All Ivko skirts prices range from $189 to $219

Just forget about black.

Ignore it.

Look below and you will see why.

These Ivko sweaters and hoodies are both $199 at Boutique Katrin Leblond

Ivko bolero $189

Picolinos shoes on sale $178

Black cerise dress with red dots $199

It has a huge hood that can be rushed in two directions:  around the face and down the centre back.  This allows you to adjust for pouring rain, romantic strolls or pull it all the way back into a ruffle collar.

It has two buttons and a belt that ties around the waist.  The coat is embellished in the centre back with appliqué and ribbons.

I made it in blue, green and black.  There is a black denim version of the same coat for fall that is not waterproof.  The coat is both feminine and functional.  I promise it will protect you from the rain.  It has a full skirt that give it a bit of a timeless vintage feel.  I call it the Fairytale raincoat.

All colours $380 S-XL

available at the boutique or on etsy

visit Katrin’s etsy store

Gypsy skirt 100% American made cotton, $189

Purple rainbow cardigan made of Italian mesh $108

Bead and Crystal necklaces by Wendy Thomas

Mohair shawl $49 each (2 for $75, 3 for $90)

Bibi/fascinator by Katrin Leblond $90

One that note, the Fall collection is starting to arrive in the store.  Come take a look!

It is warm and fancy and feminine with pockets hidden in the pleats.

I have made them in Red with Navy scalloped stitch finish and in blue (both shown above).

We have other colours available at the boutique, like the classic version in black with light grey stitched trim and a generously proportioned abalone sea shell button.

But my favourite one is light green with white snowflakes (sorry you have to come to the store to see it).

It is totally ski chalet sitting by the fireplace!

Say goodbye to cold cheeks.  Say goodbye to cold noses and cold chins.  Say goodbye to messy hair and bad hat head.  Say goodbye to winter whining.  Snuggle up in a KAZAK hood.

Let the wind blow.

I have to warn you once you have worn one of  Genevieve Paquette’s hoods you may not wear your hat again.  Fashionably warm yourself in recycled hipness.   Genevieve Paquette brings us her winter collection for 2010-2011.  As always she is consistent about offering winter warming wear that bridges Fairytale Romanticism from urban to country.  The hippie goddess in you will be as warm as the urban hipster and both of your playful sides can comfortably face the Montreal elements with a mischievous smile.

Be bold.  Be mysterious.  Be rebellious.  Be sweet.  Stay toasty warm while being cooler than cool.  Cast a love spell.  Carry a poem in your pocket and transform every jacket and coat in your wardrobe by topping it with these gracious hoods.

Genevieve’s hoods are available with recycled fur for $88 or in a non fur version for $58.  Come pick up the warmest head gear Montreal has to offer you this winter.

Your life is your most powerful art.  See you at the boutique.

erin

These beautiful hats  have just arrived in store.  Local Montreal artists and Mile end mama of many, Allison Astridge from For whom the cap fits and Fiber Alley, created these by hand working the felt fibers into these feminine and practical winter head warmers.  Natural fibers breath well keep you warm and love you lots.  Include some wool in your wardrobe.  Lots of sheep were loved to make these hats.

These hats are available in a variety of cuddly colours for $88 each at the boutique.

Your life is your most powerful art.  See you at the boutique.

erin

I love the pleated pockets.  This jacket is for wrapping the soul Poetic.  This is Romantic fashion with a capital R.  A jacket for trotting around town in.  A Jacket for skating in Park La Fontaine under the Christmas lights.   A jacket for being happy and thoughtful and dreamy in.

Your life is your most powerful art.  See you at the boutique.

erin

Grey days are the perfect time to give yourself a bit of  T.L.C.  Some tenderness, some love, some care….Come by the store and have a tea with Cassandra or Anna or me, Erin.

It’s a great time of year to just love yourself.  See yourself for who you are.  Beautiful.  See your self where you want to be.  Doing what you want to do.  The talented women in the shop are great sounding boards for your visions for yourself in the world and what you want to say.  We are here to help you find a way to express the part of your self that clothing can.

So much can be said, shared…communicated in the way we dress.  Be generous with yourself.  Be generous with the world.  Clothing can be an opportunity to share some positivity.

