Loupty Loup

Budding designers often reach out to bloggers when trying to promote their fledgling fashion lines, so I usually get, at minimum, one email a day asking me to check out photos or click through a link. Some even blatantly ask for coverage. It's free publicity, so I don't fault them for trying to win over our lot -- they're just doing what they can to get the word out about their wares. I'm all for supporting struggling independents, so I try to check out as many as I can, but work and life leave little time for blogging, much less blog mail.

Last night, however, I came home famished and chose to skip my Monday night abs class in favor of ordering in, telly watching, and getting reacquainted with the non-work-related uses of my computer. I came across the email of Yulia, a Williamsburg-based designer of a line of hand-knit scarves called Loup (so named because they're made of wool, which comes from sheep, and "loup" means "wolf" in French, thus rendering you a wolf in sheep's clothing). Her scarves and hats look so invitingly soft and warm that I just had to share them.

Not only did they seem deliciously cozy, but her website features videos in lieu of photos. You can watch a young lady pout and make bedroom eyes at the camera as she tries on hats and scarves, or a dude demonstrate a scarf's versatility by tying it in different ways. It's much more intriguing than a regular lookbook, and forces me to spend more time looking at each item, rather than yawning through linesheets or cringing at badly shot images. Since part of my job is to read up on the retail world and keep an eye out for interesting marketing strategies, I'm often bored to death after reading hundreds of news items about new product launches. Yulia manges to get my attention for both her product and her presentation.

I recommend the Grand Ave scarf (red) and the Jefferson Ave hat (in white) for the ladies, and the Nassau Ave (black) and Broadway (tan) scarves for the menfolk. You can buy them on the website, with prices ranging from $45-$78. They're also available on Etsy, and you get 10% off if you buy more than one.





Photo credit: www.loupscarves.com