In Our Modest Opinion...

August's Staff Favorite

What’s in a name? Everyone wants to know! This season’s product names came from one of our favorite beauty products - Essie nail polish!

Each season we seek the ultimate category that captures the flavor of our clothing and passion for fun. Past season’s names have been based on Broadway musicals, flowers, birds, and ice cream flavors.

A hit amongst Funky Frum staffers, Essie nail polish has a versatile array of colors and great names so they were a natural choice for fall. We love the neutral shades of Baby’s Breath and Flower Girl for our finger nails, and fun colors like Bermuda Shorts, Peach Daquiri, and Sole Mate for our toes. They even have this season’s must-have shade of purple, known as Huckle Buckle!

 

Check out all the fun shades at www.essie.com and tell us what your favorite color nail polish is!

The Ever-Versatile Drumstick Skirt!

Best Seller: The Fresno Skirt

Top Fall Trends

1. Metallic and Sequins

Bring out your glitz and glamour! This fall is all about shimmery metallics and twinkling sequins, with designers showcasing many ways to make you shine. This trend isn’t just for the evening though; mix understated pieces with your daytime look for something special - headbands, tights, and tops are great for this (see couture headwear designer Jennifer Behr or our Shimmer top for inspiration). And for the evening, anything goes so you can wear as much shimmer as you feel comfortable with! Our Runway Inspirations? Bill Blass, DKNY, and J. Mendel

2. Ruffles

Ruffles have been popular on the runways for many seasons now, and this fall is no exception. In heavy fabric they can look much like a European sculpture, and they exude femininity in soft fabrics. Soft ruffles on a shirt are a perfect look for any woman to wear during the day; in general, we recommend keeping it simple - like the subtle tops and jackets by Bill Blass, Diane von Furstenberg, and Givenchy or our own Forever Young vest (which can be worn well under a cardigan). For night, let the ruffles run free! Our Runway Inspirations? Elle Saab and Valentino.

3. Feathers

Feathers dominated the runway with many designers showing them as fringe on sleeves, hems, and all over coats. Not ready to frock like Big Bird? We completely understand! Thankfully, feathers are really popular in headwear this season which allows you to more subtlely incorporate this trend into your closet. Our favorite headwear designer Louise Green showcases feathers as headbands and as accents to her wonderful hats, and couture headwear designer Jennifer Behr uses feathers as amazing sculptural head pieces and as delicate chignon decoration. Our Runway Inspirations? Louise Green and Jennifer Behr.

4. Rustic and Classic Americana

This fall designers channeled an all-American, classic and comfortable look into their collections. They drew inspiration from style icons such as Katherine Hepburn and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy. The look is comprised of a mix of plaids and warm sweater knits, tailored trousers, and simple A-line skirts, and the outfits are topped off with a knit hat and simple, sleek accessories. Great Funky Frum pieces that follow this trend are the Forget-Me-Not skirt, the Curtain Call sweater, and the Lifesaver knit cap. Our Runway Inspirations? Diane von Furstenberg, Halston, and Ralph Rucci Chado.

5. Lady-like

The lady rules again! Designers continue to debut lady-like looks with classic tailoring that will make you feel feminine, smart, and sleek. While designers have added hints of menswear, the look is all woman. Classic silhouettes that focus on an hour-glass shape, delicate details from brooches to hats, and simply lush fabrics characterize this look. To feel like a lady in Funky Frum pieces, check out our Material Girl or Fancy Delancy skirts, and our Sweet Pie top.  Our Runway Inspirations? Michael Kors (our fave), Bill Blass, Bottega Veneta, and Oscar de la Renta.

Celebrate our 3rd Anniversary!

Our third anniversary was quickly approaching and we knew just what we wanted… something delicate, feminine, and meaningful that would make us feel good all over!

So we created just that: a feel-good campaign to raise money and awareness for a good cause.

What is it?
Our Third Anniversary Necklace! (Jewelry, of course!)

We commissioned jewelry-designing guru Diane Katzman to create a piece of jewelry that would align with the look & feel of our clothing. The necklace she created is elegant, fashionable, delicate and incredibly feminine, and it commemorates our 3^rd anniversary with its trio of charms - a faceted rose quartz heart, gold filigrie medallion, and a pink cloisenne' flower bead - on a delicate gold chain.

Raising Awareness:
Bad hair days, fat pants days - we’ve all had them! We’ve tried the diets that never work, pushed ourselves too hard at the gym, and stressed over the numbers on a scale. A fleeting thought here or there for us; some women, teenagers, and young girls experience this every moment of every day of their life. They wake up struggling to feel comfortable in their body, and go to bed at night hoping the next day will be better.

Funky Frum’s goal is to help every woman feel comfortable and confident in an industry that often makes them feel otherwise. We promote the idea that the way you present yourself on the outside reflects the way you see yourself on the inside.

Because eating disorders have affected our staff, their family and friends – and an estimated 11 million people nationwide – we’ve chosen to partner with the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA, www.nationaleatingdisorders.org), whose mission is to support individuals and families affected by eating disorders, and serve as a catalyst for prevention, cures and access to quality care. Thus, NEDA was a seemingly perfect partner in extending our mission of broadening our perception of beauty.

Fashion doesn’t have to be frivolous; we believe that it’s a way to express yourself and your confidence and that the deeper roots give meaning to the clothing we sell and the causes we support. Confidence doesn’t mean showing every nook and cranny, and we applaud women who find it as empowering as we do to dress with a sense of modesty.

Our third anniversary necklace is a piece that exudes confidence and beauty, and it’s a lovely gift to give (to yourself or others) as a thank you for loving and taking care of your body.

Raising Money:
Exclusively available at www.funkyfrum.com, the necklace retails for $50 – and $10 from the sale of each necklace will be donated to NEDA. Our goal is to donate $1000 to NEDA by October 31, 2008 (that’s only 100 necklaces) and we thank you, upfront, for supporting this worthwhile cause. Afterall, getting a new necklace isn’t that bad… and giving a gift of beauty and love is even better.

The Designer:
Diane Katzman (www.dianekatzman.com) works with corporate clients ranging from Visa to Target. She does a lot of charity work, creating exclusive pieces for such organizations as the American Cancer Society, Make-A-Wish Foundation and Teach for America. And, her retail line is carried at Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus, as well as other boutiques and museum shops around the United States.

She’s the best-of-the-best, and we loved working with her dynamic team.

We'd love to hear from you:
We are excited to embark on this year – one that will celebrate fashion and style in a way that is comfortable. Most of all, we hope that we can broaden our concept of beauty and remember that it comes in a variety of ways, while raising awareness and money for a cause that affects countless families around the United States and abroad.

Have you or someone you know struggled with eating disorders? Do you have comments about the way the media identifies and portrays beauty? We'd love to hear from you...

Style Icon: Rachel Bilson

Rachel Bilson is best known for her role as Summer Roberts on the hit teen show “The O.C.” While her character spent most of her days in bikinis and short shorts, Rachel dresses quite modestly in real life - which is hard to find in a 20-something celebrity these days!

Rachel’s style is inspiring to any modest dresser. She goes out in outfits that cover, but they are stylish and fresh. She mixes great, eye-catching pieces with comfortable basics among a  neutral pallette that allows her to easily mix and match the pieces in her closet. Her key look consists of layers - heels, tights, a dress, a jacket, a scarf, and a slouchy beret. Her laid back and care-free style - rooted in her California upbringing - keeps her low key on hair and makeup so she never looks fussy or over-done.