Haute Holly Happy Hour

Hi Hauties,

I'm having my first trunk show at Baanou in River Oaks on Saturday! It's surreal to think that not too long ago, these dresses were just ideas and sketches!

Original sketches of New Shellie, Gemma, and Corinne

Shooting product images for my website and look book. This is in my apartment in New York. We had to improvise a bit!

I felt excited and relieved when production was over! Here are all my dresses on a rack in the factory -- ready to ship!

I appreciate all the support as I really could not have done any of this without my friends and family. Major thanks to Baanou as well!! I look forward to seeing everyone at the trunk show tomorrow!

xoH

Photography by Martina Milova

Travel: Curaçao

Hi Hauties,

This week, I am on the beautiful island of Curaçao living in sundresses, bikinis, and large hats. I have spent a lot of time in the water getting to know the locals (by locals, I mean the sea animals!)

I brought along my Haute Holly Shellie Dress in plum. The flowing chiffon matches my breezy island state of mind. I styled it with a sunhat and lots of sunscreen!

The island has some of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen, but the architecture and COLORS are what I find make this place so special. Palettes of turquoise, cobalt, and citrus fruits line each street. Willemstad has so much history and a diverse culture -- we had so much fun exploring.

Waterfront of Punda, Willemstad

Kura Hulanda Village

Fresh fruit and pastries for breakfast at Kura Hulanda

Swimming with sea turtles at Klein Curacao

White sands and crystal waters at Cas Abou Beach

Curaçao, I never want to leave!

xoH

Inspiration: Banksy

Hey Hauties,

Today's post is all about COLOR. I know a lot of us shy away from bright colors and stick with good old black. Don't get me wrong, I love black. I'm definitely guilty of living in blacks and greys, and I'm 100% okay with that about myself. Every now and then though, a splash of color is nice, but it can be intimidating if you are not used to dressing in color.

A good place to start for color inspiration is with a piece of art that you like. Maybe you like the shape and the detail of the artwork, but probably the color palette is the first thing that caught your eye. Color is a big deal. It establishes mood, triggers emotions, and it can make or break a great idea no matter how well that idea is otherwise executed. Many artists are experts at creating a pleasing color palette. So, if the colors look great in the artwork, they'll likely look great in an outfit!

Take this Banksy from Yankee Stadium for example...

We have bold blue contrasted by bright yellow and balanced with grey, black, and white. For a casual street-style look, I paired a slouchy yellow tee with high-waisted straight-leg blue pants. The blue beanie and satchel ensure the blue is prominent while the grey-scaled cardigan, scarf, and smoking slippers mesh the look together.

Another thing to keep in mind is the ratio of colors. The artwork is mostly blue while yellow is just an accent. For this next look, I went with a statement blue coat and matching booties. This shift dress under the coat will give a peek of grey and a nod towards our feline inspiration. The handbag is always a good place to put your accent color, so I went with a yellow cross-body bag. Blue and jungle-themed jewelry polish the look.

At the risk of sounding like a middle school sex-ed teacher, I hope this was helpful and informative! It's most important to just have fun with your outfits and to wear them with confidence.

Thanks for reading! xoH

Travel: Shanghai, China

Hello Hauties!

This past December, I went to Shanghai to visit my factory (and luckily had enough time to do some touristy activities too). I just wanted to share my trip and give you guys a behind the scenes tour. 

Production is not the most glamorous part of the fashion industry, and maybe sharing details about it takes a bit away from the "magic" of it all. Garments don't come out of thin air though, production is obviously very important. So if you're curious, read on*! Or, if you only read my blog for pretty pictures of models in dresses, there will be more of that later, so stay tuned! 

The cutting table. They stack the fabric and cut so many pieces at once that it requires a saw. It takes a lot of skill to do this neatly and accurately!

Seamstresses at their sewing tables. 

I spent months sending prototypes, patterns, and samples back and forth with the factory. I visited the factory to inspect the bulk order before they shipped it, so they were finished producing my order before I got there. I was very happy to see the employees in action though -- they were such a happy and talented group!

Haute Holly dresses on a rack and ready to go!

