It's Flippin' Friday y'all!

Confession: We love Fridays. We love everything about them. We love that our customers love them. We love that our friends love them. & we love that they infuse people with happy weekend thoughts! In lieu of our Friday giddiness here is a Friday (or any day for that matter) perfect outfit. An outfit that can take you from day to night, work to play, relaxed to sophisticated, all in the blink of an eye, adding of a heel, & sparkle of a jewel.

Cheers! to easy dressing & the temperatures dropping ever so slightly: allowing us to possibly flirt with some of our new beloved fall fashions.

*Don't forget: this weekend only enjoy 20% off your entire fab'rik purchase at all Atlanta locations with proof of following us on either facebook or twitter* Another reason to love the weekend!

Girls Rule... Boys Drool

We've all heard the expression, "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus". And I'm pretty sure all of us ladies could write a book of all the different times you've realized how incredibly true this statement is.

We've also all experienced this: you spend time getting all dolled up for your man & strut out into the living room in your knockout outfit-- or so you thought. He looks you up & down, and says "Where you wanna eat?" Of course, after you haven't gotten the reaction you were dreaming of-- "Babe, you look smokin hot! Love your outfit!"-- you are of course, a tad bit disappointed- practically rethinking your outfit.

A scenario along the same lines happened to me this morning. I was getting ready to head out to breakfast with 2 of my girlfriends & as I'm about to walk out the door my fiancé stops me & says, "You're going to wear those 2 things together? & what is that thing? (pointing at my pseudo-jacket)" There I was feeling super on trend (how do I even explain that to him?) mixing the military/edgy fall trend with the vintage/floral feel & was really thinking I had his this one out of the park. I almost went back to rummage through my closet, but I said to myself-- "Ange, you're not going to see him all day, you like what you're wearing, so just go with it."

So, off I went. When I got to J.Christopher's & met up with my friends, I was so immersed in our conversation of weddings & shopping I had long forgotten about my outfit dilemma. Until, Meredith looked at me and asked, "Whatcha wearing?" I took a deep breath and said, "Ummm.. this new floral Tulle jacket & our Blank cargo pants". She scooched her way around the booth to get a better look & exclaimed "OH my God! I LOVE IT! When did we get that in!??!?!" What a relief! The girls were freaking over my clever combination & loved the jacket!

Now I knew that I had hit a fashion home run.

I've come to the conclusion that guys will never truly understand the oxymorons of the fashion world & that two opposites can really attract. Or that loose billowy blouses ARE cute if you were them the right way & that we don't always have to wear skin tight mini skirts to look "HOT". What if I wanna look "cool"? Then I suppose you have to decide: are you dressing for the boys? or for the girls?

A Bit More Personal...

If you aren't aware that Eat, Pray, Love-- based on Elizabeth Gilbert's best selling novel-- comes out today in theatres-- then you've been living under a rock! One woman's inspiring journey across Italy, India, & Indonesia has rocked souls all over the world.

The book has shifted women's perspectives on marriage, independence, religion, life, etc. In recent magazine articles we've read that some women have taken their very own Eat, Pray, Love journeys and rediscovered themselves.

In lieu of the movie's release today we asked some of our staff & franchisees what their very own Eat, Pray, Love symbols are in their lives. It's so interesting to see everyone's answers! We hope you enjoy getting to know some of us a little bit better!

Cheers! To hoping the movie is as good as the book! Although, Julia Roberts can do no wrong ;)

Dana (Fab'rik Founder):
Eat: Peanut butter ice cream w/peanut butter sauce.
Pray: Praying with the Haitian widows in the tent cities.
Love: Laughing so hard it hurts w/my sons.

Angélique (Midtown Manager):
Eat: Mom's homemade french fries.
Pray: La Savoie, France. & dancing.
Love: My fiancé & our families.

Meredith (City Walk Manager):
Eat: Sweet tea & almond joy.
Pray: My husband & family.
Love: My closet :).

Ally (Forum Manager):
Eat: One Midtown Kitchen.
Pray: Alone time.
Love: My fab'rik family.

Carla (City Walk Personal Stylist):
Eat: Picnic in the Park
Pray: Guardian angel.
Love: A dog's love.

Leslie (Fab'rik Austin owner):
Eat: Mexican food. I'm from TX so that means queso 2x a week!
Pray: Reading, running, & church.
Love: When my daughter comes up & hugs my legs & says "Hi mama", true love in that moment. Oh, & my husband too ;)

Brandon (Midtown personal stylist):
Eat: Italian cuisine paired w/a great glass of wine
Pray: To be the best me I can be
Love: Creation/discovery

Bree (Fab'rik Savannah-- coming soon!-- owner):
Eat: NYC's pasta & pizza; mama's homegrown veggies! YUM!
Pray: The beach! I always find my zen there watching God's masterpiece in front of me.
Love: Family & the special love for my son. No words can describe that feeling you get when thinking of the love for a child. It makes me at peace & utterly content.

