Ethical Fashion Blog

DECOR THAT DOES GOOD
In our Fall 2011 collection we debuted Mata Home, a line of home decor featuring our trademark block prints with hand-stitched embroidery and applique.
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WHO WORE IT BEST?

Our very cool friend, Claire, hosted her 4th Annual Cool Woman Valentine’s Day Brunch to raise money for the Rape Victim Advocates, and wouldn’t you know it, Michelle and I both showed up in the red Rendezvous skirt.  We loved this skirt so much in our Fall ’10 collection (Michelle’s version) that we brought it back for Fall ’11 (mine).

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OUR CUTIE FASHIONISTAS
I couldn’t resist taking this pic at the office today.  Kristin, our designer, on the left, was wearing these adorable floral shorts paired with a striped sweater, and Carmen, our new design intern, had a sheer minty green long skirt folded over and tucked into her waist with leggings.  Sheer draping is everywhere these days, even in the Mata office. I love that these girls are ON it and having their design input shows in our collections.
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STYLE FILE #2
In the middle of winter we need layers to keep warm, but that can make it difficult to keep a sleek silhouette.  I’ve been wearing fitted turtlenecks under the majority of my dresses to solve that problem.  I love the stark color contrast of black against Mata’s teal ‘Japonaise Dress‘.  (I love the block print on the inside collar)
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SPRING/SUMMER LOVE
About a month ago I had the pleasure of posing for Mata’s Spring/Summer 2012 catalog shoot.  It was on location in New Buffalo, MI which I had never visited before, and it was absolutely perfect.  The sun shining, the sand between my toes, and the clothes…the clothes!  Mata is showing bright colors for the spring and summer, and it makes me happy.
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VISITING THE BLOCKPRINTERS
Maureen and Kristin are in India at the moment working with the co-ops on next Spring’s collection and even getting started on Fall 2012.  This past weekend they visited one of the block printers where we source our fabric.  Maureen said they got a lot of great photos and video, and it motivated me to finally get these pictures up from last summer when Michelle and I visited another block printer we use.
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STRETCHING OUT SUMMER
This weekend is the “last weekend of summer” and I’ve been living it up and wearing my most summery pieces, as tomorrow is the last day to wear white…(does anyone follow that rule anymore?)
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IT’S AUGUST ALREADY?
This summer has been scorching.  Also, this summer has been the busiest.  Lots of exciting projects!  I’ve pretty much resorted to wearing dresses only.  This slightly cuts my prep time in the morning – dresses are no-brainers because it’s like an instant outfit.
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AMERICA!
The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays.  Three day weekends, fireworks, bar-b-ques, freedom.  Mata’s Prairie Top was the perfect top to show my patriotism.  It is such a good summer top – practically all of Mata’s pieces are 100% cotton.  I also wore this earlier in the day.  I get so many compliments on that dress, and I love the chambray.
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Welcome New Fashion Blogger!
Laura is a wardrobe and image consultant and first came to Mata as a design intern from the Illinois Institute of Art – Chicago.  Besides modeling in our catalogs, she also styled several of them and designed the layout.  She’s got some serious fashion chops, and we love her intuitive sense of style and coolness.
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