J Brand is Here!

iniam recently received J Brand, our newest denim line, which by all reviews so far, fits like a dream. We have three styles, one of which is "Love Story" (see photo to the left) inspired by none other than Ali McGraw who starred in this 1970's romance of the same name. The pants are fitted to about the knee then flare out to a wonderful wide hem at the bottom. These are not your daughter's pants though...even though they are deemed "lowrise" they seem to offer a little more coverage on the backside and fit actual curves. The pockets are plain, so eyes will be more focused on more important things...like style, fit, and how confidently you carry yourself in these swinging sexy pants. We also received a boot cut and a cigarette pant, both dyed in natural dark indigo blue, and come complete with washing instructions.

Not only that, but if you are into name dropping, they've been seen on Angelina Jolie, Cameron Diaz, Angelica Huston, and Kenzel, a woman who works at iniam, as well as written up in Vogue, In Style, Bazaar, and this month's Lucky (which iniam was also featured in).
(Photo credits go to J Brand)

We've Got a Secret...

If you are not already on our email list, you might reconsider signing up (or encouraging your friends to sign up) because there will be invaluable, top secret information in those emails! For example, we MAY decide to inform you we are having a one day only sale - even on new merchandise; or we COULD indicate (via email of course) that we are hosting a Trina Turk sample sale; or PERHAPS we MIGHT say that Robindira Unsworth's jewelry is here and our email customers will get something special; or we MAY just invite you to a cocktail party with secret guests...but these special events will only be available to customers signed up for our email list...so what are you waiting for? Signing up is easy peasy...just go to www.iniam.com and add your first and last name, and of course, your email.

Naturally, we neither share nor sell our email lists.
(Photo courtesy of Trina Turk, Spring 08 delivery)

Beth I Hear You Calling...

Beth, I hear you callin
But I cant come home right now
Me and the boys are playin
And we just cant find the sound
Just a few more hours
And Ill be right home to you
I think I hear them callin
Oh, beth what can I do
Beth what can I do?

Sorry, every time I hear the name Beth, I think of that song by Kiss and high school dances...I also think of Beth Bowley... She's one of our favorite designers because she successfully combines femininity with a contemporary wisdom, good design and fit, and a dash of sex appeal. For early Spring we just received a sundress that encapsulates the word sun...yellow, blue, brown and white - colors of the sea, in cotton with pintucks gracing the top and waste of the dress. On the other hand, she also made a very geometric blue and white sleeveless dress with big chunky white jewel/bead decorations at the neck (think Marni or Karta). It looks very mod, but fits better than those 1960s get ups and is a big longer so you won't feel ashamed bending over to put your shoes on. Also on tap, is a cotton scoop neck sweater in blue, brown, yellow and white thick stripes. I'm sorry for not posting a photograph, but I'm waiting to get one from the vendor, but until then, you can gaze at this Kiss album cover. Sure, it's random, but so is this blog.

Scent of a Woman

Our new Cote Bastide collection has succeeded of (no, actually exceeded) a well-loved but market-saturated bath and beauty product line we carried for years. Cote Bastide is produced in Provence and it is well-known for its luxurious products, elegant packaging, fresh scents and longevity ... what I mean by longevity is that you only need a plop of the bubble bath the size of a quarter to make you bathtime deluxe. iniam is carrying three fragrances: Amber, Linen, and Lilac.

Linen (Lin) oil is extracted from flax seed and naturally soothes irritated skin. This oil has been used as an emollient, an anti-inflammatory, and a healing agent. This oil has been known to create soft skin as well as alleviate skin conditions due to a dietary lack of omega-3! The scent is like clean laundry dried on the clothesline. You can purchase it in candles, bubble bath, body cream and body fragrance.

In the potpourri, candles, body cream, and body fragrances , we have Amber, which is a bit spicier and muskier than the Linen. Original amber oil was from ambergris, a substance produced by whales as a stomach counter-irritant! Today, it is still made with natural ingredients (sans whales) and its oriental amber, vanilla-based scent is a fragrance soothing to the body and mind. The potpourri is a natural resin (see photo) from the sap of the Acacia tree and is infused with this unique blend of fragrance.

Our final fragrance is Lilac which comes in candles, bubble bath, and body fragrance. The scent of Lilac have always been associated with the easing of resentments and forgiveness, great for alleviating stressful days…for us, it just smells lovely, like a Spring day.