I have to say it.  I covet this jacket.   The artistically styled and tailored to perfection ode to Coco is available in several envy inspiring colour ways.   I had to hold myself back from buying two.  The fall collection is truly incredible.   Katrin has stepped it up again.  This seasons fashions are candy indulgence for the coordinates crowd. Not only are the items in the store beautiful singles on their own but they have multiple pairing options available that combine into powerful, playful, flattering ensembles.  Yes! there are skirts to match this stunner.  This jacket also looks great with the Cerise dress that Katrin released for late summer and has re released for fall just so you can have a last chance to co ordinate the outfit fit of my dreams.  Classy and Artistic can be fabulously combined.  The red jacket with Kaffe Fassette designed cotton button band and pocket embellishments is available in store for $248.

This dress is the perfect companion to the Coco Jacket.  We also have beautiful, practical and playful knee length skirt in the same fabric.  Perfect for work or play.

There are so many colours in this print it is easy to mix and match loads of surprising and down right fabulous combinations.

The Coco Jacket comes in several different colour combinations with different price points depending on materials and exclusivity.

This classy poka dot and check combo is a steal at $ 148 pictured below.  It is so easy to combine the black ,ivory, and grays into your wardrobe basics.

There are a gluttony of styles that make my mouth water in the store right now.  Come save me from some.  I am having a really hard time not buying them all up myself.

Your life is your most powerful art.  See you at the boutique.

erin

]]> http://katrinleblondblog.com/fall-collection/loveing-yourself-on-rainy-days/feed/ 0 http://katrinleblondblog.com/fall-collection/paul-leblonds-garden/ http://katrinleblondblog.com/fall-collection/paul-leblonds-garden/#comments Mon, 13 Sep 2010 20:41:23 +0000 Katrin Leblond http://katrinleblondblog.com/?p=3126 Photos in this post by Kat

It seems to me that everyone in my family is an artist.  This is the garden of my uncle Paul Leblond.  It is a very magical garden with plants and colours everywhere.

As a designer who does a lot of leaf-inspired embellishments, I am especially stunned by this section of the garden.  The shapes of the leaves and the two toned colour combinations are unique and inspiring.

Cleomes.  Always loved them.  They make the most delightful seed pods that spring open if they are touched, releasing a cascade of little black seeds into your hand.

This is the view from the back porch on a rainy day.

I wanted to take the chance to let you all in on my world.  I want to share with you, my loyal and beautiful friends, a part of who I am, and what I love.

So follow me on the journey of how a skirt becomes the embellished wonder that you, and I, all love…

We start with a Basic A-line skirt.  We call it the “Art Skirt”, because I am always embellishing it in new ways with new appliquées and top stitching.   All stitching is done in studio on the sewing machine, but it is what we call “freestyle”.  It is not a computer image being embroidered, so each line is improvised as we sew.

This was in the fall collection fashion show as a sheer skirt with a nude thong underneath. As the world is not a runway show, we needed to make the skirt more suitable for everyday use.

First, I draw an image and translate it into stencils that we can use to cut the same shapes out of fabric

The first layer of stitching is really just to tack the cut out shaped to the skirt.

Top stitching details and buttons are added.

Then, we make a top to match, of course.

The racks full of clothing in the palette Black, Grey, Pink, Coral waiting for their new coordinating skirt and top to fill out the whole look.

Now you can get the skirt, the top, the pants, the jacket, the…………

It can all come together or you can always wildly mix and match in unexpected ways from other racks of differing colour palettes all over the store.

See you at the boutique.

erin

Krysten

Kat

all photos in this post by Kat except the beautiful fall leaf colours was offered by Krysten.  This post was written for Kat by Krysten.

Weddings are the perfect place for fanciful dress-up, parading around in your finest and, best of all: a chance to see what everyone else is wearing.   This ogling of others attire is something I fondly refer to as “wardrobe scrutiny”.    Rather than going down the path of criticism I love to scan for the wardrobe statements I admire most.   It is like going on a visual treasure hunt and the reward is stunning fashion.

