Category: Designer Notes

Notes from designer Cynthia Ivey Abitz.

Collection One 2022 Video

Post author By Ivey Abitz Blogger
Post date December 21, 2021

Introducing the new Ivey Abitz collection of bespoke clothing from New York artist/designer Cynthia Ivey Abitz. Collection One, c. 2022 is inspired by the beacon and sanctuary for artists that is New York City.

Photographed throughout NYC, the look book for Collection One, c. 2022 is designed to inspire your wardrobe in a new way: the Ivey Abitz original concepts of design grace the urban landscape in practical, everyday scenes.

This collection is our way of celebrating life through the clothing we choose to embrace ourselves in each and every day.

Designer Notes

How To Choose Fabrics

Post author By Ivey Abitz Blogger
Post date August 5, 2021

Ans Jacket in Coral and Seagrass Washed Linen; River Frock in Coral Embroidered Washed Silk; Bertie Frock in Coral and Seagrass Washed Linen; Fairholme Sash in Coral Embroidered Washed Silk. Ivey Abitz Bespoke Clothing.

How to Decide on your Next Ivey Abitz Garments

Advice from the Artist Herself – Cynthia Ivey Abitz

Over the past fifteen years, I’ve learned what works best for deciding upon garments from the collection by working directly with our clients around the world. With over 200 original designs and new fabrics in each collection, Ivey Abitz offers some incredible choices that will give you a one-of-a-kind lifetime wardrobe. Here are some suggestions to help you decide what to order from the new collection, especially if this is your first time ordering from us!

1.) Always go with what initially draws you in. If there is something in the Look Book that calls you the most, listen to this helpful voice. This is what allows you to clothe yourself most authentically.

2.) Some clients can visualize Ivey Abitz designs in our various fabrics, and choosing is easy for them—especially with our fabric swatches in hand. Some brains, though, simply aren’t wired in this way, and this is perfectly okay! This is why we take the time to create Look Books with such thought and care. We photograph design and fabric combinations that we believe are ideal and the most versatile. You are able to see the designs in an actual fabric so you can see drape and proportion. Order your favourites from the Look Book and know that they have the Ivey Abitz stamp of approval on them.

3.) If you ever feel overwhelmed whilst deciding, please stop and remind yourself of what you loved in the first place. If it’s everything in the collection (which we hear all the time), we will help you narrow down your choices based upon how you’ll be wearing the garments, your climate, and your clothing investment budget. Contact us anytime, and we will kindly respond to your questions. I will always try to personally reply to all of you when I can! One of my favourite things in the world is getting to know the people that appreciate this special collection Josh and I have put out into the world. We love helping people celebrate everyday life through clothing. We love hearing from you.

4.) Remember that Ivey Abitz clothing is meant to be worn often and enjoyed for years to come. With this in mind, it is easier to make selections and take the leap to place your order. The sooner you order, the sooner you will have clothing for everyday wear, as well as your once-in-a-lifetime special occasions. The clothing you choose represents your aesthetic ideals, ethical purchasing practices, and your joy and gratitude for life.

We look forward to creating for you from the Midsummer 2021 collection!

Designer Notes Shopping Videos

New IA101 Look Videos

Post author By Ivey Abitz Blogger
Post date March 14, 2021

Want an easy going, laid back way to take in each new IA101 Look?

IA101 Look videos give you all the images from an IA101 look in one easy going video. Enjoy the soothing sounds of our original Ivey Abitz elevator music. You’ll be gently lifted to the next level of your Ivey Abitz wardrobe.

Closeups, profiles, and overviews give you all the perspective you need to inspire your next Ivey Abitz acquisition. Of course the still images are also available in a gallery below each of the look videos.

Here’s a video from Look 6…

We hope IA101 Look videos make your wardrobe planning easier, more enjoyable, and uplifting.

IA101 Look Book

Designer Notes

SOLD OUT ALERT – Civility Soft Check Twill

Post author By Ivey Abitz Blogger
Post date February 28, 2021

Now sold out from Ivey Abitz Collection no. 64 – Civility Soft Check Twill.

Description: Soft to touch, fluid in drape, lighter in weight, and opaque. It is an ideal weave for ensembles when layering is needed. We love it best in a layering frock, shirt, or indoor duster. Muted greens and blues mix so very well within the collection.

Content: 100 percent soft and lightweight cotton twill. Four season weave.

Care: Simply hand wash or put through machine delicate cycle in cold water with a plant based detergent. We suggest using a natural fabric softener to maintain the softness we have washed into it. Tumble dry on extra-low heat with our artisan wool dryer balls to keep the relaxed effect that is featured in the Look Book.

Here is our ode to Civility Soft Check Twill – a few images from the glorious photoshoot at Eleanor Roosevelt’s Val-Kill.

