Urban Outfitters - Blog

From Philadelphia

02/26/10 05:34PM

Urban Renewal Diary: The Start-to-Finish Process

&itemCountThe Urban Renewal team is a proud recycler of gently-worn goods that are used to create all the wonderful one-of-a-kind items you see in our stores and on the web. Here is a sneak peak at two of our new items—the Denim Patchwork Short and the Polka-Dot Headband—soon to be heading to a store (and website) near you!

For the shorts, we first source and order a bunch of vintage Levi’s that we purchase by the piece. When ordering, we set up a specific “grade” that we want. A grade is the specifications in the item such as quality, size, colors, fabric content, etc. They come shipped to us in bales of 100lbs., and this (above) is what it looks like after the bales have been opened.

Next, the jeans are measured for our desired shorts-length and hand cut, and washed to get that frayed look at the hem. Then we dig through bales of vintage “remnant” fabric to find the best prints to make the patches out of. Each set of patches is arranged one by one and pinned onto the shorts for sewing.

And then, voilà, a finished pair of shorts!

The polka-dot bow headband is created out of an assortment of printed tops, skirts and dresses that we bought mixed by the pound. Since the headband is small, we also use scraps from other styles we have made to help reduce waste and utilize as much of every garment as possible.

Once all the pieces are cut out, they are taken to sew and assemble the headband. Elastic is put in, the bows tacked down and threads are clipped…..all by hand and one at a time!

And here is a finished product. Hard to believe this started out as a frumpy '80s dress, right? So adorable!—Urban Renewal

02/26/10 04:14PM

Sadak

Should you want to buy an insane, oversized onesie sweater for nearly $8,000, it should totally be this one from Serbian designer Sasha Kovacevic.

02/26/10 12:10PM

Troubleshooting

Lovely UO blog contributor Molly Young has just published a book, designed by Christopher Luxton, called Troubleshooting. It's an elegant collection of her musings, and you can buy it here.

02/26/10 10:25AM

I Have a Song For You

Bucket Siler's zine blends the personal with the fictional, and the result is charming. Hand-sewn and Gocco-printed, I Have a Song For You is a lovely thing to carry with you in your pocket.
-Molly

02/25/10 02:29PM

The Morning News ToB: The Brackets

The Morning News has seeded all the competitors for its Tournament of Books, which kicks off next week. The judges are probably curled up on this snowy day, reading like crazy.

From San Francisco

02/25/10 01:43PM

Girls' Studies

Is Elline Lipkin's awesome academic tome Girls' Studies a harbinger of things to come? Will universities host seminars and grant degrees in the subject of Girls' Studies? Cross your fingers, ladies.
-Molly

From Philadelphia

02/25/10 12:59PM

Fuss Free

Curated by Roy Miranda, Fuss Free is a traveling group show that was first exhibited in Miami in 2005. As of March 5th, it returns to the city of its origin with an show at Shadow's Space featuring Philadelphia-based artists such as Adam Wallacavage, Ted Passon, Christopher Luxton, Linda Smith and more.

02/25/10 11:45AM

Mel Shimkovitz

In case your morning has not been trippy enough, a few minutes spent perusing Mel Shimkovitz's site should take care of that.

02/25/10 10:54AM

Karen Elson "The Ghost Who Walks"

The gorgeous and talented Karen Elson has just released her first single, "The Ghost Who Walks." And it's beautiful. Sigh...

02/25/10 10:30AM

Woo Work

Part of Howie Woo's amigurumi bombing includes strategically making it rain cats and dogs. We can only imagine the moral implications of stumbling upon something this cute: Steal for yourself, or leave for others to enjoy? (Via Booooooom.)

02/25/10 10:15AM

Alex Merto's Effing Typeface

Dirty letters. Warning: They get dirtier.

02/25/10 10:14AM

Charles Anastase x Longchamp

I have long been in love with Charles Anastase and his wondrous collections. He is one of few designers who make me want to dress supremely chic and crazy at the same time. When I heard he was doing bags for Longchamp I kind of wondered, what took so long? They are as cute as could be imagined and I'm literally praying for the first time ever that the ballet slipper bag lands on my doorstep. x - Jen

02/24/10 04:15PM

Mara Hoffman "Hysterical Levitation"

A multi-pronged collaboration between designer Mara Hoffman, COACD, stylist Masha Orlov and actresses Isabelle McNally and Yesim Ak.

From Philadelphia

02/24/10 01:33PM

Jotto "Lost Man"

Drink, dance, play bored games, get coffee...Jotto's excellent and funny new video for an excellent new song.

From San Francisco

02/24/10 01:22PM

The Year of the RosenMunns

RosenMunns have released their SS10 collection, entitled The Year of the RosenMunns. After all, modesty gets you nothing.

02/24/10 01:06PM

Hollis Brown Thornton

Hollis Brown Thornton's VHS drawings are rendered in permanent marker on paper, and will bring a warm glow to the heart of anyone who grew up in the '80s.

02/24/10 12:58PM

The Jet Age Compendium

Cult artist Eduardo Paolozzi's collected works for the British magazine Ambit have been assembled for posterity between day-glo plastic covers. Pretty punk.
-Molly

From Philadelphia

02/24/10 12:55PM

Renewal Score of the Month: Koos Van Den Akker

We found this amazing jacket at an estate sale in New York during one of our monthly scavenging trips. We search high and low for amazing pieces, and boy did we hit the jackpot with this one!

Koos Van den Akker is a Dutch designer who we've looked to a lot over the past couple of years, and his claim to fame was the sweaters he created for friend and dedicated fan Bill Cosby. These sweaters, best known as “The Cosby Sweaters” have been an obsession of ours for quite some time now, and we're going full-force with this inspiration for fall!

Van Den Akker's painterly delight in mixing colors, patterns and textures in unusual, often one of kind garments make his works highly collectible, visually stimulating, and always a sought-after treasure.—Urban Renewal

02/24/10 10:36AM

UO X ATX 2010

From March 17th to the 20th, you can catch us at the Urban Outfitters store in Austin, Texas, where we'll be hosting four days of free live music from 25 bands! We can't wait. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for more updates.

From San Francisco

02/23/10 12:45PM

Josie Ramondetta

Photographer Josie Ramondetta is pretty shredding. I have been a fan of her for a long time and her zine BEERSPIT, which has in the past come packaged when you buy a new Anti-Hero board, is completely ruling. While I love her band and motorcycle photos, I'm definitely stoked on the lookbook she just shot for ONERARY. x - Jen