We are so excitied to be leaving for New York on Friday.  It is the March show for ENK Children’s Club and the biggest show of the year.  It is very tough competition, top designers in children’s wear and all of the major labels are there.  In fact we are right next door to Kenneth Cole and J Brand Jeans!!

We are very proud of our Fall Collection that we have rightly named the “GILDED CAGE” it celebrates the young princesses of europe, such as Marie Antoinette, Anastasia Romanov, Katherine of Aragon, and Lady Jane Gray, and reveals the cages in which they lived their lives.  It is a collection of deep color contrasted with frosted tones, glimmering jewels, simple beauty, and rich textiles.

We are posting a movie we made for ENK we hope you enjoy it!

Earnshaws February 2011 Issue “Silver Spoon” Fashion Shoot Featuring fiveloaves twofish “Oh Marie” sweater coat and “Duchess Tee” for Fall 2011

We are thrilled that pieces from our Fall Collection were used in the fashion spread for Earnshaw’s FALL Preview.  Our “Oh Marie” Sweater Coat and our “Duchess” Tee are must haves for the fall.

Okay it is Thursday January 27 and we are completely snowed in at LaGuardia Airport New York.  Our flight was on Weds at 10:50.  Upon arriving at the airport we are told that our flight was cancelled but that we could go standbye later in the day and for sure get on the flight for 6 am thursday morning.  We take the notion of camping out at the airport in stride.  We decide that we will tough it out in the airport trying to get on the last plane out at 9 pm which was now delayed until 1:15 am.  At about 5:45 all fights out are cancelled including our new flight for  6 am thursday.  Now, we are truly stuck.  It is a complete and total blizzard outside and when we look up at the boards all you see is cancelled, cancelled, cancelled in red down the rows.  We go back up to Southwest to discuss what flight we can get on now.  We are told the only option is 7:25pm thursday night to Chicago spend the night in Chicago and catch the 7:10 pm flight out of Chicago, however Chicago is also cancelling flights.  Have you ever had to deal with a Southwest agent in uniform, I do not know about where you are but here in New York they are low talkers and mumble–so not only is this guy telling terrible unwanted news he is mumbling to boot.  We can barely hear him and then acted annoyed when we keep repeating what??

Our only comfort comes from a small little food stand in the food court. Where a very passionate man makes fresh omelets on sight; it is not only the only decent food. It is a pleasantly healthy and fresh and served by a man who loves his omelets like we love our clothes. But two days of omelets is enough….PLEASE let us get of NY TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

With the unfortuante news understood we decide to try and find a hotel, by now the decent ones around the airport are all booked.  We start going down the list end up at Red Roof Inn in Queen’s Chinatown.  It actually was  clean bed and clean bathroom so it was fine.  We walked through the snow and found a family owned japanese restaurant that actually was great.  We thought at least we had a yummy dinner!  The owner of the inn even drove us to the airport this morning, We actually would recommend that place if you get stuck at the airport.

So here we are at the airport for our second day.  The guy at the deli knows me by name and the coffee girl has Katie’s order down.  We will for sure get on our flight unless it starts snowing again.   We really miss sunny San Diego and cannot wait to get off this coast!

Holiday shopping in Columbus, Ohio

© AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato

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Move over New York. When it comes to shopping, everything’s bigger in Texas. Forbes’ first-ever ranking of the best U.S. cities for shopping takes a look at the real numbers behind what makes retail sparkle in the biggest cities in America. One look at the top 10 shows that NYC, long thought to be the best city for style, sophistication and putting your pocketbook to work, is nowhere to be found.

What? Why? How? The truth is, in deciding what makes a city “best,” it all depends on what you’re looking for.

America’s Top 10 Cities for Shopping

1. Houston, TX

2. Dallas, TX

3. Baltimore, MD

4. Columbus, OH

5. Indianapolis, IN

6. Philadelphia, PA

7. Phoenix, AZ

8. San Antonio, TX

9. Jacksonville, FL

10. San Diego, CA

See the full list of America’s 25 Best Shopping Cities

When it comes to shopping, everyone has their own style. Some of us are in-and-out. We know what we want, we know where to find it and we’d like to be on our way, thank-you-very-much. Others are in heaven strolling through well-lit retail centers, window shopping to our heart’s delight, even if there’s nothing we “need.” And some of us are on the hunt for a bargain—if it isn’t on sale, it’s not on our list.

In compiling our list of America’s best cities for shopping, we took the interests of all types to heart to find the urban centers with the best combination of options, ease and affordability.

Of the 525 major shopping centers in the country’s biggest cities, there are nearly 257 million square feet of gross leasable retail area, according to data provided by Esri, a geographic information systems firm that tracks the leasable area of major U.S. shopping centers of more than 225,000 square feet. Of that, nearly a quarter of the retail space (87,879,057 square feet) is in the Lone Star state, more than explaining how three Texan cities landed in our top ten cities for shopping. Like their football and BBQ, Texans take their shopping seriously.

Houston comes in at No. 1 one the list. “Houston might be a big city, and sure you can spend days buying up the shopping malls, but for me the best thing has always been the boutiques that are somehow both 100% Southern and completely chic,” says stylist Kate Barash, a Houston native now living in Los Angeles.

Barash, who describes her own fashion sense as “date night feisty,” shares her two favorite Houston stops for shopping: 310 Rosemont (1965 W. Gray Ave.), where she stocks up jeans from trendy 1921 and Seven For All Mankind. She also scores pieces from Milly and James Perse; and Lot 8 (6127 Kirby Drive), where she finds “the best L.A. designers without the Los Angeles inflated prices.”

If one-stop shopping is more your style than hunting for boutiques in humid Houston, take a drive to Texas’s biggest mall, the Galleria, which boasts 2.5 million square feet of retail pleasure.

