Perle Mer - Dreamy Dresses For Dreamy Ladies

A long time ago, when Venice was much more rootsy and you knew pretty much everyone, I had a friend named Ruthie Cadenhead, who was not only my favorite barista at Abbot's Habit (after my brother, Paul and our pal, Merlin of course), but one of my favorite Venice girls. Time marches on and things change, but Ruthie remains one of my favorites ... only now she lives in Boulder, Colorado - a town that she says kind of feels like old Venice. I missed Ruthie, and wondered what she was up to, and found out that she and her sister, Emily, are running a beautiful fashion label called Perle Mer, and now their business is one of my favorites too.

Ruthie sent me the Perle Mer "Butterfly Dress", which I wore to the California Superbloom one day, and I don't know if I've ever had more compliments ... like constantly, all day, and since over the photos. I thought I'd chat with the girls to find out more about them and their company, so everyone could know all about the ladies behind the dress.

The butterfly dress in particular was inspired by their late Grandmother, Clara Burgess (who they called "Girl Dumpy"). She had amazing style, and would travel the world collecting prints, and the butterfly print was a scarf she had picked up in the 1950's. Mrs. Burgess sounds like a fascinating woman to grow up being inspired by, with friends like the Dalai Lama, and a fantastic wardrobe that she would let the girls play dress-up in.

Ruthie and Emily were born in Malibu and would go between there and Palm Springs with their cool hippie parents, always running around in nature on a lot of land. The sisters were super connected, and shared a love of vintage thrift shopping, as well as the great outdoors. Once grown, Ruthie left for Feather River College to study more about the outdoors, while Emily headed to Paris to model and grow her collection of prints and fashion. After school, Ruthie came to Venice and that's when I met her at Abbot's Habit. The sisters began talking about doing their own fashion line, and after better learning fashion structure and sketching (Emily is the designing woman, Ruthie is the business woman ), The Daughters Of The Revolution was born.

The Cadenheads got their line into Planet Blue in Malibu, and then Paris Hilton wore one of their DOTR dresses when she got out of jail, and those photos (this was pre-what social media is now) quadrupled their business overnight. That was crazy, and even crazier when Japan became their biggest clientele. That went on for six years, and then the big Fukushima earthquake happened, and big orders were cancelled. The Daughters Of The Revolution decided to sell the company, and go their separate ways. Emily designed for other companies (Planet Blue, Zara, Wild Fox), and Ruthie learned more about the business of fashion, moved to Topanga, and got into the cannabis business, where she met her boyfriend, Tom - which is how she got to Boulder now.

Now both sisters saw a gap in the fashion business, and wanted to create a new line that would be both super sustainable and eco-friendly (as fashion is in the top five of all polluting industries), as well as offer something for every shape and size. Emily had a baby daughter named Perle ... and they thought ..."Perle of the sea ... Perle Mer!" and that became the name of their beautiful new line in 2017.

When you talk to both Emily and Ruthie, you find that they are extra sincere about being a green company. They are using natural dyes, made from sources like oranges, pomegranates, turmeric, wild tea, avocados, and flowers ... all right outside the door in Ojai, where Emily now lives with her family. Very hands on, Emily is experimenting with hand-dying while her child naps, in an earthy situation that sounds like the ultimate dreaminess to me. "Your skin is your largest organ, so you should care about what you put ON it, as much as what you put IN it," says Emily. To that end, all their fabrics are natural and biodegradable, as well as being classic pieces that will last, and are timelessly designed, so you don't have to run out for a new dress every season. "We need to be conscientious about what we consume ... what practices are you supporting by buying what you buy?" Not only are these dresses stunningly gorgeous, but you can feel good inside your body and mind for having chosen them. You can truly tell that these pieces come from their hearts.

The sisters decided that they would like to sell their work only through their website, so that they can communicate directly with their customers, and have that more personal connection. Emily hand paints over their Instagram photos, creating an advertising space as dreamy as their nature goddess dresses. I keep using "Dreamy" because that is the word that instantly leaps to mind when I see - or wear - a Perle Mer creation. I think I might even walk differently, as the dresses make you want to kind of twirl or sashay as you walk along. I LOVE them.

I think most women will, as they are designed to fit all body types, to be adjustable, and for you to feel great in them. "A woman's body is like the moon, constantly shifting and changing, waxing and waning, and these dresses are created for that," explains Emily - and she's right. Inspired by the nature surrounding her, as well as her Grandma Burgess' style, Emily is designing with the important things we bring into our lives in mind. I believe this mindful design is not only innovative, but absolutely necessary these days when we're trying to be kinder to our planet. These creations are ethically sourced, using minimal waste, bringing substance and meaning to each work of art piece - and if I can support a beautiful business that is doing just that, I'm all in.

Catching up with Ruthie, we agreed that the Venice with the sense of community, the knowing everyone, the niceness, the welcoming, the encouragement, the artists, the gangsters, the surfers and skaters is still here - if a little harder to find. Ruthie was back for a quick visit and a slice of salad pizza at Abbot's Pizza, and found that even though techies had replaced a lot of the formerly smiling, friendly faces ... "Venice is the coolest ... I don't want my sweet Venice to be taken over by the monsters." None of us do, and that is why we support, promote, and tell the stories of the sweet ones, doing wonderful work.