Rebecca (City Walk personal stylist):
Eat: Tagalong girl scout cookies & milk
Pray: Being outdoors
Love: Laughing til I cry with friends

Melissa (Fab'rik Richmond & Carytown owner):
Eat: Food & Travel-- no matter where your travels take you, you always want to indulge in the best restaurants, that the little town, big city, or foreign country, that you are exploring has to offer.
Pray: Meditation & prayer-- God is ALWAYS available, even when you can't get anyone else on the phone.
Love: Self worth-- Loving yourself & the skin you're in paves a way in life for you to love others unconditionally.


Love,
fab'rik.

Fall's Big O.

They are topping all of the magazines' top fall trend lists & all of the celebs are prancing around LA and NYC in them. But if you're like me-- a girl who was an avid jazz dancer for 15 years-- you have a hard time swallowing the concept of a jazz-like-shoe for anywhere besides the dance studio (don't even get me started on the velvet leotard trend I saw at market... hmmm).

Alas, I have succombed to the latest haute footwear find. Once I realized how practical they were-- just as versatile and as comfortable as flats-- I just had to give them a try. I have to confess, for only $26 a pop I could really get used to this! It's only August 9th & not even fall yet & I've already worn them multiple ways! You can style them with or without socks, with a cute flirty dress or don them with your favorite cropped pants, shorts, jeggings or skinny jeans to complete your very own very fashion savvy look.

Be the first of your friends to get 'em... because sooner than later everyone will be flaunting this new shoe craze!

J is for Jegging

William Rast $145

William Rast $155

While the 80s hyped up leggings, and the 90s preferred jeans, last fall we were introduced to a hybrid of the two: the Jegging. All of the ladies at fab'rik are HUGE fans of this highly talked about trend & we are commited to convincing everyone to jump on the jegging bandwagon as well.

What is a jegging you ask? It's a stretchy skinny pant but better. With the feel of a legging but the look of a jean: fool everyone who assumes you're wearing jeans when in fact you are beyond comfortable in your jeggings!

The key to wearing jeggings is to treat them just like you would a jean. The best part about jeggings in our opinion is that you won't have to worry anymore about your tops and tunics covering your backside: on most styles there are pockets taking care of all that!

Pair them with adorable flats, badass boots, or sexy stilletos to create a multitude of delicious outfits with the jegging as your key ingredient!

Relax, Just Do It!

What's better than skippin' out on work, visiting fabulous places-- pretty much taking a break from reality? We cant' think of many things-- well, a shopping spree would be nice...

Anyways-- while the act of vacationing, planning a getaway, sight seeing, eating out, etc. is a handful of fun, the prelimenary stages to your excursion process can be a tad bit overwhelming.

We're talking about packing. Every fashionista gets a tad bit overzealous when preparing for their next endeavor and we know just how easy it is to go from perfection to plethora in just a matter of seconds.

We suggest devising a game plan & asking yourself some key questions: What will I be doing while I'm there? How long will I be gone? What are the necessities?

Go ahead and pack your basics: camis, bras, undies (Hanky Pankys duh), toiletries (we love anything travel size), socks, & a basic workout outfit if you plan on hittin the gym. O yea, and pjs! Or not, if you're not into that ;)

What will I be doing while I'm there? If you're going on family vacay with the folks, we don't really think you'll need your Loubous & sexy city dress (but what if there's a party?! you ask-- improvise: bring a skinny jean & a top that can go from day to night by simply adding an accessory. This will allow you to pack less while getting more outfits out of it! (see pic ;)

Shoes. So tough. We're not super great at this ourselves, because come on: you might actually need 4 variations of black heels: strappy, closed toe, peep toe, wedge. But realistically, and federally, there are some weight restrictions we must keep in mind. Go for what correlates with your destination: for the city-- peep toe or strappy and for the beach-- strappy sandal or wedge.
If you know that you are having a nice dinner while you're there, the best and hardest option is to go ahead and plan in advance. Do something easy so that if plans, weather, etc. get in your way your outfit can transition to any given situation.

Hopefully our tips will remain helpful for any of your travels! Also, don't forget sunblock!

Summer Days... Part Trois

Trend #3-- Neutrals

We love us some Stella (Yes-- Artois, but we're talkin about McCartney). Her clever combination of neutrals upon neutrals, allows you to be simultaneously seductive and modest. To the naked eye the various textures create a buff illusion.

Neutrals in all shades can flatter all skin tones: whether you feel more comfortable in a bronze vs. a nude, this is a must-have trend of the summer season in our books!

Rock this popular trend with some distressed denim and create a casual summer look!