Homegrown Inspiration

Royal Oak, MI 1939

Family kitchen. Birmingham, MI 1942

Sugar Beet worker. Saginaw, MI 1941

National Guard @ Chevrolet Plant. Flint, MI 1937

Strikers resting. Flint, MI 1937

I'm a small town girl, into the big city life. And this is where I came from. Generations later, and not much has changed but the clothes.

Teatime with FORMzine

I first heard about FORMzine from a newspaper clipping about a college student who takes street style images in the liberal Birkenstock and bicycle town I spent my college days in.  Tweeting with them led to a quick tea time meet-up last week with editor Winnie and co-founder Sarah of FORMzine.

What I realized in conversation is that they are simply providing information and content in a very generation specific way.  It's a zine with lifestyle content and coverage just as any print magazine, but they do it in the most refreshingly modern way.

It's a publication that was birthed out of a University environment, but their ability to look beyond the confines of the school to build sartorial bridges to the arts scene in Detroit, as well as personally covering fashion shows and events internationally holds and interesting juxtaposition. Their scope is huge, but comfortably local at the same time.

What excites me most about what they are doing is the fact that they are a full publication team that functions like an independent blogger would. Existing at the shows and events, tweeting and sharing images as they happen, sharing content in real time- these are things that you can typically only expect from very on-it bloggers.  But FORMzine gets it, and they take their readers for a unique ride.

We spoke about the Midwest as a space in the lifestyle industry that gets a bad rap most times, but what's most interesting about what they are building is that they want to make sure that however far away FORMzine goes or reaches, just as Google once did, they want to make sure it always has a space and presence in the place that built them. Right in Michigan.

Check out FORMzine and tweet them to let them know what you think!

Naming Names

A few people have asked me how I decided on the names of the different products in the shop.  Things like "Markley Dress" or "Stockwell's Perfect Skirt".  As a perfectly fair warning, the following is going to make no sense to some of you, even after you read it. Sorry.

So here's the deal: I was pining over how to name the clothes.  Even though it's not the biggest decision I've had to make, it really did take a long time to just decide on a theme to name them this time around.  I solicited suggestions and got things like Hitchcock movies, street names, towns in a European country, etc.  All would deliver interesting names that don't leave me naming clothes after girls names (think "Amber Shirt". Weird.)  

Finally I decided to do something that was close to what I know and some others could appreciate.  They are all in some way, shape, or form related to Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan.  Nerdy, yes. Chuckle worthy once you draw the connections, yes squared.

 For example: The Markley Dress.  This is the most party-girl dress in the whole initial collection, thus named after the most party-girl laden place on campus.

Stockwell's Perfect Skirt?  Well.  It's that (at one time) female only place that's beautiful, playful, and perfectly feminine.  Easy.

And then there's the Lloyd Dress. The initial sample for the shoot (and also available in the pop-up shop) was created as my secret UM homage in the collection.  Everyone tells me it would be perfect for football Saturday's- a religious event at Big 10 schools- so it was named for the Michigan Man himself, former football head coach Lloyd Carr. 

And there you have it- that's all the style meets geekery I can handle at one time.  For the other UM folks out there- can you guess the parallels for some of the other pieces found in the shop?

David Merritt for IMU

There has been a great deal of buzz lately over a brand that has yet to launch. Between the teaser videos on YouTube and all of the secrecy behind the hype, I decided to track down the man behind it all and learn a little more about I Miss You (IMU). David Merritt was gracious enough to chat a bit with The Style Social to talk about the label, the concept, and what has led up to the official launch on September 4th.

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Photo by Lon Horwedel via annarbor.com

[Tell us about I Miss You]

IMU's mission is to spread happiness while appreciating the people and experiences that make us who we are. Everything we do is geared towards reaching this mission. So in essence, IMU isn't just about the clothing. It's really a change in perspective and a challenge for everyone to pause and appreciate the people and places that make us all individually special.

[Cool name. Where did it come from?]

Have you ever had someone tell you that they Miss You? It makes you feel special, makes you feel valued. Every experience that a customer has with our brand, IMU wants to facilitate these feelings.

[What was up with the videos on YouTube?]

"The Get Ready" was fun! We started the vlog series to get people interested in the venture, but also to share the journey, value experiences, and a few laughs. Just so happens people liked it. I'm really grateful to everyone that tuned in and made the vlog series a success. "The Get Ready" received over 6,000 views combined on Youtube and Facebook in just 3 months.

[What inspired you to do all of this?]

I've always been inspired to make a difference: make some community better, make someone's life better. IMU's goal is to accomplish that exact mission.

[Michigan Basketball to fashion. A man of many talents; do tell.]

Fashion is an art, it's a form of expression. I couldn't think of a better way to spread the message of happiness while challenging people to make a difference than through clothing.

[Ok, so what about the goods?]

Quality. Very Quality.

[Are you sticking with tees or can we expect something different in the future?]

The IMU Brand will go where it's customer's take it. This is a brand about personal connections and taping into our customer's wants, needs, and desires. I have my own vision and ideas, but it will really be up to our community to decide our future endeavors.

[Your favorite look these days]

Wearing an IMU T-shirt.

[Words to live by... this week]

Go out and make someone happy.

[Upholding the strictest of silence about the brand itself, Merritt is sure to be a rising star in Social Entrepreneurship with IMU, Inc. Stay tuned, you won't want to miss any of what is to come.]