clothes that you fall in love with and then you look at the price tag of that cute top you were eying and it's priced at $180.00 instead of around $60.00 like you assume it would be? Ya... that's not us! Whew! Scared you for a minute didn't we? All of our clothes are priced fairly and as low as possible so that when you purchase from us you don't feel like you broke the bank. You will walk away happy... and looking fab-u-lous!
Let us make one thing very clear right now while we have your attention (you are paying attention aren't you? hmmmm?). This blog is not to persuade you to purchase from us. The main purpose of this blog is to interact with YOU (don't look behind you, yes, we are talking to you) and start conversations with and between our followers and friends. We want to hear from you and post about what you might find informative. We want this to be fun and carefree just like our store. We promise to leave you smiling each time you visit our page. If you're not smiling, well then you better go grab a piece of chocolate and maybe a glass of wine (21+ only please!) and get in a better mood! This is a happy place :)
Do you have anything you'd like to know more about or subjects you'd like us to post about? Let us know! Like we said before, we want to hear from you!
Now back to our awkward Academy Awards speech..... We thank you for stopping by our blog and hope you'll return again soon to read our next post, and our post after that, and then the one after that, and the one following that one. It will only get better! You can also subscribe to our blog so that you're automatically notified when we write a new post. Come back and see us soon y'all (we did say we were in the South didn't we?)!
Peace, Love, & Affordable Style,
The Blake & Brady Team
