This week I thought I'd test my new iPhone6's photography capacity by taking a magnifying glass style look at some of our most popular accessories that I'll be featuring at this weekend's event in Milwaukee!
Here are some of the "Under the Glass" style photos! Pretty cool huh!?
You can take an up close and personal look at all of these in Milwaukee this weekend. Rare Dirndl will be at "Germany Under Glass,” a family-friendly celebration of German culture will be presented by German-American Societies and various German clubs of Milwaukee, in partnership with the Milwaukee County Parks, Saturday, March 7 from 9 a.m.–5 p.m. The Domes, “Milwaukee’s Living Landmark,” is located at 524 S. Layton Blvd.
I'm super pumped about this event, I think it will be a lot of fun. In addition to music, dance, authentic foods, and table-top displays, this year’s festival will celebrate two historic events and the recent soccer championship. Speakers will provide details of the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall (Nov. 9, 1989), the centennial anniversary of the start of World War I (July 28, 1914), and Germany’s winning of the 2014 World Cup.
We will have a booth set up featuring all of our favorites accessories and some of the new 2015 collection to take a look at. For more information click here for the full PDF press release about the event and follow us on Facebook and instagram (and now @raredirndl on snapchat) to see more fun pictures and behind the scenes goodies!
Although the winter months are not typically the season for wearing dirndls, many of us will find a way! Whether your going to a local German restaurant, or you have a German club event, wearing a dirndl can get chilly… cuz let's face it, it's cold outside! (I mean unless you live in Florida, Texas or southern Cali… in which case I'm very jealous and don't want to think about your weather compared to the balmy 3 degrees outside here in Chicago.)
But should you want to wear a dirndl, you'll most likely want to wear a sweater and I have 3 ways to help you decide what sweater to wear.
#1 - Cropped Cardigan
A cropped cardigan is your best bet for a dirndl. Why? Because dirndls have a natural waistline and cropped cardigans stop at the natural waist. This sweater style is the best way to compliment your dirndl without taking away from the essence of the dirndl style. One of our customers said that she found some at Old Navy for $20 and I got mine at Target a few years back. They are still in style, but sometimes hard to find in a long sleeve (mine is 3/4 length).
#2 - Draped Sweater
If you don't have a cropped cardigan then I would go with a sweater that drapes in the front like this one. Although it changes the silhouette of the dirndl, it doesn't cover up the detailing of the bodice. These sweaters are pretty easy to find and if you go with a color like black or grey, you can get lots of use out of it, because it's a great style for every day. However, should you find one in a classic loden green… that would go perfect with our bonus item! (Keep scrolling down ;-)
#3 - A Trachten Sweater
Don't like either of those options… then I would go for a Trachten Sweater like the Rare Dirndl Long Sweater. Wear something that says dirndl, without actually wearing a dirndl! Whether it is a traditional wool sweater with embroidery, or our comfy cotton loop knit sweater with edelweiss trim and buttons, you can go out to those German events in style! Right now there are only 3 Long Sweaters left (L and XL(2) in Black) Click here to get yours before they're gone for good.
BONUS! Not a sweater kind of gal? Check out our new Infinity Scarf! This scarf can accent any black dirndl or bring some German flair to your everyday outfit. Its classic grey color with the traditional bright red & green Edelweiss trim juxtaposed with the black ribbon with silver spikes will certainly dress up your dirndl, sweater, or t-shirt!
Last week released our newest accessory, the Edelweiss Wrap Bracelet and at first I thought maybe it was just me who thought they were fabulous, but apparently not, because they are the talk of the town.
Available in 8 colors they can easily be mixed and matched and layered and I could go on and on! They make great gifts at $20 each and as a bonus, you can get 2 for $30 in select colors!
There have been a few questions surrounding the new bracelets, so I made a quick video to explain a little bit more about them!
Another item that is all the buzz, it the final return of the Open Gloves. This is the very last run of the gloves because I have officially used every scrap of the cotton loop knit fabric to make the gloves. I had a few yards left in olive so I decided to use all of it to make the last round of gloves! They make great texting gloves because it leaves your fingers free, and they are also perfect over those grab n' go gloves from the dollar store! A quick and easy way to spruce up those old and tired $1 glovies. Click here to get your gloves now!
