Now at Vitae: Acanthus Fall/Winter 2012

All month new Acanthus Apparel has been trickling into Vitae. Stop in and get yourself a cozy new scarf, hoodie or t-shirt. Stay tuned in November for even more goodies and maybe a holiday sale.

Drake Community: African Art Expo and Fashion Show

Hello!! Intern Nehwoen here. Looking rather awkward in my attempted model pose above! I hope you have noticed my posts (tagged as intern Nehwoen Luogon) Apologies for taking so long to introduce myself. I am a senior marketing and finance major at Drake University and I hope to go into fashion marketing one day. I love having the opportunity to work with Vitae Design Collective this semester. It has given me great insight not only to fashion in general but to the wonderful and talented fashion community right here in Des Moines. Although I am a marketing and finance major, this past Friday, I was able to further showcase my interest in fashion. 

 

Through the Drake African Students Association, our executive board put on an African Art Expo & Fashion Show. We displayed different pieces of art from around the continent of Africa, African inspired artwork, and casual clothing embellished with African fabric. I hope you enjoy the photos from Friday night. I will continue to do my best promoting the amazing shop that Alyssa, Melissa and Julie have created. I love Vitae Design Collective and I hope you do too!!

Halloween Pup Parade

Boo!!  It's time for the annual Spooky Paws Parade, a fun and much anticipated excuse to don your costume and dress up your pup for all to see.

The event is this Sunday, October 28th at 2pm right here in the East Village, and goes from E. 3rd to E. 6th by way of  Locust St.  

So leash up little Sparky Boo Boo and join in the stroll, we'll be watching for you as you pass by Vitae.

There will be on site signup at 1:15 at the corner of E. 3rd & Locust, or you can log onto jettandmonkey.com to pre-register.

Also, this Sunday is the final E. Village Sunday Market Bazaar of 2012 over on E. 5th, from noon to 4pm & we'll be open too :)

Get Your Fall 2012 Trends at Vitae!

Several fashion websites have got you covered on the latest fall trends. Luckily, WE’VE got you covered on how to get those trends closer to home! Catch some of the fall 2012 trends mentioned on Refinery29.com with a unique and local spin right here at Vitae.  

Patterned Skirt

Patterns are a great way to keep your fall wardrobe fresh and fun. Try out this Pink Revolver skirt - $42  

Acanthus Apparel Fall/Winter 2012 Style Guide

Here are some of our new Acanthus Apparel photos by Figment Art Photography. They were all styled by Mayim Yael and will hopefully give you some ideas on how to wear your Acanthus Apparel. Some of this is available right now at Vitae and on Etsy and the rest will be available soon. 

www.acanthusapparel.etsy.com

Photography: Figment Art Photography

Hair: Amber Hathaway

Stylist: Mayim Yael

Models: Oxana and Josh Ansah

Designers: Joshua and Alyssa Bowers

Pink Revolver and Little Red Riding Hood

     Yeah Halloween is right around the corner but that really was not on my mind when I thought of the concept for this photo shoot.

      I design the Pink Revolver line and for several fall/winter seasons I have been playing around with these flowing draped little numbers. Each becomes the equivalent of a potter with his clay pushing and pulling the material ultimately letting go control and molding the fabric in the direction it wants to go. Its fun! 

      I let the softer side of my designers eye come out in these pieces and though the story of Little Red Riding Hood was a perfect "story" to emulate. 

      Working with MG Photography was the perfect photo artist to bring on board to really capture what I was thinking to convey. And the Blomberg couple Joelle and Jake being always in love were the perfect couple to act out the story. 

~Thanks to Maggie Gulling{Photography} , Devan Elbel{hair},  Alexandra Leigh Benson{makeup},

and Jake and Joelle Blomberg for modeling

Fall Can Be Fabulous...

As the temperature plunges and the foliage goes for the dramatic, it's only natural to turn to your fashion defenses...and well, you'd might as well be a little bit fabulous while you're at it.

I'm sure that scientific studies and twitter polls would prove our theory that hand knit scarves are on the average 59% cozier, and you can only go up from there if said accessories are locally made by really really nice people.  

Slouch Beanies and arm warmers by Julia Pinkerton.

                                                          

     

Whitley Craft Works' cowls for pooches and their people.

                                                                  

Pink Revolver Fleecy Wraps.

Designer Q&A: Alyssa Bowers

Meet Alyssa Bowers, an entrepreneur and clothing designer. She is laidback, easy to talk to and hardworking. You can find her t-shirts, hoodies, dog clothes, and more at our shop. Read on to find out Alyssa’s go-to style essentials, her fashion philosophy, and what she is up to next! 

 

Introduce yourself  

I co-own Vitae and I also own a clothing company, Acanthus Apparel, with my husband Joshua.

How did you get started?

Our clothing company kind of started in college when we taught ourselves to screen print. Then we took a break for a while. And then I bought my husband a sewing machine for Christmas in 2005 as a present. We started doing crazier shirts, like dyeing and sewing patches and screen printing. And people just started asking, “Where can I buy those?” So a hobby turned into a business.  That led me to meet the other women that I own Vitae with. We met at a fashion show. I had been working with a clothing company and was asked to do a fashion show. They (Julie and Melissa) were also designers in the show and that’s where I met them.   

Behind The Scenes: Acanthus Apparel Lookbook Photoshoot

Vitae had the privilege of going behind the scenes at the Acanthus Apparel fall/winter look book photo shoot. There was a lot of hard work, talent, and energy displayed by all that were there that day so look forward to the look book! We sure are. 

New Acanthus Apparel For You And Your Dog

We have loads of new cozy Acanthus sweatshirts and tee's for this fall weather and we didn't forget your pups. We have 3 different dog hoodies for you to choose from. Stop into Vitae and check out all of the new designs. You can also find everything on Etsy, www.acanthusapparel.etsy.com, there's even a size chart there for the dog hoodies.

To view more adorable dog photos go to www.acanthusapparel.com. This adorable photoshoot was even featured on Luckymag.com... http://contributors.luckymag.com/post/acanthus-photoshoot

Designer Q&A: Julia LoVan

Meet Julia LoVan, the woman behind J. LoVan Designs, Trouvés and modeling agent at LVN Models. She is a ton of fun to hang out with, energetic, and talented. You can find her work (bowties & dresses) at our shop. Read on to find out Julia’s thoughts about Des Moines, tired fashion trends and what she has next for Vitae!

Introduce yourself 
I’m a designer and an agent for a new modeling and talent agency called LVN Models. 

How did you get started? 
My Mom is a seamstress. I grew up sewing random items by hand (Barbie clothes, pillowcases) I remember going to the library, checking out magazines and just reading every single thing. I would even read the advertisements. I was studying the pages, and I realized that others would just flip through the magazines. I had never thought I could have a career in fashion, living in the Midwest, so I just did sports and thought about being a teacher and a coach. 

Other major fashion demarcations are my college internship in London with Zandra Rhodes Enterprises, my jobs at Chan Luu and Core Clothing, helping start Hope in the City and being a part of LA Fashion Week and at the same time being able to work with some great groups like Falling Whistles, Raven + Lily, Mike Colon photography, and showing my line at Project Ethos fashion show in Hollywood which got me on the cover of California Apparel News.