FabSugar

Stock Up Now: Built by Wendy's Online Sample Sale

Noria Morales — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 03:04:02 PDT

The crisp, slightly preppy basics on the Built by Wendy online sample sale are screaming for your Spring closet. True to its sample sale name, the prices are cheap for Built by Wendy's signature tailoring and cute details. Warm weather uniform: we love these Military Shorts ($35, originally $117), paired with a Little Yellow Camisole ($32, originally $108). Visit Built by Wendy to check out the sample sale for yourself, which ends Monday, April 11, so no dillydallying.

Link Time!!!

FabSugar — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 12:00:03 PDT

CK One lifestyle - Vogue UK
Best bet: Manimal's suede applique bootie - The Cut
Gossip Girl: our favorite season four fashions - Stylelist
Trust us, this Summer you'll want to wear: long floral dresses - Lucky
Claudia Schiffer sets her sights on design - Modelinia
Donatella Versace says she could "for sure" see Christopher Kane designing for Versace - Fashionologie
Fashion Week handbags: Bottega Veneta Spring 2011 - Purse Blog
Sweet escape: Built by Wendy's Spring '11 collection - Refinery29
Claudia Schiffer at Ferragamo - Red Carpet Fashion Awards
A colorful collaboration: Bulgari and Matthew Williamson - Vogue Daily

Friday Fab News Roundup!

FabSugar — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:00:08 PDT

Lookbook: Built by Wendy - Nylon
The chic cover-up! - Grazia Daily
Confessions of Vogue's shopaholics - Times UK
PETA grounded - Page Six
Designer finds on eBay - Frugal-Fashionista
Bloggers and celebs at BCBG Max Azria - Red Carpet Fashion Awards
Interns looking for a leg up in the fashion industry - New York Times
Fashion's Night Out in London - Vogue UK
Penney's adds own contemporary line - WWD
Fab cover: Sienna Miller for Vogue - Fab UK
Fly pick: Robert Rodriguez's black sequin tunic - Flypaper

Trend Alert: Patch Me Up

FabSugar — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:00:22 PDT

This ain't your grandma's patchwork. Modern patchwork on tops, dresses, bags and shoes, is spreading hippie love wherever it goes. Who knew Hilary Duff was such a flower child? She is singing the trend softly in her varicolored scarf. Start me up, patch me up!

Bauer-Griffin Online

Fab Site: BuiltByWendy.com

FabSugar — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 15:45:22 PDT

You never really can get enough good basics. Wendy Mullin has capitalized on this fact, and I'm glad that she does - she specializes in great basics in unique, modern shapes.

She started her NYC-based line of clothing and accessories in 1991, initially opening little boutiques in the back of record stores where she worked. After she gained some attention for her popular guitar straps, Wendy opened her first retail store in Little Italy, followed by stores in Brooklyn and L.A. Lucky for us, all her wares are now online, and she's even currently having a sale of up to 40% off her Spring line - from bags to canvas shoes to jumpers, tees, jackets, dresses, shorts, and jeans.

Entrepreneurship 101: Q&A With Wendy Downs of Moop Handmade Bags

LearnVest — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 00:15:12 PDT

We're thrilled to present this smart LearnVest story here on Savvy!

Wendy Downs is the owner and founder of Moop, an online shop that sells stylish, utilitarian handmade bags for men, women and children. Is it successful? Just ask her devoted fans, who rave about the quality of both the bags and the customer service.

Wendy’s success seems almost too easy. The four-year-old business turned a profit in its second year, and it has grown from one old sewing machine and an Etsy shop to a storefront workshop in Pittsburgh and its own e-commerce site.

Find out how Wendy turned an idea into a success story, with no previous business experience - plus a giveaway below!

How did you get the business started?

After I graduated in 2006 I was basically unemployable with a useless graduate degree in art. I was using this old sewing machine to sew together a bag for myself. It wasn’t a very nice bag, just a rectangle with two handles, but people started asking where I got it, and if I could make them one.

Then my sister-in-law came to visit and she asked if I had ever heard of Etsy. A few months later, I set up shop, and within three days somebody had bought a bag.

Do you regret getting your art degree?

It wasn’t totally useless. My degree was in photography, and I do take all my own product photographs. If I’d only had an “Accounting 101″ class, though . . .

Were you scared about running your own business?

There was a short time where I was working another job, and the moment when I decided to quit was scary. But so far it’s been only good. My dad ran his business and both his parents ran their own business, so there was this entrepreneurial thing within me that I hadn’t tapped into.

I tend to operate on the philosophy of just doing things. Sometimes that works for me, and sometimes it doesn’t. But if I don’t try, I tend to wonder what the outcome will be.

Read about what Wendy has to say about the advantage of being on Etsy.