What's even better… Pairing the gloves and new bracelet like Monika did! She posted this picture to instagram and used #raredirndl and now her picture along with any other picture tagged using #raredirndl comes up on our new website! How cool is that!?
As always we love to hear from you! So comment below or on Facebook and tell us what you think of our winter accessories or what you'd like to see from Rare Dirndl.
Ever wonder what dirndl style you are? Take our dirndl quiz and find out! Simply type in your email here
Mother's Day is right around the corner and usually I'm a big fan of the gift that never fails… a Big HUG! But this year I felt that all the women in my family have been extra supportive and extra fabulous and deserving of more than just a good ol' fashioned hug. I've been thinking about it and I've honestly decided to give them all an Edelweiss Clip!
Check out this quick video of how I make these fab little accessories as well as all the unique ways to wear it!
I decided to give the clips to my mom and grandmothers this year, not because I make them, but because it's a simple gift that goes a long way! Here are just a few ways you could wear the clip:
Click HERE to get your own Edelweiss Clip or to order one for your Mom, Oma, Aunt, Cousin, Sister or any other mother in your life! They're going to love it! I can't wait to see my Oma's face when I give her the clip. I hope she likes it as much as my boyfriends Great Aunt did when I gave it to her while we were in Basel, Switzerland.
Ever wonder what dirndl style you are? Take our dirndl quiz and find out! Simply type in your email here
On Tuesday morning I woke up bright and early to catch a flight to NYC for the dg Expo, a fabric and trim show held in the heart of the garment district. I decided to go because, as much as I love woking int my studio and sourcing here in Chicago, I just knew that if I explored what this expo had to offer I would be able to find things that would simply make Rare Dirndls better… and I was right!
I found a great source for zippers, took wonderful seminars about costing, sourcing and marketing, ordered a beautiful knit for a summer sweater, met a digital printer who would be able to get the Rare Dirndl Edelweiss Icon printed onto fabric, found a source for beautiful beading for bridal dirndls, but probably the most exciting was meeting Warren Brand, president of M&S Schmalberg, who specialized in custom fabric flowers.
I was simply walking around the show and I had on my Loose Knit Scarf on with the Edelweiss Clip and he says to me "Where did you get that?" I replied, "I made it," And that started a conversation that led to, "Erika, why don't you come by the booth tomorrow morning and I'll take you over to our warehouse/workshop and you can see the place for yourself. Maybe we can help you make those flowers!"
I was over the moon! Soooooo excited!! The next morning Pam, (a lovely woman who works for M&S Schmalberg) took me to the warehouse, which was only 3 blocks away. I was blown away by the old school feel, the genuine artwork that was taking place. They showed me how the fabric is starched, cut into the petals and then pressed to shape the petals to look like real flowers!
Flower Petals being cut
We searched through their vast array of die cuts and tools to find a shape that would work for an edelweiss. Some had too many petals, some had too little, too fat, too round… until all of a sudden, the lovely man who worked the cutting machine pulls out a perfect shape! A little uneven, some petals longer than others, it was perfect! I couldn't believe it!
The flower shape I picked for the Edelweiss (unpressed and then pressed)
When I showed the girls who were putting the flowers together the edelweiss that I made, and they were most impressed with the fuzzy center. They said right away that those tiny details were something they would not do, but just having the petals cut for me is a blessing! Not having to take apart a bunch of lilies from Michaels Craft Store would save me so much time… and these are much better quality!
Then I found some fabric that they had laying around and they said I could use that as my flower petals for no extra charge. And believe it or not, they made the petals that day and I took them home with me! I also bought some beautiful white leather at the expo that they are going to create into leather edelweiss petals for me and I can't wait to see how they turn out.
Overall, I am so glad that I went because I met some amazing people who are doing amazing things in beautiful US of A and I got to hang out with other wonderful designers that I have been working with over the past year. I have to thank my coach and mentor, Jane Hamill, for convincing me to get out from behind my computer and "go get it, girl!!"
