Actual ensemble that shipped to an Ivey Abitz client.
This is the kind of ensemble that you have to force yourself not to wear everyday. Our indispensable Elliot Jacket makes a perfect pairing over the Addy Frock. The Addy is particularly stunning in plaid with its bias cut insets, pockets, and waistband. It’s relevant for casual everyday wear, for going out, and for special occasions. Best of all, it’s comfortable AND elegant — a signature Ivey Abitz combination.
Look 15 is casual and playful.Notes from designer, Cynthia Ivey Abitz
Look 15 is one of the more casual and playful ensembles in the new collection.
The warm, rich colour in the Amorette Shirt Jacket draped over a slightly cooler plaid in the Fennefleur Frock is an unexpected juxtaposition without looking over-the-top.
A sash or necktie in our green linen is a nice touch loosely tied around the neck.
It’s also a featured look in our Walk on a Rainy Day gallery, a favourite with our patrons.
We’re almost sold out of the Russet Old World Wool Knit, so if you’d like this ensemble in your lifetime wardrobe, it’s a good time to have it made, just for you.
This recent ensemble order from a client shows a variation on a theme from our ensembles in our Look Book. The Truitt Jacket in our new plaid scrim truly shows its versatility for the wearer. The Truitt and Fennefleur together can go in so many different directions, just by buttoning or unbuttoning the jacket and changing the accessories.
Here are just a few ideas of why these work so well together and how they can be worn in different ways:
— a unique look for work attire by wearing understated, yet elegant, shoes and jewelry
— a casual look for everyday wear by wearing the jacket unbuttoned and wearing ensemble with vintage sneakers or ballet-like slip-on shoes
— an evening out by wearing heels, a silk Clotaire Sash around the neck, and an antique brooch on the collar
Versatility is the hallmark of Ivey Abitz designs, and of the Truitt and Fennefleur together.
How would you wear these two designs together? We’ll create them for you, and you can find out for yourself! Best of all, right now the Truitt and Fennefleur have very special pricing when made in our plaid and signature fabrics. A savings of up to 45% off while the fabric choices are still available.
Natural Calligraphy LinenIvey Abitz is known for the handwritten word by our patrons. They receive a handwritten note of thanks from Cynthia in her incredible handwritten script every single time they receive a shipment. It is something she’s done for years as a sincere token of gratitude to those that appreciate Ivey Abitz garments.
Natural Calligraphy Linen in Look No. 14 from the Fall Winter CollectionWhen this very special european linen was presented to us, complete with notes and logos from the late 1800’s in beautiful handwriting, we knew it had to be a featured fabric in the Fall/Winter Collection.
A natural all-season linen base, the handwriting is finely printed across the linen, creating a design feast for the eyes.
This is the kind of fabric that we think our clients will love for a few mixing and matching garments — frocks, shirts, an everyday jacket, neckties… What are your favourites?
100 percent linen. So easy to care for by either washing cold by hand or in washer, then tumble drying low to keep the washed look as shown in the Look Book.
This is the artist statement for Summer 2013 collection by Ivey Abitz. Written by designer Cynthia Ivey Abitz. View the 2013 summer look book.
View from the lake cottage.
It was charming and modest, the little green lake cottage I admired as a child.
Overgrown with vines, stone chimney cracked from neglect, hidden by leaning pines that, at any moment, could snap and cave in the roof.
The cottage was blind to the views of the sunrise and shore and sky and sand and snakeroot. It got to live there every day, right on the shore that I only got to visit every summer, but it couldn’t see anything.
The cottage owners had gotten old and tired and couldn’t travel to take care of it anymore. There the little green lake cottage sat alone, drawing me to it every time I looked at it.
I used to sit on a hill of beach grass when I visited the lake shore, right in front of the cottage, just so I could be close to it.
When I felt daring, I would peek in through the windows, knowing it hadn’t been inhabited in decades, but wishing I could see people inside playing Masterpiece around the table or playing piano on the sun porch. Some form of a happy existence. Any sign of life.
But I never did. I only saw signs of former lives when I peeked in through the windows. Hazy glimpses of knotty pine walls. Plaid linen. Stripes. Knit cardigans.
They won a Rustic Cottage Award — the owners. Back in the day when they had the energy to design it and build it and live in it. But they didn’t have the energy anymore.
As their lives faded away, the cottage dutifully followed them, until the day the owners let go and gave the cottage a second life. That was the day my parents bought it.
For the first time in twenty years, I got to go inside the little green lake cottage and look out of the windows instead of looking into them. The dead trees and vines were pulled away from its walls so it could see the sunrise and shore and sky and sand and snakeroot for the first time in years.
At that moment, the little green lake cottage became an immortal part of me, and I of it.
Sunrise Embroidered Silk Organza is very versatile. It shows its versatility in the Summer 2013 look book. It is shown with many different frocks and many other fabrics. It can be worn for special occasions as well as every day wear. It is classy and elegant. It is quintessential Ivey Abitz.
