Apiece Apart has popped up in our Venice neighborhood just in time for LA’s finest spring weather. The New York-born fashion brand embodies an earthy, grounded and individualistic style that women on both coasts adore.
Style as a means of storytelling is central to the brand’s identity. We love their fashion-first approach to cultivating sustainable style. Apiece Apart’s “high fabric standards with tailoring to inspire confidence, movement, and ease” offers a natural foundation for a modern wardrobe, one which is both refined and highly-adaptive.
On the tail of opening their second retail store, the first for the Left Coast, we asked long-time friends and Apiece Apart co-founders, Laura Cramer and Starr Hout, to join our series on sustainable fashion and the people working to elevate it. Here they are…
Currently wearing…
SH: Our jumpsuits on repeat! I’m pregnant and they are so easy for a growing belly!
LC: Our jumpsuits on repeat too! The Fit Flare Flame-Thrower is my current favorite. After getting the family out the door in the morning, working out and getting organized for the day, it does not leave much time to dress myself – it’s so much easier to dress in a single item. One and done.
My style in three words:
SH: Clean lines in neutral colors.
LC: Clean, cool, easy.
Best tips for shopping sustainably:
SH: Keep remembering why you are doing it – for Mother Earth. Don’t let ease take over.
LC: Buy less and better. With my second child, I bartered for my friends son’s clothing as he’s a year ahead of my son. I have yet to buy a single item!
Recent inspirations:
SH: India! I’m re-reading The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen, an incredible true story set in the Himalayas. Plus, our design team just got back from India. The cultures, the colors, the prints – swoon!
LC: Gjusta Goods in Venice, where we just opened our store. I am inspired by the color stories and how they weave old and new, with housewares and wearables.
My style icons:
SH: A bunch of LA women: Jeana Sohn, Pam Shamshiri, Amanda Chantal Bacon.
LC: Mary Frey.
Go-to uniform/signature look:
SH: Our Merida Pant, our Rib Second Skin and a flat shoe.
LC: Fit Flare jumpsuit, a strong black sandal, and our Cajamarca Straw Hat from Peru.
Fave natural/eco materials…
SH: I adore organic linen, blonde wood and natural fibers such as rush and sisal. Thanks to interior designer, Ilse Crawford, I always try to create a a calm, natural and sensual home.
LC: Washed veggie-dyed linen and the irregular, hand-spun organic cotton that we use to knit our Elena Sweater.
My mission in one sentence…
SH: To act in love… with my work, with my family, with my friends. When you boil it down…that’s what it’s all about.
LC: To promote health, joy, ease and freedom.
Something in my closet I'll own forever…
SH: White button-downs.
LC: Old Levi’s.
Design trend I'm most excited about…
SH: Sustainability – the design trend of putting Mother Earth at the center of our efforts.
LC: Comfort.
Trend I'm excited to see go…
SH: Ahh… Not sure there is one. I’m always looking forward.
LC: I also don’t believe there is one; everything that goes around comes around again.
Most essential accessory (and how to rock it)…
SH: I love a hat… I coil my hair in a low knot, plop the hat on and go.
LC: We had a Peruvian woven cotton shawl from a few years ago that I wear year round; as a chunky scarf in winter, as a shawl in the summer.
Look that will never go out of style…
SH: Being yourself.
LC: Good fitting jeans and a simple tee.
Fave sustainable brands/ designers or resources:
SH: Number one: I adore the podcasts of Rich Roll (The Rich Roll Podcast) and his incredible wife Srimati (Divine Throughline). Together they are making a compelling case for the importance of self-actualization and plant-based living. Then, I love Nature Baby and Ouef organic clothes for my Son – and Pansy Co. for organic cotton undergarments for myself.
LC: Everyday Oil for the body, Butter Elixir Oil for the face, KeepCup for the planet; overall, I try to quiet the “need” pull and not buy that much. My beauty assortment is pretty stark.
Current Mantra:
SH: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. As Oprah said, “The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.”
LC: Jai guru dev: “Thank you to the teacher.” I take it as “Thank you to the teacher, thank you to the mystery, gratefulness above all.” About a year before I met my husband, I went to a thrift store in Santa Fe and found a gold band with “jai guru dev” inscribed inside it. It felt magical. I knew I would meet my love. A few years later, my husband and I used it as our wedding band when we eloped in Santa Fe. We also conceived our daughter there – so it has always felt magical.