Hudson Duster Coat in Peace Soft Pinstripe Cotton; Hudson Frock in Civility Soft Check Twill; Porte Cochere Sash in Civility Floral Stretch Weave. Location: East profile of Stone Cottage. Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site. Val-Kill, Hyde Park, New York.

See the entire Collection no. 64 fabric palette here.

Designer Notes

Remembering Kaye – An Ivey Abitz Master Tailor

Post author By Ivey Abitz
Post date November 26, 2020

Kaye, an Ivey Abitz master seamstress, at her sewing machine in 2012.

We have some sad news to share with our dear clients.

Kaye, one of our longtime master tailors and friends, died peacefully in her home last week.

We know most of you were not able to officially meet her in person, but you knew her through her fine sewing. She worked for Ivey Abitz from 2009-2020, and she has sewn thousands of bespoke garments for us. If you have several Ivey Abitz garments in your closet, then you most likely have special one-of-a-kind garments that were sewn by Kaye.

Our other dear and incredibly talented tailors have also learned from Kaye over the years, and thankfully her legacy carries on through them with their attention to detail and dedication to mastering my challenging and intricate designs.

I will miss working with Kaye in her impressive Brooklyn sewing studio she dedicated to Ivey Abitz since 2009. I will miss her dozens of calls while she was working on projects for us from her sewing studio and I was in my design studio. Phone calls were her versions of texts and emails — she was proudly “old school.” I’d put her on speaker phone, and we’d go over things together. Our dogs know Kaye by the sound of her voice; they knew her as Auntie Kaye. She knew how to stop Artie from barking. She knew how to turn Harry’s head by singing an impromptu Broadway tune. She knew how to spread love and joy through everything she did — especially through a sewing project.

Her sudden death has admittedly shaken me to my core, and it will take awhile to process the enormous loss. I truly loved Kaye. She wasn’t just a coworker. She was a friend. She was part of our family. I will miss her quirkiness, talent, and love. But I have to trust, just as she believed, that she isn’t gone—she’s just gone on before. She’s now with her dear dog/daughter Mandy who died in 2009. She mentioned her often, and she missed her so much. The thought of this brings a smile to my face and gives me peace.

— Cynthia Ivey Abitz

Tags beauty, detail, tailor

Designer Notes

VOTE 2020

Post author By Ivey Abitz
Post date November 1, 2020

VOTE

Eleanor Roosevelt votes in one of the first elections in which women had the right to vote. New York, November 3, 1936. Photograph courtesy FDR Library.

A Personal Note from Cynthia

This is a reminder to all of our clients in the United States: if you haven’t done so already in early voting, remember to vote on November 3rd.

Eleanor Roosevelt, along with her friends, worked very hard a hundred years ago so that women could have the vote in the United States. They have passed the torch on to us to make certain EVERYONE is treated with respect and equality.

Cynthia stands in line to vote during the pandemic, 100 years after the 19th amendment gave women the right to vote in the United States. New York, October 30, 2020. Photograph courtesy Josh Ivey Abitz.

I thought about Eleanor a lot as Josh and I stood in line together, waiting to vote in the rain and unusual autumn snow squalls yesterday here in New York. For the hour and forty minutes we were in line, there was a sense of reverence from the people waiting. Everyone was masked for the pandemic, respectful and kind while exercising their civic duty. It made me hopeful that a world can continue that honours civility and kindness—one that Eleanor reminds us will only happen if we make it so.

She once wrote, “It isn’t enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn’t enough to believe in it. One must work at it.”

An important part of the work is voting, so please remember to vote.

If you plan to wear your Ivey Abitz garments when you vote, please send us photographs of you in action. We’d love to see images of solidarity and hope as we exercise our right to vote.

— Cynthia Ivey Abitz

Designer Notes

Client Comments about Ivey Abitz Collection no. 63

Post author By Ivey Abitz
Post date August 26, 2020

Gabled Duster Coat in Sunnyside Washed Plaid; Idyll Brooch in Rose Garden Silk Weaves; Gabled Frock in Yellow Days Washed Stretch Weave. Ivey Abitz at Boscobel House and Gardens

Read What Clients are Saying

Collection no. 63, c. 2020 – Sartorial Sanctuary

Ivey Abitz clients are wonderful. They are some of the kindest people we’ve ever met, and we’re so grateful for them. Oftentimes, they take the time to write us after receiving an order from us and upon a new collection debut. Here are a few excerpts of our favourites that we have recently received during the new collection, Sartorial Sanctuary.

— I treasure my Ivey Abitz wardrobe, not only for its versatility and comfort, but also for its sturdiness, and the meticulous craft and care in its design and seamstress-work that go into each and every garment. I know this wardrobe will last me a lifetime, and my first purchases are my favorites to wear, due to the softness and ease that comes with wearing and enjoying them often. They are my Sartorial Sanctuary indeed!