The Camilla Cream Plaid Silk Voile is a wonderful choice for someone who wants an interesting yet subtle fabric for summer. It has an unusual plaid that’s woven – not printed – directly into the voile. We put it thru a special washing process to give it more substance and raise the plaid. Featured at IveyAbitz.com at debut pricing through May 6, 2013.
Be sure to sign up for IA NEWS – the Ivey Abitz newsletter – to get special offers on these and other design/fabric combinations. You can also Like us on Facebook.
Spring pick #1:
Garments in Wolfgang Grey Ribbed Weave and Arthur Brown Ribbed Weave
The ribbed weave is a beautiful opaque fabric that breathes well for warmer days. It can be used in a single layering piece, like in a sleeveless Blanchefleur Frock, and it is perfect for a layering frock or jacket. Best of all, it travels well and hand washes beautifully. We have carried variations of this special fabric for five years now, and it gets better the more you wear it!
Wolfgang Grey Ribbed Weave
Spring pick #2:
Garments in Billowed Twisted Yarn Weave
Billowed Twisted Yarn Weave has a very airy quality to it. A perfect choice for a spring shirt — or even a frock that you’d like to wear well into the summer months. Its uniqueness is delightful. Hand washable and a great traveler.
Billowed Twisted Yarn Weave
Spring pick #3:
Garments in Wolfgang Grey Washed Silk
Wolfgang Grey Washed Silk is an absolute favourite because it can be worn year round. It’s a lightweight and opaque fabric that is completely breathable. I’ve worn this in 80 + degree weather, and it feels like I’m wearing a lightweight cotton. Hand washable and a perfect travel companion.
Wolfgang Grey Washed Silk
Spring pick #4:
Garments in Arthur Brown/Cream Checked Cotton Broadcloth
This is the go-to everyday cotton fabric for spring and into summer. A very low-key, yet put-together, kind of fabric choice. Easy care — just throw in a cold water wash on gentle cycle, and it should last for a lifetime with proper care.
Arthur Brown/Cream Checked Cotton Broadcloth
I hope this is a big help as you order your spring wardrobe. I encourage you to find your own favourites at IveyAbitz.com.
This is a great example of wearing an Ivey Abitz jacket as a shirt. The Blanchefleur Jacket in the Pewter Hand Woven Silk becomes a lighter weight piece that can easily be worn indoors. The curves in its bottom hem tie in beautifully to the curving movement along the bottom hem of the Addy Skirt.
The bias cut insets made of striped silk on the Addy Skirt make it the featured piece within the ensemble. The Leo Frock, gently peeking out at the bottom hem, makes an airy base for the look. It gives the ensemble depth without unnecessary bulk. The look is finished with a substantial Lucia Scarf around the neck to counter the wispy netting of the base frock.
Look No. 3 Fabrics
The Palette:
The Pewter hues here are wonderfully ambiguous. The Pewter Puckered Striped Silk and Pewter Hand Woven Silk have black threads going through the yarn dyed weave, even though it’s not easy to tell upon first glance of the fabrics. This makes it very easy to mix in black hues into the ensemble. Black shoes and accessories are very easy to wear with these Pewter hues, which is one of the most common colours in a wardrobe. This makes it so easy to blend these versatile pieces into your IA wardrobe.
The Pewter Washed Cotton Velvet is a dip-dyed fabric, so it has a wonderful variation of hues in it. The fabric gives you light and dark Pewter hues, as well as warm and cooler hues.
I love to mix the flounce of a feminine skirt with a more tailored and hint-of-masculine look. That’s the purpose of the Holkham Hall designs in a nutshell.
By making the designs in velvets and silks, suddenly, you have options of wearing them to work through the winter months and wearing them to special holiday occasions. They can all be dressed up or down by simply changing your shoes and accessories.
What works so well about this ensemble is that you can have many looks with just a few garments. Wear the vest fully buttoned or partially buttoned. Wear the shirt with or without the necktie. Wear just the shirt and skirt together. Wear the Elliot Jacket buttoned over the shirt. Mix in a pair of more casual trousers and flip up the Holkham Hall Shirt cuffs, and you’ve added an entirely new slant to your new holiday grouping.
The Palette:
Look No.2 Fabrics
The Sapphire hues vary greatly from deep jewel navy to lighter greyish blue tones. They all play well off of one another, which is partly what gives the ensemble such variety within the same hue.
I like placing more casual cottons alongside silks that are associated with special occasions. It tones down the idea of silk in an unexpected way and lets you have a smart looking everyday ensemble. Just one necktie in a striped cotton does the trick. Silk is an everyday fabric, in my opinion–especially when it goes through our special washings that soften and decrease the sheen of the silk threads. Since it’s a holiday collection, you have an even better excuse to add a silk garment to your Ivey Abitz wardrobe.
