A Summer's Tale in Old City
Our favorite styles of the season
At the beginning of June Anna came by the shop and we spent the day walking around our neighborhood - Old City. The shop is nestled between many wonderful shops and businesses in a lively historic district near the Liberty Bell, Elfreth’s Alley, and Independence Mall. This area stretches between Walnut Street up to Callowhill, between Front and 6th St. A day doesn’t go by where there isn’t a tour group going by, or an event happening. Apparently our mileage for the day was about 6 miles give or take (we kept going back the shop to do wardrobe changes).
Most of my time is often spent shooting either in the shop, or right outside - as there are always so many things to photograph to put online, we never get the chance to venture too far. So it’s always a treat when we do. Plus, we get the opportunity to style looks that might not make it to the web shop.
One of our favorite places is the Merchant Exchange Building. Part of the National Parks Service, we always love the architecture, columns, marble, everything! There are a few buildings in this area of the neighborhood that have a very similar style, so we did spend a fair amount of time there.
I have not been inside the building above, but it’s one of our favorites and is currently a restaurant - lucky tenant! Perhaps a good spot for a meal if visiting!
The cut of the mint colored coat above is nice and tailored at the shoulders with a great a-line shape: not to loose - something we are always looking for - a bit tailored, a little loose - the perfect combination. We have a theory that you could also wear it as a dress too - we actually saw a customer style it this way, so good! The black dress above is a classic easy summer style - we love the square neckline and the buttons down the back.
A quick mention about a favorite coffee place - I have a few (of course). Anna is standing in front of Menagerie Coffee - always noticeable from their mint facade. Not only is their coffee great, they also have a wonderful selection of cookies!
This is a fun and unexpected combination, and it works! Why not put three of our favorite pieces together. The jacket brings an ethereal quality when the light hits just right, and the embroidery of the vest pops just the right amount, all of which layer beautifully over a simple poplin dress.
We have never seen a jacket quite like this - the combination of the layers of textiles seems like a dream. Organza has a way of making everything feeling a bit lighter.
This is our first season carrying Zeus + Dione, and they pay homage to classical Greek embroidery techniques. To quote the designer “In various regions of Greece, tailors have long journeyed between villages, stitching and embroidering designs inspired by the surrounding nature.” The designs are hand-stitched by artisan Aristeidis Tzonevrakis who “has skillfully crafted hand-embroidered designs that accurately represent the traditional Greek Fermeli, a vest that is a key component of the Evzone uniform.”
Before we get to the outfit, should I talk about coffee one more time? Have I told you about my absolute favorite place to get coffee near the shop? At the beginning of the year, Coffee Zeit opened up around the corner, and it’s where I go pretty much every day. (A go to is an iced oat milk latte, but the other week they introduced many new summer drinks, strawberry matcha being a new favorite here.)
They recently opened up their patio in the back, and we couldn’t help but take a few shots there!
We liked the idea of combining Oliver’s blazer (sized up for a looser fit) with these trousers from Unisecon - they look like a skirt but are actually pants. We also wanted to take the opportunity to show that check shoes can actually be a neutral and go with anything - even stripes!
This linen dress is the perfect summer dress. The duo design team from Unisecon comes up with the most creative silhouettes, often involving extensive pleating throughout each garment - oh the pattern drafting involved! Again, a surprising combination that works with the ruffle tank underneath - we like to hope someone might try this look together. And here we are, back at our favorite building…
We took a few photos of this look both at the Arch Street Meeting House and also in front of the Mint (which we can see right from the front of the shop - quite a colossal building!) We liked the idea of layering different pleats on top of one another - both in the skirt and the top.
Our favorite spot on a cobble stone street behind the shop - we love a carriage house door. Anna is wearing what we would dub as an ideal vacation look; pieces that can easily be layered during travel and can also be easily hand-washed! Everyone loves Album’s TC (tissue cotton) for it’s lightweight handle and versatility. Plus this fabric air dries so quickly. The tank is also easy and packable (it comes in black as shown and ivory too).
We have shown the look with the all time favorite shop bag - the Melete Paper Plane. Has there every been a better travel bag to tie a look together? While we are currently out of stock, we will be getting more. The one in the photos above is mine, and going on almost 6 years of wear it’s still looking great :) As we say, the leather only gets better with age!
It seems there might be a theme here - shop classics and favorites - and if we can think of a top that fits that description, it’s this one from Renata Brenha. Everyone is over the moon about the pleats, the pleats!
The top can be worn year round, and we thought it would be fun to try with these loose shorts from Manuelle Guibal. They have a great volume to them as well, and while they are a bit oversized, the proportions work very well.
Back at one of our favorite façades in the neighborhood, right across the street from the shop. This is our first season carrying Unkruid, and we love the plaids they are using this season. This textile is woven on a rapier loom in France, so the process from thread to textile to garment is a very handmade process. Their silhouettes can be mixed and matched in many ways, we decided this time to pair them with the silk crinkled trousers from Anaak, which adds a nice textural combination.
Our substack continues below….click to continue!
This is our last look (we were running out of time), so we ran past our favorite grocery store Riverwards and found this bright blue door! A fun combination with the stripes. Recently I tried on this jumpsuit and it was so COOL! I had no idea. The profile (which you can’t see well in these photos) is very flattering, and it looks even cuter with the matching top. Plus, it’s incredibly easy breezy, perhaps I should just get one…
Thank you so much for joining our walk around Old City! We hope you had a fun time, and we can’t wait to share more with you in the future! If you’d like to see all of our photos, checkout our gallery page here.
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