Month: January 2014

Barneys New York! (+ A List updates!)

Posted on by TheAmericanEdit

Sarah Jessica Parker once told Vanity Fair, “If you’re a nice person and you work hard, you get to go shopping at Barneys. It’s the decadent reward.” And who am I to disagree with SJP?

Barney’s is one of my favorite online sites to browse, and a must-stop whenever I travel… It’s also one of the few online retailers that clearly states which products are American-made! Suffice to say, I am incredibly excited to be featured on the Barneys blog, The Window, this week!

Check out the interview to learnwhat I’d wear if trapped in a Barneys overnight (dream come true!), see what I’d ask Marcus Wainwright and David Neville of Rag & Bone, and for some of my favorite advice….

I also loved picking my favorite American-made items currently available at Barneys… I want all of this stuff!  Check back tomorrow for an interview with Giejo founder Gabby Sabharwal.

AND! I updated The A List with even more of my favorite American-made brands. The A List is made up of the brands I regularly shop and recommend; a collection of what I consider to be the best American-made brands. The goal is to make it easier for you to find  what you are looking for!  Search by state, by product, and by category…
american-made-brands-a-list

The Edit: American-Made Fitness

Posted on by TheAmericanEdit

Prism Sport // C&C California // SoLow

Did you set a fitness related resolution this year? I didn’t, exactly… but I do start basically every week thinking I’ll work out more than I did the last week, so it’s kind of an ongoing thing for me.

New workout gear is definitely a motivator for me – maybe I’m vain for caring what I look like while working out, but it really does seem to help.

When it comes to work out clothes, quality matters, to a point. The cut and material absolutely have to be right – no one wants to be adjusting tops or pulling up their pants all day long (or see other people doing that!) but I also don’t think of most of my work out clothes as investment pieces – they obviously get sweaty, are thrown in gym bags, washed frequently, etc. I want them to last for six months to a year, but I’m not expecting anything longer.

I’ve yet to find a favorite brand (and my thighs definitely touch, which may explain why a certain big brand doesn’t work for me!) but I’ll be trying these out this year. Any other American-made favorites I should check out?

The American Edit, 2014.

Posted on by TheAmericanEdit

The first thing I tell clients is to put their plan on paper. Writing something down does not guarantee execution, but I think that ideas look a lot different when written (scrawled if your penmanship is anything like mine!) in ink. And it’s so much easier to hold yourself accountable to your ideas, your goals and your dreams if you can see them regularly. Inspiration/vision boards have never worked for me – I seem to get desensitized to them after a few months and then just ignore them altogether. So this year I’m trying something new and writing myself an email with my plans and my goals and then setting it up so it is e-mailed to me on the first Monday of every month. Hopefully, these monthly reminders will help me to hold myself accountable… I’ll let you know how this goes!

With that, I thought my first post of 2014 should start with a reminder of what The American Edit is all about. The mission, or in my case, the angle, that is the foundation of this site. I think thus far, I’ve managed to align to these principles. But I know I can do better, so in 2014, I will:

  • Be more consistent.
  • Write more. I’ve always been more of a consumer than a creator, which explains my obsession with finding amazing brands and products. The writing, photography and graphic-making that go hand-in-hand with blogging do not come easily to me… but the Why and the How are just as important as the What… so I am working on this!
  • Find even more awesome brands and products… and check back with our favorite designers and brands throughout the year to see what they are up to. 
  • Update the A-list. As much as this site is a blog, it is also a way for you to easily find American-made brands. I purposely started with a small A-list – my very favorite brands and makers, but I have been working on updating this directory and you will see many additions in the coming weeks.

I’d love to know what you think I’m missing and should be adding to TAE… comments are always read and appreciated or you can let me know via twitter, facebook, or email!

Happy New Year! xR