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The Edit: Elizabeth Dehn, Beauty Bets

Posted on by TheAmericanEdit

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Today we are kicking of Beauty Week on TAE! Although I have been conscious of using primarily natural products for several years, I only recently started to think about where my beauty products came from… and why that matters. This week we’ll have some of our favorite beauty bloggers sharing their American made beauty favorites – most of which also happen to be natural – and I’ll be sharing some details as to why it really does matter where your products are made. Check back all week and be sure to share your favorite American made products in the comments!

I couldn’t start this week off with anyone other than Elizabeth Dehn, or Beauty Bets as you may know her. Elizabeth has been my guide to beauty – and the best services and treatments in Minneapolis – for as long as I’ve lived here, and I’m lucky to call her a friend. She is incredibly motivating and inspiring (she blogs, she is an editor for a magazine, AND she has collaborated with TAE favorite One Love Organics on a skincare line!) and her skin seriously glows. GLOWS. If she wasn’t so awesome, I’d be so intimidated by the skin alone.

Thank you, so much Elizabeth, for sharing your favorite American made beauty products!

  1. The founder of Yarok Hair is one of the most humble, hilarious guys in the industry. He also makes THE best sulfate-free, volumizing shamoo I’ve ever used.
  2. Confession: I have a serious packaging crush on Herbivore Botanicals. In fact, everything about this artisan brand makes me squeal inside.
  3. Ilia Beauty made me a natural-makeup believer. The lipstick and lip crayon formulas are unbelievably lush yet pigmented.
  4. I’ve been a Horst devotee my whole life, so his Intelligent Nutrients line holds a special place in my heart. No one can do what he has done with plants.
  5. It’s no secret that I’m a One Love Organics girl through and through. They are pioneers and care so deeply about their customers. There’s no other indie skincare brand I’d rather be collaborating with!

Follow Elizabeth for even more beauty finds and advice: 

Preston & Olivia

Posted on by TheAmericanEdit

Instagram. It’s not only an enjoyable, aesthetically pleasing time suck, but it’s also a great way to discover new brands (check the following tab to see the instas the people you are following like). Case in point, Preston & Olivia, one of the coolest brands I’ve come across in a while – discovered via instagram! Dara Kent-Cobb studied millinery at FIT and launched Preston & Olivia shortly after – she is also an accomplished photographer and launching an American-made camera bag line with her husband! The hats are gorgeous, the perfect combination of classic styling and modern, fashionable details.  Read on for more about Dara and Preston & Olivia and let me know your favorite hat – I see this black & white straw hat becoming a staple this summer, and I wish I had the guts to rock the resort line!

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TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF!

I am Dara, the designer behind the brand Preston & Olivia. Drawing on my background in textiles and apparel design, I founded Preston & Olivia in 2010 out of the desire to create accessories for men and women looking for classic, heirloom-quality pieces with a fashion-forward sensibility. With every collection I strive to marry traditional Southern style with the more modern world I’m surrounded by in downtown Manhattan.

WHAT IS THE INSPIRATION BEHIND YOUR LINE?

When conceiving the brand, I envisioned a beautiful lifestyle brand, and what a brick and mortar store would be for a guy and a girl shopping my pieces. I wanted a name that would embody that feeling. I thought having “the guy & girl” as the name and Preston & Olivia are family names that I’ve always loved. Olivia is very dear to my heart as it was the middle name of my paternal grandmother. My memories of her, and images I now cherish very much influenced the brand. I have an old picture of her from the 30’s taken on the old Louisiana State University campus, both of our alma maters, holding my grandfather’s cane and wearing his bowler hat. My brand identity was born from that photograph.

preston-and-olivia-hat-formsWHAT INSPIRES YOU?