Dallas, No. 2 is dwarfed by its southern cousin in shopping malls at only 28 locations according to Esri, but its over 16,000 retail stores in the city more than compensate. Like Houston, a Galleria mall is the epicenter of retail in the city, but Barash describes Dallas as “more urban” and its shopping style follows suit. Dallas (200.227) also has a higher price index than Houston (195.165), knocking it down a few rungs from the top position.

The rest of the top 10 is filled out with surprises like Baltimore, San Antonio, San Diego, Columbus and Jacksonville, and a few towns who’ve long been proud to make retail a tourist draw: Philadelphia’s outlet center Franklin Mills, for example, houses over 1.5 million square feet of retail and even has hotels on-site to lodge bargain shoppers, and Castleton Square Mall in Indianapolis, Ind., is the biggest in the state.

Another surprise, Phoenix, Ariz., at #8. It may be another steamy city for shopping, but its large number of shopping centers and retail stores (over 11,000 according to the BLS) make it an ideal location for a shopper looking for options. Don’t get stuck on its desert location. Phoenix boasts retail choices that range from Gucci to Cartier at its upscale Biltmore Fashion Park to a surprising six Walmarts within city limits, (second only to San Antonio and Charlotte, with seven each) A 2010 increase in sales tax keeps the city out of the top five contenders for most wallet-friendly, but the presence of so many Walmarts speaks volumes for its thrift. For a city of just over 1.5 million, that’s a whole lot of Walmart.

This season has been an intersting shopping experience.  Because of the design house I do not make it to the mall very often but I did have some Holiday gifts that I had to get there.  I realized what a pain the mall is.  First of all at this time of year finding parking is miserable and I refuse to pay valet at the mall.  By the time I find my parking space in tin-buc-two I am already a bit grumpy.  Then I proceed to get a coffee and am faced with a line wrapped around the corner.  After my coffee I am faced with the sales girls that are done, have no more patience left and if anyone asks them if they have a small they may crack.  Not to mention the fellow shoppers that have already cracked.

But I have a solution for all of this–Shop Local and shop fiveloaves twofish.  We have plenty of parking, so that won’t be a problem, we have wonderful coffees at Chi Chocolate, and of course our sales girls are thrilled to see you and the fellow shoppers are relaxed and happy in the very inspiring atmosphere.

We will be open mon & tues 20-21 and will close for christmas on the 24th -Jan 2nd.

Buy her a truly unique holiday gift and support your local designers shop fiveloaves twofish

Hello Ladies,  

Are you ready for December?  It is the month of non-stop eating, gift wrapping, decorating, and of course the all-encompassing shopping!  Some of you are really organized and are probably sipping some wine celebrating the fact the you only have one more gift to go, some of you feel pretty confident because you started a week or so ago and got a lot done today-”Cyber Monday”   And then there are those of you who have yet to begin (that’s me by the way!)  Do not stress, start with the girls, come down to fiveloaves this week, where there is plenty of parking, the gifts she really wants with out the grumpy sales girls or shoppers, gift wrap included,  and of course the best lattes in town at Chi Chocolate.  Give yourself permission to have fun shopping this Holiday–Shop fiveloaves!!–

Friday Dec. 3rd from 5-8 is our Friday night Liberty and this friday we are accepting coupons–can you believe it!  Anyway print out our email bring it in and get that fashionista off your list!  We have headband gift sets that will surely make your gift the favorite, skirt and top sets, and of course the very sought after “sari skirts”

Other Holiday Events to put on your calender are:

Dec. 3rd Holiday Night

Dec. 11th Holiday Fashion Show at Liberty station’s “Christmas Holiday” approx time is 4-4:30  come and see all of our holiday looks and what  she wants under the tree.

We are open Weds-Sun and remember we have plenty of parking and the best lattes in town!!

fiveloaves twofish Celebrate Color and California Style

fiveloaves twofish

fiveloaves twofish was started 5 years ago and is flourishing in the world of custom fashion design for women and girls. Founding designers Heather and Kit are proud to showcase California-dreamy designs that encompass a girl’s whimsy, with a bit of refined sophistication and a touch of funk.

Using high-end jersey and woven fabrics, fiveloaves twofish has been well received by the fashion industry. The San Diego-based brand is striving to help school-age girls develop a strong fashion foundation, based on elegance and laced with fun. Every design must pass the critical eye of its most opinionated customers, with each style being tested by young girls. The designers say they will not go forward with a design unless it is embraced by the clientele they serve.

The creations fiveloaves twofish unveiled at the ENK show brought rave reviews for their fresh originality. Off-the-shoulder tees and dresses made from top-quality fabrics were most popular. The company hopes to empower girls to strive for individual fashion — not simply settling for a shrunken down version of women’s designs, but developing an individual style that is uniquely their own!

To see and believe how your business can multiply with fiveloaves twofish, feast your eyes on www.fiveloavestwofishclothing.com

Our Holiday Collection for 2010 will debut in the Design House on Nov. 5th!!  It will be a night of Fashion, Fun, Modeling,and of course great Shopping.  Nov. 5th we invite you to be the models for fiveloaves twofish!!  Come and Model your favorite Holiday Look–Get your hair “Runway Styled” by our Stylist, partcipate in a true “Fashion Shoot” with our Fashion Photographer, and Learn to “Strut the Runway” with a professional Model!! This will be your night to live the life of a fashion model!!

Please call the design house to reserve a time slot for this very exciting event! 619-523-1024 or post your rsvp!

Fiveloaves Twofish is looking for your best and worst fashion do’s and don’ts. For example, some people don’t wear white after labor day. Others don’t wear striped ties and striped shirts toegther. What clothing paradigms do you live under?