The FT endorses Chinti’s uniform chic

The Financial Times, Saturday 8 September 2012

At Chinti, we’ve long respected the composure and understated elegance of school uniform. You can see its influence in everything from our elbow patch cardigans and one-pocket sweaters to our recently launched capsule collection of flannel styles, which include the gorgeous shirt dress featured in the FT and the boxy blue flannel shirt and grey grandad version seen here.

Boxy Flannel Shirt, £115

Flannel Shirt Dress, £150

Flannel Shirt, £120

Boutiques We Love: The Hambledon, Winchester

The Hambledon, Winchester, Hants

The latest in our Boutiques We Love series is divine Winchester store, The Hambledon. Positioned opposite the city’s cathedral grounds in a rambling Georgian building, it boasts charm in spades and a blend of fashion and homeware to die for. An hour from London by train, this one’s well worth the trip and proof that there’s plenty of inspirational shopping away from the Big Smoke.

What boutique are you from and where are you based?
We’re from The Hambledon in Winchester. It’s sort of a department store but only selling things we love.

What brands do you sell?
Quite a few womenswear labels, including Bellerose, Chinti and Parker, Paul & Joe Sister, YMC, Baum und Pferdgarten, Goat, MiH.

When the new stock arrives do you get to try everything on?!
Not if Victoria (owner) gets her way. She’s quite strict about trying on in shop hours. We’re here for the customers, but there’s always a bit of a rush to get in the fitting room when we’re on a lunch break.
 
Describe your personal style?
Victoria: The plainer the better; grey is always good.
Lucy: I just wear what I like. A full skirt and some cashmere knitwear sees me through bulldog hair and unpacking parcels.

What Chinti and Parker A/W ’12 piece are you most looking forward to wearing?
We’re absolutely loving the star print tunic.

What do you think makes Chinti and Parker unique?
We love an ethical brand that makes beautiful clothes. Everything is super wearable with beautiful detailing.

The girls from Girls

The girls from Girls: Marnie, Jessa, Hannah and Shoshanna

We’re just a little bit obsessed with Girls, the HBO series featuring a gaggle of twentysomething females, who, in between raging hangovers and the quagmire of adult relationships, strive to earn a livable wage without giving up on their dreams. All with plenty of self-sabotage along the way. Sound familiar?

A close second to the incredibly sharp, funny writing is the wardrobe. In particular, the adorable geek-chic ensembles worn by the show’s writer/producer Lena Duhham who stars as Hannah, and the bohemian insouciance of Jessa, played by British actress-artist, Jemima Kirke.

Lena Dunham as Hannah in Girls works a masterclass in geek chic

Above: Chinti does Hannah

The insanely beautiful Jessa played by Jemima Kirke

Above: Chinti does Jessa

A Little Bird Came to Visit

Daisy Garnett at her desk

Goodness, what a great Monday it’s turning out to be: glorious sun, general post-weekend cheer and a surprise visit from the lovely and very talented  journalist, Daisy Garnett. You’ll no doubt recognise Daisy’s name from bylines in Vogue, The New York Times and the Telegraph, but her visit today was very much in reference to A Little Bird, the arts and style website she shares with former Vogue colleague, Francesca Martin.

Restaurant entry from A Little Bird

If you’ve not visited A Little Bird, then we have three words for you: Do. It. Now. Launched in 2010, it offers culture-rich pearls on where to eat, where to shop, galleries to visit, books to read, where to holiday and more, but with one conspicuous omission: fashion. Described by The Guardian as a cross between Radio 4 and Vogue, A Little Bird is an in-the-know lifestyle portal that sees way beyond glossy veneer; there’s high style, sure, but scratch the surface and you get warmth, intelligence and soul. The F-word has its moments (we’re talking fashion), but style will always prevail.

www.a-littlebird.com

A Girl’s Gaze: Marlene Marino

A Girl’s Gaze is a new section of posts on female photographers who imbue fashion and portraiture with a depth, emotion and sensuality peculiar to the fairer sex. To kick off, we’ve chosen Marlene Marino, a New York-based photographer whose work regularly graces the pages of the world’s most inspirational art-meets-fashion titles, such as Purple and Another. www.marlenemarino.com

Our favourite boutiques: Otte New York

This is the next in a series about our stockists around the world, let us introduce you to OTTE who have four boutiques in New York!

What boutique are you from and where are you based?
Otte is a New York based brand. We have three boutiques in Manhattan located in Tribeca, West Village, and the Upper East Side. We are opening our fourth location this Summer on Third Avenue and 71st Street!

What brands do you sell
Our Buying Team has always strived to carry a well-curated selection of pieces. Our designer index includes 3.1 Phillip Lim, Acne, Alexander Wang, Chinti & Parker, Helmut Lang, Isabel Marant, Thakoon Addition and Vanessa Bruno (to name a few!)

When the new stock arrives do you get to try everything on?!
We receive new stock almost daily, so the stores are always fresh with merchandise. Sometimes we try on pieces right from the box, but mostly we evaluate during our weekly photo-shoots for online!

Describe your personal style?
The Otte Girl is dynamic and very charismatic. She definitely understands how to balance a Downtown edge with Uptown chic.

What Chinti and Parker A/W piece are you most looking forward to getting in?
We’re always excited for a season change at Otte– new trends, shapes, colors! We’re especially excited for the star-print tees & sweaters!

What do you think makes Chinti and Parker unique?
Chinti and Parker’s commitment to creating environmentally conscious clothing makes them an instant favorite. In addition, the attention to detail (Love the neon stitching!) and personality of the line makes the collection exciting to see season after season. 

OTTE WEST VILLAGE
121 Greenwich Ave
New York, NY 10014
(212) 229-9424

OTTE MADISON
1281 Madison Ave
New York, NY 10128
(212) 289-2644

OTTE TriBeCa
37 N Moore St
New York, NY 10013
(212) 431-8501

Opening Summer 2012
OTTE Third Avenue
1230 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10021
(212) 213-4030

How Chinti and Parker Develop a Breton T

From start to finish a garment takes six months to develop. The process begins with the design team pulling together sketches, fabrics and prints they find inspiring. Everyone sits down around a table and design development begins.

Inspiration meeting

Moodboard

Chinti co-founder Rachael, designer Amanda and production manager Phiona fly out to our fabric mill in Portugal. Each season the mill develops new materials and this informs the design phase.

Fabric sourcing

Surrounded by moodboards and fabric swatches our in-house designers start sketching. They develop ideas for both style and print.

Design development

Having sourced materials that are both luxurious and ethical, technical drawings are sent to the factory and samples arrive a few weeks later. It is important for us to measure each garment against spec to check it’s perfect. We can only finalise the design once we’ve seen that the pockets are in flattering places and that the sleeves are the perfect length. Fit is really important when developing a luxury product.

Breton T

We aim to wrap each piece beautifully.

Beautifully wrapped

Ditsy!

Chinti are smitten with ditsy motifs. We find scattered, random prints charming and developed our own designs with stars and the traditional Chinti polka dot. Shop our new styles here.

Style Insider: Marina Larroudé

Style.com’s Market Director Marina Larroudé is this month’s Style Insider.