You can support the wonderful work of Perle Mer at Perlemer.com

Superbloom Splendor!

With all the rare rain Southern California has had lately, you knew there was also going to be a rare wildflower Superbloom - and People, it is here! And it's only the beginning ... !

I'm kind of a wildflower dork, and I'll go way out of my way to see a natural phenomenon - and so will my brother, Paul (Also an awesome nature photographer, so I'm double lucky), so a day trip was planned for a Sunday drive to Lake Elsinore, where I'd read was the spot of the moment ... and I had read correctly! You can see the flower covered mountains right from the 15 Freeway, and sure enough, the closer we got, the more backed up traffic became. We didn't even care though, because you know what? I'm STOKED that a whole bunch of people still care about nature and will get out there to appreciate it (even if they don't really deserve it, as I'll address shortly). It's special.

We wanted to really get into it, so we weren't going to settle for snapping shots from the shoulder of the freeway, and waited in the traffic line to find a parking spot at the trail head of Walker Canyon. It's not really a true nature park, I don't think, as there is no one around handling things. A couple Port-A- Pottys have been brought out to handle the huge influx of visitors to little Lake Elsinore, and there was an ice cream truck smart guy there, but that was it. The hills were crawling with nature lovers, but the higher up and deeper in we went, the more space to explore and photograph this natural wonder we had. It was truly spectacular, and THE most impressive wildflower display I've ever seen in nearly half of my life in California. And the big flower spots haven't even started yet! This is going to be some Spring!

Yesterday was also Daylight Savings first day, so we had extra time to explore the absolutely surreal colors bursting out all over. Some of the trails were pretty steep, and my boots were slippery, so it was adventurous also ... which I dig. Every photo we snapped was impossibly beautiful without doing a thing to it. The bright, almost hunting outfit orange of the state flower California Poppies was dominant in this area, with ridge after ridge exploding in the citrus palette that must be seen to be believed. Purple lupine and some other little tiny purple ones were also everywhere, with yellow and white blooms for contrast ... and it was all simply breathtaking. In one case it really WAS breath-taking, as both my brother and I got lightheaded when standing up. One of our new flower friends from the trail gave us a banana, and we realized we didn't really eat in our haste to get to the beauty. There are still good people, People!

There are also idiot people, and it must be addressed that several idiot jerks decided to leave their bright blue plastic dog waste bags along the trails - just thrown there to mar the total majesty that we were witnessing. Had I seen it in action there would have been words - which no one wants on such a beautiful day, but ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! Let this be a warning.

I also saw several seemingly clueless parents thinking it was adorable to let their kids pull the flowers to make little bouquets - literally teaching their kids to vandalize nature. I'd be like "Um, you know, I don't think you're supposed to be picking the flowers" (because I couldn't help it), and I'd be met with a look like I was the obnoxious one. Wow. O.K. There are no rangers or anyone enforcing anything, so it is a bit of a free for all, and you have to hope people get it by now, but nope. Maybe someone will read this and be like, "Oh, we're jerks" ... but I don't hold out much hope for these clueless, selfish sorts ... or now their kids. Blah.

ANYway, you can't let a few bad apples spoil a glorious day, and it was a real joy to see all the elated faces everywhere. Families taking their Christmas photos. People getting engaged, and married! Babies laughing. Senior Year photos. Many, many international visitors (I'd say the majority. Flower love worldwide!). Old couples holding hands and canes to get up the hill. I saw so many people taking selfies that I had to intervene and offer to take a real photo several times ... it was worth it to know that this beauty would be seen in its glory ... and maybe then the world will care more about taking care of it ... Maybe?

The sunshine came in and out so it was kind of a moody lighting deal for serious photographers, but my little phone camera took all of these, so it was obviously hard to take a bad photo. I can't wait to see my brother's real camera photos (though I'll have to - he's a perfectionist)! There is going to be serious nature photography coming at people all Spring long, if these hillsides keep this up ... we were honestly going "WOW!" "LOOK!" "Oh my goodness!" and just gasping aloud all afternoon long. Everyone is saying "The Hills are alive!" - and we actually were compelled to sing that song out loud. Had to. "Climb Every Mountain" too, as it felt like we did. People seeing our posts aren't even believing it's real, but I assure you, it is. Between our unreal sunsets, ocean waves, and these wildflower blooms, it really is a big reason why we continue to love and live in California, despite the real hardship it often takes to do so. Beauty prevails.

I'm so looking forward to exploring the other flower fields as their blooms open up and give us reason to rejoice, and remember that THIS is what should be important. All the people climbing those hills yesterday are better for it today, and so is everyone who sees their photos, and knows that this kind of natural beauty still exists. The smiles on everyone's faces said it all ... and it was free, nothing but time and energy spent. The Earth was free to do what it naturally does. WE were free to roam and ramble on.

Someone told me there's a girl out there, with love in her eyes and flowers in her hair ... 

I heard that beautiful and classic Zeppelin song  when I was a little girl, and I knew in my heart that I would live here someday. Now I've spent almost half of my life here in California, and yesterday I felt exactly like the girl in the song. I hope you'll get to feel that too (or what the guy that was appreciating her felt)  ... while it lasts. Going To California!

*Thanks to Paul Gronner for snapping photos and Perle Mer for my butterfly dress!