Brooklyn Royalty - Fashion Week Launch Party

Independent label Brooklyn Royalty is collaborating with killer website Brokelyn on a new apparel collection that is set to launch during September 2011 Fashion Week. The launch party will be Friday, September 16th from 7:00-10:00 PM at Mission Dolores, a great bar and event space at Fourth Avenue and Carroll Street. The men's and women's tees & tanks being launched will be sported by models and also available for sale to the public.

In keeping with the Brokelyn ethos, nothing will be over $20 and as part of this inaugural launch, each shirt will come with a package of neighborhood discounts available for those sporting the Brokelyn collection. There will also be delicious drink specials, fashion week-related prize giveaways, and free temporary tattoos if you want to blazon yourself Brooklyn pride (at least for the night...)

Discounts Include:
* 2-for-1 beer or coffee at Flying Saucer on Tuesdays
* 2-for-1 drinks at Bocca Lupo after 10:30 on Friday and Saturday nights
* 2-for-1 beer at karaoke Wednesdays, MikNic Lounge
* A free one-bite appetizer at St. Austere restaurant in Williamsburg
* And way more than we can list here!

To contact Brooklyn Royalty designer Bob Bland, email brooklynroyalty@gmail.com. You can also reach Brokelyn founder Faye Penn at faye@brokelyn.com. Mission Dolores is located at 249 4th Ave at Carroll St.

Grupo 134 - Spring 2011

The hipster vibe meets an old English (as in England... not the malt liquor) feel - including an older bearded man who is either famous or they were really trying to push the bum aesthetic further than anyone in Williamsburg is willing to. The clothes were in a muted palette of tan, cream, white, grey, and black. The stylistic choice of a bowler hat is not my favorite; especially as it has been repeated on every single model. There is a good use of layering, even if the clothes look worn out, although the guys look bored and dirty more than anything. The ladies come out in a similar aesthetic but here it seems to have some direction. Light weight fabrics flounce down the runway and the girls look ready to hit the street in the summer heat. My personal favorite look is a cream silk jumper with short-shorts in a dark polka dot. And unlike their gentlemen counterparts, we are seeing a bit of color on the ladies, with coral colored tops and accents.

Another older man comes out and walks the runway for good measure (this one is shaven and more rocker-chic) then the fashion is amped up! The mens and women's clothes are both sleeker and, at least for the boys, chicer. It seems that now we have gone from day to night- where the proportion of black in the ensembles makes a bit more sense, even if it is supposed to be spring. I am sure that it doesn't hurt that it seems like they have saved their better looking (and better walking) models for this section of the show - since apparently quickchanges weren't an option. the dark black outfits on the ladies are brightened up with white stripes to add a nautical yet dramatic feel to them.

The video art piece projected throughout the show was very well thought out and well tied into the show; that is, until the unfortunate Greenpeace ad at the end. Stupidly and unnecessarily politicizing, it almost makes me dislike the whole collection even though there were a few worthwhile garments.