Without a doubt, images inspire me the most. I think as a photographer and a designer, I’m very visual and I tend to see things as how they would appear in a photograph. When I design, I think of how the person would look wearing a hat, and I always envision it as a moment captured in time. My husband and I have many books by our favorite photographers, and we both have inspiration photo walls above our workspaces of images that inspire us. Mine all happen to be hat focused, but they’re still inspiring none-the less.

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WHAT MAKES YOUR DAY?

I love when a customer emails me to tell me they just received their P&O purchase and how it totally made their day. I love hearing how much they love their new piece, whatever it may be, how they can’t wait to wear it, etc. I love what I do. My heart really smiles when I hear that whatever I’ve made has brought joy to someone’s day, because, I’m truly living my dream. It’s in those moments when I just feel blessed.

WHAT IS NEXT?

We are currently working on the Fall 2014 and new Bridal Shoppe pieces.

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WHERE DO YOU WORK?

My husband and I currently have a live/work space. We have designated workspaces in our apt where we work on all of our businesses with our little pup, Lola, by our side.

WHY IS AMERICAN-MADE IMPORTANT TO YOU?

I see the shift in production happening, and I feel that there is going to be a rebirth of production of goods in the U.S. I believe in keeping the production of P&O items American-made to help our local and national economy and I am able to control the quality of my goods by keeping them local. If everyone spent 5% more on US made products, we could create 1 million jobs.

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Follow Preston & Olivia:

The Edit: American Made Sweatshirts

Posted on by TheAmericanEdit

This weekend I did a major closet clean out and then turned to pinterest for some style inspiration. My “wear” board is pretty telling of my taste and style – lots of black, grey, ripped jeans, stripes and leather. These images caught my eye and I realized that somehow I don’t own a single grey sweatshirt! I lived in a grey tee all summer and fall so this feels like a miss – especially since we unfortunately still have a few months of cold weather ahead of us.

Some of my favorites, at a variety of price points…

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Consumption Karma.

Posted on by TheAmericanEdit

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the idea of consumption karma. I’ve written before about the idea that you are what you wear… but I think it’s more than that. Maybe, you are what you consume. Or, how you consume is determined by the person you are. Maybe it’s a bit of both.

To live is to consume. We need air, we need shelter, we need food… we can’t survive without taking from our environment. But most of us consume mindlessly. Or thoughtfully in one way, but mindlessly in the others. Myself included – I started focusing on ethical food years ago, but it wasn’t until later that I started to really think more about ethical, responsible production in terms of apparel and my home. I stopped watching trashy television and reading celebrity magazines a long time ago primarily because these forms of entertainment made me feel bad about myself but also because I hated supporting people I really didn’t care about or want to support – but now I’m realizing what a terrible business these forms of mindless entertainment really are. And there are plenty of things that I consume that I’ve never even really thought about.

It’s overwhelming. I’d love to have a set of rules that defined exactly what to consume, but it’s just not that easy. But I’m starting to think that we don’t need a series of rules – maybe we just need to be thoughtful. To give a damn (a lot of damns). Maybe if we just think, “Is this too good to be true?” before we act, we could all be more mindful without the constant stress of learning everything about everything.

For example:

The notion of super cheap, disposable clothing? Too good to be true – there’s got to be waste somewhere, and likely terrible working conditions.

Fat-free/sugar-free/etc.-free food? Too good to be true – something must have been added in to offset whatever was taken out. 

Celebrity “real life” photos? Too good to be true – watch Sellabrity or read this Huffpost article by Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell to get a better understanding of the mania created by the need to feel that celebrities are “just like us”.

Knock-offs? Too good to be true – when you get a well-known, potentially expensive item for less, designer infringement, potentially shady business dealings and poor working conditions are likely involved.

I think a lot of consumption apathy comes from the idea that it’s too hard to know what to buy and who to support – I know that this has been the case for me. Maybe by using “Is this too good to be true?” as a lens, by basically just saying that we give too many damns to be apathetic but that we also need a simplified filter, we can all consume better. And be better. And do better.

It’s worth a shot, right?