What’s a lookbook? Why does it matter? Who even cares?
Well the Hags do, so let’s get into it.

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First off, Abby has been exercising some self-care during the science-fiction nightmare we call pregnancy with a weird orange drink, a relaxing massage, and a manicure. Ooh la la.

Then she yelled at a dumb lady talking through a comedy show and ate a donut like the fucking champion we know her to be.

 

Katie celebrated a birthday we agreed was probably somewhere in the early 30’s with ribs and bourbon and a cozy new blanket scarf. But more important is the new turn-crank popcorn pot of her dreams. Fall 2016 is now called Popcorn Time.

 

Evan went to the Hermès exhibition in Vancouver that was highlighting their handwork and techniques of the iconic French luxury brand. Do yourself a favour and look at some videos of how their goods are made because it will make that price tag make sense.

Evan grabbed a couple lookbooks from the exhibition so let’s get into what the whole deal is, shall we?

 

Basically a lookbook is a fancy way of showcasing a product or a collection or a collaboration for marketing and promotional purposes. It’s basically a mini magazine used as a selling tool. But fancy. And specific. And usually not for the public (sorry, suckers) although more and more are available digitally on brand websites.

Shopbop has a collection of lookbooks that are fun to peruse, like this tiny selection from DVF. Notice how it says ‘shop this look’ at the bottom? Don’t be fooled by the pretty pictures, this shit is all for you to BUY:

 

Evan has been working on his lookbook for his latest collection, Origins, and chats about the process, the work involved, and the story associated with the imagery created. Here is a sneak peek at some of the images that will be in the final digital lookbook, launching soon!

 

Brands use lookbooks to create an image and tell a specific story in order to sell it. Sometimes it is beautiful and sometimes it is garbage but either way it is designed as a selling tool. You might check out a lookbook and love the imagery they create or you might feel skeezy and gross because it sexist or misogynist or just kinda icky (American Apparel we are looking at you a little bit…):

Next time you are shopping online, take a look to see if there is a lookbook to browse. A lot of time and money and energy likely went into making it and it may affect your purchasing habits. If you like what you see, you’ll be more inclined to buy. If you don’t, you may want to pass on that set of stockings or skeezy cotton underwear.

A sideways tangent takes the Hags down a bitch-fest about the Kardashian Klan dominating the September issues this season. Boo hoo.

Line sheets are different from lookbooks but often go hand in hand. They are a tool created for buyers to select different pieces from a collection for their particular store. They don’t get shown to consumers because they are not public information. They can also be beautiful or garbage as well, but these at least have a way more limited audience – boutique owners, buyers, PR people, etc, but not regular Joe Civilians.

Once again, go see The Eye Has To Travel.

Pinterest is a pretty great place to get an idea of what kind of images a brand would use in their lookbook and there are tonnes of places to see more, including brand webpages themselves. Trendland, Coolhunting, and of course brand Instagram’s and Tumblr’s are also good places to see what kind of stories these companies are creating. Check ’em out or whatever.

Obsessions!

After some technical difficulties (not pressing the only button needing pressing) it’s time for our obsessions.
Katie is still on the true crime train with a podcast called My Favorite Murder. It is worth a listen but if you are not into true crime, you probably won’t like it – it is about murder, after all. But if you are as sick and twisted and interested in crazy stories about crazy people, it is definitely a good listen.

 

Evan is obsessed with Julie Houts‘ instagram @jooleeloren, for obvious reasons:

 

Abby is obessed with a new album by local indie group, Tuns. It features three rad Canadian musicians from three rad other bands coming together for a rad new project. It has been heavily on repeat at the Shumka house.

Thanks for listening!
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Got an idea for an episode? Email us at fashionhags@gmail.com, we love hearing from y’all!

Find Abby on Instagram @abbyshumka
Find Katie on Instagram @redbirdsuite, also check out her blog, redbirdsuite.wordpress.com
Find Evan on Instagram @evanducharmestudio & @evndchrm, also check out his website at http://www.evanducharme.com