It was at the wedding of a cherished friend, that I saw a guest wearing a dress adorned with colorful and beautiful hand embroidered bugs.  I stopped the woman and asked if I could take a picture of her dress.  I could not pass up the opportunity to photograph them.  Thankfully she agreed.

It is truly sad to know that long gone are the days where it was very common to see embroidery on clothing.  It is always a pleasure to see someone who appreciates the craftsmanship and the love put into each stitch.

The wonderful thing about hand embroidered pieces is that no two are the exact same, each have their own personality.  These little critters are no exception…

This little dragonfly is the perfect example of the time and consideration put into embroidery.  The colors are bright and the details are exquisite.

This little bee was done perfectly, and with so much detail.  The shading of his body is an added bonus which adds realism to the piece. This little guy’s personality definitely shines.   The colors are more neutral, his colors may not be as bright as the dragonflies’, but that does not make him any less beautiful.  He is quite a regal being.

This little guy may be small, but he is just as perfect as the others.

Here is the front of the dress just below the bust. Individually, these little bugs are immaculate, but together, they form a rich tapestry of fall colors and life. It was an honor be be granted permission to photograph this dress.

The embroidery is perfect for fall.  The colors used definitely take into consideration the sights you might see while walking through the woods on a crisp fall day.  With the leaves a vibrant red, green, golden and rich browns, mother nature is definitely an inspiration for these little works of art.

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I found some more lovely embroidery being done today, courtesy of the internet.  One may think that birds and insects are better suited to spring than to the upcoming fall season, but done correctly; using neutrals, earth tones and sharp black lines, you cannot go wrong incorporating them into your wardrobe, accessories and home.

A simplistic design, but beautiful.  The use of black lines makes for a wonderfully delicate piece.  The birds may be flying south for the winter, but this one will stay behind as a reminder of the beauty and life that can be.

The monarch design is more complex and elaborate.   So perfect and realistically done, it is almost ready to pop off the material and fly away.  A very true to life piece of work.

Happy Labour Day

These prints are like whipped cream and strawberries.

Yummy!

They are vintage and oh so French.

The first one definitely has and Art Deco feel, but the rest are decidedly Victorian.

KL tote travel bag.  Each one of these is unique and you should see the lining!

Rich red will always be strong and I will make sure to have a good red in every collection.

I cannot have these prints and I cannot put them into my Fall collection, but the colour palettes and combinations are an excellent reflection of Fashion trends right now.  Soft natural nudes and creams and tans are making a raging comeback for Fall 2010.

KL Cerise Dress $245 with Colette Van Haaren mobius shaal $48

The camel and gold tones will be nice to complement last years brown.  I know that Montreal is a black and grey clad city, but try to imagine these colours around the face with skinny black pants.  It is gentle will especially complement blond and sandy brown hair.

KL Upsidedown cardigan, Gloria Gaudette ivory cardigan, Maillagogo Ivory knit cardigan and handprinted 100% cotton scarves

KL Mystery Jacket $126 with nude Donna Beth cami $25

textiletrunk.com

Welcome home Colette.  It is great to have you back.

Come check out Colette’s knit vests and ponchos in custom colours as well as her unique knit necklaces (shown above).  These necklaces are made with one continuous knit piece.   They are a stylish addition to any wardrobe ( I know I have one in my own).  They are especially great for new or expecting moms as the one piece nature of the necklace makes for a safer neck adornment for concerned mothers who don’t want their child potentially chewing off some hazardous beads while nuzzling your neck.  They are also great statement jewelry for sensitive souls who can’t tolerate any metals.

See you at the boutique.

Erin

These leaves will be appearing on our Fall pencil skirt.  It is my new favorite skirt and I am super excited to introduce this cut as a recurring staple to the store.

The black and white feather appliqué is a perfect t-shirt for the graphically bold.  The feathers are delicately placed at the neckline of the v-neck.  (this photo is on it’s side)

The new Mystery jacket ($126) with tumbling red tulle leaves (pictured below).

Nature in red glory marching to the water.  I don’t really know what this photo is about I just like the walking red flowers.

Frost on the leaves is coming sooner than some of us would like to think.

The doorway to Fall.

The collection in store offers some fashionable ways to get ready before it  gets cold out!

Kat