West Coast Craft is a large maker's fair that's held twice a year and it's the perfect opportunity for someone interested in the slow fashion (like myself) to check out a bunch of brands without having to wait or waste packaging materials with shipping and returning. So even though it was a busy Saturday and SF is an hour away, I got my butt over there bright and early!
The first booth I hit up was the Ozma booth. I've heard of the brand before from Grechen and was very interested in trying out their jumpsuits. However the booth was packed so all I did was feel their fabrics and looked at their clothes on the hanger. My first impressions of their clothing was that 1) a lot of their clothes are made for tall people and that 2) their linen quality was not great. Not that I'm a linen expert, but I've started judging brands by their linen quality because it's something a lot of brands use for their clothing and it's something I have a lot of. Elizabeth Suzann is my gold standard for linen (theirs is by far the thickest and most substantial linen I've worn). The Ozma linen was close to that of Tradlands, which I didn't really like at all (it was super stiff and thin).
The next booth, right next door was the Mohinders booth. I remember a couple people recommending their shoes in the comment section of one of my reviews so I thought why not? I'm wearing a size 8 here in the Mohinders and I would say they run fairly true to size (there's no half sizes so I sized up). They were also quite comfy but in the end I decided to pass because I already have too many shoes.
Next I tried Babaa sweaters, which are cotton sweaters made from Spanish cotton in Barcelona. There's only one size for the cardigan and their rep told me the sweater will relax and start forming and slouching according to your body. The sweaters were pretty cute but for $200+ I rather save my pennies. Plus it's summer and I wouldn't wear something like this for months, so no point buying it now.
Then I went to the Whimsy+Row booth. They're a brand from Los Angeles, that's a lot like Reformation in that they take deadstock and turn it into new clothes. Yes it says recycled on their tags, but after talking to them it's just recycled in the sense that it's deadstock. But I do like their style a lot more than Reformation because it skews more minimalistic and simple. I'm trying on their Flora pants in twill which is their version of the high-waisted wide leg pants. I loved it except I'm trying not to purchase any more pants this year. However, I did pick up their Lilah top in deadstock raw silk and will do a full review of that later once I put it through its paces.
Next I tried Hopp Studio shoes, which I heard so much about from Michelle, so when I passed by their booth, I had to stop by. I loooooved their flats here because not only was the shoe really light weight but the whole sole was bouncy and so so so comfy. Now I know why Michelle loves this brand so much. I'm a 7.5 in these shoes so I would say they run TTS and they're great for those with wide feet like me. I also loved that these flats have a little bit of a platform. Seriously if I was in the market for a really comfortable, work appropriate shoe I would definitely buy these. But as it stands, I have too many shoes and I'm not on my feet all day so I can get away with the casual shoes and heels I have now. Since Hopp Studios make all their shoes at the SAS factory (which by the way is in the US so all these shoes are USA made), you know these shoes are super comfy (because SAS is basically made for old people who you know don't have the tolerance for uncomfortable shoes). I also met the founder of Hopp Studios who was a super nice Asian woman!
Aaaaand I saved the best for last. 90% of the reason I went to West Coast Craft was to try on clothes from Only Child. Andrea has reviewed them in the past and they've been on my radar for awhile now (especially since they're located in Oakland, which is technically local for me). I met Haley, the owner, and she is the sweetest (check out her instagram stories for her try-on videos, which I love)! I went there specifically for the Alta top in eggshell raw silk and at first there weren't any in my size so I was super bummed. But she found some not hanging on the rack and I finally got the Alta top that I have been wanting for awhile. I got them in a XS/S. I'll be doing a full review of them later but you can see me wearing them with my new favorite Everlane pants here. I also splurged on the Dune pants in linen in the color rust. I love these pants because they have the elastic in the back so these high-waisted pants have no waist gap. Plus it makes the front of the pants look super smooth, which is awesome. I'm wearing a size 2R here (in the pic below I'm wearing the dune pants with the Charlie top in linen) but I think I need to size up to 4 because they are super tight on me (and 4 is actually my normal size, but they didn't have any in stock at the time so I went and bought the 2. What I really should have done was buy the 4 online but you know in the heat of the moment...*facepalm*). Hopefully she'll let me do the exchange and then I can do a full review of them once I wear it for awhile. Oh and the linen she uses is good. They're pretty much the same as the linen from Elizabeth Suzann, so Only Child meets my gold standard. I should also mention that the raw silk they use is also of the same high quality as the ones Jamie and the Jones uses. All in all I'm in love with Only Child and I'm planning to get more of her pieces in the future!
In the end, this is what I ended up buying. My limit of 5 items of clothing per month has been blown for June so it will be a no buy July and probably a no buy August. I've purchased a lot of things these last couple months so it's time to take stock of my closet again.