Porte Cochere Shirt Jacket in Yellow Days Stripe Cotton; Porte Cochere Frock in Yellow Days Floral Weave; Gabled Frock in Yellow Days Stretch Weave. Ivey Abitz at Boscobel House and Gardens

Hudson Duster Coat in Herb Garden Petite Stripe Linen; River Frock in Natural Plaid Open Weave; Hudson Frock in Sunny Seaside Washed Plaid. Ivey Abitz at Boscobel House and Gardens

Porte Cochere Shirt Jacket in Yellow Days Washed Stripe Cotton; Porte Cochere Sash in Watercolour Silk Weave; Idyll Brooch in Yellow Days Weaves; Hudson Frock in Herb Garden Washed Linen. Ivey Abitz at Boscobel House and Gardens

Covante Frock in Rose Garden Patch Plaid Voile; Fairholme Sash in Rose Garden Plaid Patch Voile; Chevallier Cardigan in Herb Garden Soft Ribbed Knit. Ivey Abitz at Boscobel House and Gardens

— It is the most stunning collection and photo shoot you have ever done! I leave my booklet out on my table so I can look at it again and again as I wait for my garments to be made.

Cover of the Ivey Abitz Look Book for Collection no. 63, c. 2020 – Sartorial Sanctuary.

— Thanks for the kind note and the lovely packaging on my new capsule wardrobe, it really created a festive atmosphere. My daughter, in particular, quite admired the Fairhome Frock and the Wildefield Frock. I am wearing that very outfit now and I am throughly impressed with not only the quality of the construction of the garments but also the extreme comfort, better than sweatpants or pajamas, to my surprise.

Chevallier Cardigan in Herb Garden Soft Ribbed Knit; River Frock in Natural Plaid Open Weave; Hudson Frock in Herb Garden Washed Linen. Ivey Abitz at Boscobel House and Gardens

Porte Cochere Shirt Jacket in Yellow Days Washed Stripe Cotton; Blanchefleur Sash in Yellow Days Floral Weave; Gabled Frock in Yellow Days Washed Stretch Weave. Ivey Abitz at Boscobel House and Gardens

Gabled Shirt Jacket in Sunnyside Washed Linen; Porte Cochere Sash in Yellow Days Soft Floral Knit; Gabled Frock in Yellow Days Washed Stretch Weave. Ivey Abitz at Boscobel House and Gardens

Gabled Duster Coat in Sunnyside Washed Plaid; Campanella Frock in Gracious Green Washed Crinkled Linen; Idyll Brooch in Rose Garden Silk Weaves. Ivey Abitz at Boscobel House and Gardens

— I had to take a moment and tell you how amazing you are. I don’t know how you keep coming out with new designs, new collections, amazing fabric and combinations and just nail it collection after collection with everything going on in the world. The fabrics are so amazing and the designs are delightful and you are magic.

— My dear….we both know I’ve seen a number of look-books during our time together. However, this collection, these fabrics, your pairings are without question the most astoundingly beautiful notions I’ve seen spring from your brilliant mind.

Every photo is just…silly beautiful. The back cover ensemble is “transportational.”

Well, well, well done you.

Featured on the back cover of the Collection no. 63 look book: Montmorency Wrap Jacket in Sandy Embroidered Silk Organza; Wrennie Frock in Watercolour Silk Weave; Fairholme Frock in Peony Washed Plaid Silk; Cilla Slip Frock in Peony Soft Ribbed Knit. Ivey Abitz at Boscobel House and Gardens

Tags client comments, reviews, versatility

Designer Notes

Mask Project

Post author By Ivey Abitz Blogger
Post date April 4, 2020

Ivey Abitz masks created for veterinary workers.

When we read the first news article about nurses and doctors in the NYC area in short supply of masks, we reached out to our clients in the healthcare profession to see if we could help in some way. They confirmed that the need was great.

Ivey Abitz is donating many yards of our finest and sturdiest natural fiber fabrics to create masks that can be washed and sanitized again and again.

Our dear tailors have each made dozens of masks for the initial surge in our area, and we will donate more as needed.

More masks are being sent out this week, and we will continue to donate masks to healthcare professionals as they need them.

Designer Notes

New Base Layering Frock for Summer

Post author By Ivey Abitz
Post date April 6, 2019

Our all-time favourite Blanchefleur Frock, worn by many of our clients for over a decade now, is available this spring and summer as a limited edition frock. It features our Washed Stripe Weaves, available in Gardenia/Sand or Sun/Sand.

Learn more at the Limited Edition Blanchefleur Frock design page.

Designer Notes