Grab a bargain this weekend...

A quick reminder that the mid-season sale continues instore and online. There are plenty of great tees and sweats available. Here are a few highlights: 

• Black Score 'Got Swagger' t-shirt Was £40 Now £30
• Être Cécile 'All Over Cheetah' t-shirt Was £77 Now £50
• Être Cécile 'Cécile' Foil t-shirt Was £77 Now £50
• Markus Lupfer 'Pick Me, I Pick You' t-shirt Was £65 Now £40
• Markus Lupfer 'Lara Lip' t-shirt Was £87 Now £60
• Markus Lupfer 'Sequin Feather' t-shirt Was £126 Now £80
• Être Cécile 'Sheriff' long-sleeved t-shirt Was £85 Now £55
• Zoe Karssen 'French Kissing' sweater Was £180 Now £125
• Black Score 'Punk's Not Dead' sweatshirt Was £60 Now £45 

There's plenty more where that came from! You can see all our sale items here.

Oh, I Do Like To Be Beside the Seaside...

It’s easy to forget how fortunate we are to be based by the seaside, especially on days when it's cold and raining. Luckily, we have this season’s collection from Simeon Farrar to remind us of better days.

Simeon Farrar was a well-known name in fine art with a fondness for incorporating printing into his work when he decided to use t-shirts as a new medium for his pieces.  These proved very popular and, in trying to meet demand from fashion retailers, he has found a middle ground where he can produce t-shirts, bags, dresses and scarves in quantities that are practical, whilst maintaining the individuality of each piece.  He is well known for his t-shirts featuring line drawings of supermodels such as Kate Moss, Cara Delevingne and Georgia Jagger, who seem happy to feature in his designs, and for gently mocking fashion’s super labels, which sometimes don’t seem quite so pleased.

To fulfil his own creative needs, Farrar now has two lines.  Recently, he has started the Black Score label, producing short runs of t-shirts drawing on his favourite subjects of fashion and popular culture for their inspiration. We have a number of Black Score designs in stock at NOLA, and you can see the whole lot here.

His Simeon Farrar line has developed into a more traditional label, producing seasonal collections based around a single theme.  This has allowed him to develop his methods further, experimenting with colour and texture. By using more processes, these pieces are increasingly unique and closer to his artist roots.

This season his theme is the seaside – ice creams, lollipops and fairground rides.  We have a range of his individually printed, dyed and finished bags, including this canvas gusset tote in Waves Wash...

...and this one, exclusive to NOLA, in leather,thickly painted and screen printed with carousel horses.

We also have a number of his t-shirts and vests, including different takes on a single image of an ice cream cone, from the faded and paint-splattered to crisp and white.

Other designs in the range include this ‘Wish You Were Here’ motif...

...and this fine array of retro lollipops.

All of these designs celebrate the freedom with which they are manufactured, making a feature of imperfections in the printing and using paints and washes to create unique items – no two are the same, creating works of art that you can wear. You can see our whole collection by clicking here.

Day Pass to Brighton

Thank you to Refinery29 for featuring us in their Day Pass feature on Brighton. 

Refinery29 Day Pass feature

New At NOLA: Rebecca Minkoff

Rebecca Minkoff is well-loved in the States and Japan, but little known in Europe.  She started her own label at the tender age of 21 and spent five years designing and printing t-shirts in her apartment.

Things really took off for the Rebecca Minkoff label in 2005 when she started designing handbags. Her Morning After Bag – the M.A.B. - was an enormous hit and remains a staple, with obsessive fans collecting each variation every season.  For the next four years she concentrated on handbags, growing her brand into a major name.  In 2009, she launched her first ready-to-wear collection and opened her first store in Japan, where the label first took off in a big way, in 2012.  

What makes Rebecca Minkoff different from a lot of designers is her accessibility.  In her blog, on Instagram and twitter, she doesn’t oversell her products but refreshingly documents the things she loves – the style, music, food and anything else that inspires her.  

We’ve just taken delivery of a few choice items from the pre-Spring/Summer collection, and lovely they are too, with a stronge emphasis on sport-luxe.  There’s this Tiger Curved Yoke knit:

A lot of Rebecca Minkoff’s designs play with silhouette and the ‘curved yoke’ pattern across the sleeves on this sweater creates the illusion of shape to a very wearable crew neck sweater.  The tiger stripe pattern is great too – it looks straightforward but, up close, it’s a pixelated image.  A nice detail!

It’s no surprise that a handbag designer would use leather in their clothing, but the combination of a striped sweater with leather is not what you might expect.  The front panel is pleasingly soft and the cut is beautiful.  It can be washed, so it’s practical too.

Sweatshirts continue to be big news and Rebecca Minkoff plays with them to create something quite unique.  These McCall sweatshirts in blush and neon green use detailed weaves on the sleeves combined with feminine lacework to create tops that can be worn casually with jeans or dressed up to equally stunning effect. We’ve also got a great pencilskirt in the neon green weave, with the lace panel front.

One of Rebecca Minkoff’s staple designs is the Clara dress. It’s a short, fitted dress with a shaped bustier top, elasticated shoulder straps, piping and panels front and back. This season it comes in a beautiful all-over floral print, which contrasts nicely with the structured nature of the dress.

We couldn’t take Rebecca Minkoff without stocking some of her bags, of course.  We’ve got this wonderful M.A.B. tote in scarlet.  Made from textured saffiano leather, it’s a stunning colour and has everything you could want from a tote.

Also in stock are a couple of smaller bags. The Hudson Moto Mini is made from saffiano leather in rose gold, gold and black and, for a small bag, is packed with pockets to help keep you organised.  The strap is removable so it can be worn across the body or used as a clutch.

This mini version of Rebecca Minkoff’s Morning After Clutch comes in classic black. It’s made from soft, supple leather and is packed with details inside and out. It’s got a studded leather and gold chain strap which can be worn long, doubled to wear over the shoulder or removed to make a stunning clutch. It even comes with spare leather tassels, so you can dress it up even further!

You can see the whole range here. There’s more to come, so keep your eyes on the website, our twitter feed and our facebook page for the latest arrivals.