Apiece Apart
“Women tend to buy emotionally, but then they end up with a closet full of clothes that don’t relate to each other. But if you think about what you’re going to buy in a more focused way and you get your staples, then you can add your novelty items and your jewelry. It’s freeing to have a codified closet.”
“It’s about a streamlined, reduced wardrobe, something you could put in a small suitcase and just be happy about. A wardrobe worth wearing.” — Laura Cramer and Starr Hout, respectively, co-founders, Apiece Apart, as stated in T Magazine.
Cultivating new collections for a boutique requires a blend of elements. Ideally every collection should have a purpose to the overall mission statement of the business. Travel has been a core part of the reason TSALT came to fruition. Tamara understood how the analogy of packing with key elements could provide you with a freedom to enjoy the experience of travel. Defining our own day-to-day lives as a journey, shouldn’t we also curate the same freedoms in our closet with multi-functional classics?
Apiece Apart is a label also built on a group of elevated basics meant to be worn in a way to celebrate the woman. Nearly a decade ago two friends set out on a trip and what they returned with was an idea for a women’s clothing collection rooted in what would fit in their suitcase and suit multiple needs.
“Apiece Apart was born during a trip to West Texas for the designers’ 30th birthdays. Inspired by the austere and beautiful landscape, Starr Hout and Laura Cramer conceived of a simplified wardrobe, one that could be packed into a single bag — simple items that could be mixed and matched to go anywhere and do anything.”
Understated clothing leaves room for the personality to make the lasting impression — not necessarily the clothes. With simplicity in pieces comes understanding how to make them your own through a use of shoes, jewelry, hair, and makeup choices. This is what makes style rich through interpretation. What a generous gift these two friends have given women – a foundation from which to start defining who you are.
The designers’ Fall ’14 collaboration with J.Crew
The original collections were rooted in the southwest where the terrain is austere and the palettes are rich in desert neutrals mixed with the classic black, white, navy, and coral. The design team duo has already accomplished a major marketing achievement with their Fall ’14 collaboration with J.Crew celebrating the New York woman. That collection was about everything that drew Starr and Laura to New York where they first met as NYU students. Brand awareness becomes exponentially larger when J.Crew invites you into their American multi-brand specialty market. It also immediately defines the brand to the general public as the new “classic.”
Daphne Midi Dress
TSALT picks up the story with the Resort 2017 collection with its intentional shift to a more festive look and feel. Be prepared to see folksy digital prints that blend the classic with the modern…where simple and sophisticated are part of the same conversation. Texture is an important part of this collection with detailed pleating in a celebrated sleeve, embroidery with southwestern influences, and an overall lived-in feel to the fabrics.
Sayulita Popcorn Dress
TSALT chose pieces from this collection that would initially help our client understand the silhouettes — for example choosing black over pink in the Popcorn Dress since it was more versatile. We see this both as a dress to throw on over your swimsuit allowing a little leg to show, or something to wear out to dinner with some statement jewelry and metallic sandals.
Los Altos Dress
Other dresses offered immediate whimsy and lent themselves to a woman who would take a risk in prints…where bra issues may not be of high concerns. These are pieces that can be adapted by adding a little t-shirt layer underneath as well. Knowing how to translate clothing into your own language can be challenging if you’ve only accepted styles as you initially see them. Once you know how to manipulate designers’ ideas into your own message, fashion becomes a whole different animal.
We all bring our own histories to how we see new collections. Having a little understanding of what inspired the designers can help you connect to the story. Understanding how the buyers select against everything that is offered in a collection helps direct you to the pieces we imagine for our own client. Not every collection is for everyone, but what we hope to offer at TSALT is a rich variety of styles that can be thoughtfully added to your own wardrobe and introduce them in a manner that appeals to your appreciation of the “why.”
The most important takeaway from this collection is a question you should continually ask yourself with your own wardrobe — however you choose to build it. How do the individual pieces relate to the whole? This is the basis of Apiece Apart, a question that starts the more philosophical discussion of how we see ourselves.