(Photograph provided by importer, French Look)

Invest in Gold

With rumors of recession, the jewelry gods have blessed us with our new line, JULIERI. Besides being sighted on such fabulous ladies as Victoria Beckham (love her or hate her, she's got a great bod!), Cindy Crawford, Faith Hill, and Julia Louis Dreyfus (who my husband says I behave like)...the stuff is a "classically hip jewelry line" as Julieri says about themselves. We couldn't agree more. Julia Teachey designs elegant, sophisticated, solid gold necklaces (rose, yellow and white gold) and earrings which are soooo feminine they practically give birth. Prices are reasonable, especially considering gold prices have recently shot up, and with gold in your pocket (or on your neck) you'll be recession-proof.

(Photo provided by Julia herself!)

Phlox

Spring clothing is slow to arrive this time of year for many retailers, but that makes it even better when something as fresh and crisp as Cynthia Steffe's dress appears... it is made of white white white cotton with what looks like shades of green and yellow phlox hovering around the bottom edge of the dress, which lands just above the knee. Also, there are a few subtle but gold accents (buttons) that make it go from garden party to sophisticated. We also received a white eyelet V-neck sleeveless top that has an underlay of lemon yellow peeking through the eyelet. It sounds kind of milkmaidish (Kenzel's words, not mine), however, it's actually quite sexy and sophisticated paired with denim, or if you dare, paired with white pants!

(Photos provided by Cynthia Steffe)

Lucky you!

For those of you in the know, you may already know, but iniam is mentioned on the very last page of Lucky Magazine this month. If you don't know, you should grab a copy at your local bookstore or newstand (for us this is Diesel - A Bookstore OR Pendragon Books both on College Ave.) because there is something special on that page of Lucky Magazine our customers should know!

In this issue, where you find "iniam" you will also find Robindira Unsworth's gold vermeil cuff which we have already sold out of (but will be receiving another shipment of soon). Robindira was just in the store last Wednesday showing us her new gorgeous collections; as soon as it arrives, I'll post something here, so stay tuned!

Remember, Lucky Magazine is named Lucky for a reason... (hint hint)

Birds of a Feather

Birds chirping and twittering outside my bedroom window in the early morn, always signals the slow but grateful arrival of Spring. And with Spring comes the casting out of black sweaters, wool tights, boots and wraps and
cashmere and all things wintery to make room new stuff, because honestly, by the time Spring has sprung, my wardrobe looks as drab as an old cot.

Fortunately, at iniam, a few new arrivals in the middle of January are making me feel uplifted, hopeful and yes, Spring-like.... particularly this new BCBG top with scores of birds gliding across the entire shirt, moving from southerly climes and hopefully north, to my closet (and yours).


(photo provided by BCBG)

What To Do With All These Mini Dresses/Tunics?

If you live anywhere near Oakland, CA, you'd look a little silly sporting a mini dress (or long tunic) and a pair of dainty heels because today, the weather is feisty: up to 60mph gusts and raining cats and dogs (I think I even saw a few hamsters coming down). But there is more than one way to wear a tunic and many of them involve what is on your legs and what is on your feet.

First and foremost, tunics are really mini dresses, and depending on the length, your height, and situation, many mini dresses can be worn alone with a great pair of shoes, be they flat, heels, or sandals...heels obviously add a bit more sex appeal, but you can tone down the bare flesh factor by wearing a cute pair of flats. In winter, just add tights, either opaque or something with a little pattern. Save the hosiery for fancy occasions.

If you are still not brave enough to brave the mini alone, slap on your boots. What? No boots? Get thee to a bootery! Twenty Two Shoes, our neighbor here on College Ave has a nice selection, and so does Deliciouz in Walnut Creek. It's not necessary to wear tights with your boots, as long as they just show a flash of skin between the hem of your dress and the top of your boot. If there is more skin there (i.e. you are tall), then put those tights on in winter! If you are wearing low slung boots, please wear tights of some sort, otherwise, you may look like the latest Hollywood dunce.

It's also OK to put a pair of pants on under your dress! NO you won't look like a Berkeley student if you do it right. I personally avoided this style until one day I had just the right combination of skinny pant and blousy dress, and I was hooked. It's a great way to dress up your denim and a great way to dress down your delicate party frock. Think BALANCE when pairing dresses with pants and keep lumpy pants out of the mix. If your pants are wide, think slimmer top. If your top part is blousy, think narrower bottom until you get the right mix. It's like fine tuning Cosmopolitan. Add or subtract a wide belt, a long necklace, different boots or shoes or just come to iniam and we will help you do it.

Look for mini dresses and J. Brand (a new line of denim we are carrying) this month!