My favorite part of the trip was the food. The factory manager and sales representative were such gracious hosts. I ate a lot of hot pot, noodles, and seafood -- yum!

Factory's owner, his wife, and my sales representative at Japanese BBQ restaurant.

Hot pot lunch with Fiona, my sales representative.

Everything was great at the factory, and Haute Holly dresses were going in their boxes. I went to downtown Shanghai to explore for a couple of days. Here are a few of my favorite sights!

Longhua Temple. Beautiful, ornate temple. Bonus: they give you free incense with your admission ticket! 

Yuyuan Garden. Built during the Ming Dynasty. Gorgeous buildings, bridges, and landscapes. I wandered this garden for hours. 

1933 Shanghai. A Bauhaus building with Escheresque ramps and staircases. I had to include an image of this place because I found it to be so inspiring.

Thanks for reading babes! Hope you enjoyed. Let me know if there is anything else you'd like to see on my blog.

xoH

*Semi-off topic: I love watching videos about how they manufacture crayons, macaroni, etc. I know I can't be the only one. The precision of an assembly line is so satisfying to watch.

Style: Valentine's Day

Hello Hauties! Tomorrow is Valentine's Day! Having trouble deciding on what to wear?
Here are a few ideas -- from low key to a fancy night on the town.

xoH

Valentines Day by hauteholly

Haute Holly Style: The Gemma Dress

Hello Hauties!

Happy Friday!! Today I'm sharing a flawless work-to-date-night look featuring the Gemma Dress in grey. This will be my last post featuring Shannon Barney (for now anyway). Her look is the perfect balance of gorgeous and fierce, yet warm and approachable -- it was so fun and easy to style her. I'm glad she was available to model all these varying looks for me to share with y'all!

The Gemma Dress utilizes modern pleats and shapes while remaining very feminine. The overall silhouette of the dress is classic, but with the right accessories you can achieve a fashion forward look. We threw a knee-length coat over Shannon's shoulders. This creates a feel that is so romantic and graceful. The coat's nubby texture adds detail in a monochromatic color palette. 

We polished the look with black accessories that had clean lines and interesting shapes. The geometric necklace and hand bag are brought together by gold accents and highlight the modernness of the dress. The shoes also have a modern shape and add texture as well without being distracting.

A bold berry lip adds just the right pop of color, while being fashion forward and feminine as the rest of the look. To add to the romantic feel, we kept the hair soft and swept it back out of her face.

I hope you guys are enjoying my blog so far! Please send any feedback or questions to info@hauteholly.com!

xoH

Model: Shannon Barney

Stylist: Annie Boylan

The Gemma Dress available at www.hauteholly.com

Haute Holly Style: The New Shellie Dress

Hey Hauties,

I'm in LA right now, so this week's look is breezy and eclectic. We're featuring the New Shellie Dress in plum. You could wear this look for a day of shopping or to a lunch date. Just take away the cardigan, and you're all set for a night on the town.

First, let me introduce you all to Shannon Barney. She's the babe you see modeling in my last couple posts. She's an up-and-coming actress in Los Angeles who has recently been on shows like Revenge and Comedy Central's Nathan For You. Obviously she's stunningly gorgeous, but she's very down-to-earth and amazing to work with. I'm calling it now, she's one to follow. (And if you're inclined to do so, here's her Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.)

Second, a bit of history about the Shellie Dress. This is the original Shellie Dress from 2008. I designed it for my friend (who, duh, is named Shellie) to wear to a Tiesto concert where my friends and I were hosting Tiesto himself. I had actually completely forgotten about that night until just now as I'm writing this.

I have polished a few things since then, but I still loved how PRETTY the Shellie Dress made you feel. It's the way it twirls. I dare a gal to twirl in a dress and not feel pretty. I felt a nod to the original Shellie Dress was due, so the NEW Shellie Dress was born.

The New Shellie Dress by itself is definitely dressy, but the chiffon material paired with a slouchy grey cardigan makes a look that is cool and casual. We went with black booties for a bit of edge. A black hat brings the look together as effortlessly stylish.

Models: Shannon Barney and Anna Counce
Stylist: Annie Boylan
The New Shellie Dress available at www.hauteholly.com