__
Our heart goes out to his family, friends and everyone whose life he touched. We love you, DJ and you will always be a part of us. We will do our best to honor your memory and make you proud.
__
This fundraiser is benefitting DJ’s family to help cover his funeral costs. Please donate what you can or please leave a message with some words or memories about DJ, or please send a message of healing to his family. He lives on through us all now. Thank you for your help.
Fashionista.com: The concept of a house dress is nothing new. Its history, dating back decades, has beenwell-documented. Essays have been written about it; blog posts have extolled its virtues. It hasn’t made a comeback, because it really hasn’t gone anywhere. What has happened is that, as most of the world continues to live in some version of lockdown, the humble garment has been a more frequent subject of conversation (and of quarantine purchases). And so, it finds itself in a spotlight of sorts.Last month, Batsheva released a dedicated line of house dresses — a single short-sleeved, button-front silhouette available in four colorways, retailing for $210 a pop. Designer Batsheva Hay had actually begun exploring the idea of indoor/outdoor clothing (inspired by her neighbors on Manhattan’s Upper West Side) in her Spring 2020 collection, closing the show with her take on the style: a baggy, long-sleeved floral dress that hit just above the ankle. Even though she “loved it,” she says over the phone, “I got zero orders from retailers, so I kind of shelved it.”
Hay wasn’t discouraged, though: She included a velvet riff on a house dress in Fall 2020 that is making it into production, and she found herself coming back to and wearing the original samples. While many have found themselves gravitating towards sweats while in quarantine, they’re just not her thing. “I’m a dress person. I want to throw one thing on. And the dresses I’ve been making for years suited my life then, but they’re not what I want to wear at home,” she explains. That, plus conversations with her 91-year-old grandmother-in-law, reminiscing about the house dresses she and her mother used to wear, made Hay decide to release a new one.
Designer Batsheva Hay wearing (and holding) Batsheva’s house dresses.
Photo: Courtesy of Batsheva
“I still believe in this, but I think it was the quarantine that really made me think, ‘Fuck it, this is the moment,'” she adds.
Batsheva is but one of the latest brands to enter this market of easy, comfortable dresses designed with practicality, prioritizing features like breathable fabrics and pockets. You can find one in pretty much every color, every silhouette, every price point. And they can be a big money-driver.
“Our biggest sales day ever was in December 2019, on the launch of the holiday plaid nap dresses. We launched our summer nap dresses [on July 1] and that replaced December as our biggest sales day ever by six times,” Diamond explains, noting that it’s also a frequent first purchase for the Hill House Home customer.
Amy Lefévre of @lefevrediary wearing one of Hill House Home’s Nap Dresses.
Photo: @lefevrediary/Courtesy of Hill House Home
Though Hill House Home is primarily, as the name suggests, a home company, apparel was on the mind from the beginning: “I really had them in my mind when we launched the company but I wanted to take time developing them,” Diamond says. “It was really this idea that I wanted something that I could wear at home that was super comfortable but that was also really beautiful.”
And customers’ fervor for the dresses has been there consistently. When it dropped its first collection of Nap Dresses two years ago, Hill House Home sold through six months of supply in a day — a trend it sees continue “even when we’re increasing our orders by 10x,” per Diamond. “We can’t keep up with the pace at all.”
Anne-Sophie of @annesophieagp wearing one of Hill House Home’s Nap Dresses.
Photo: @annesophieagp/Courtesy of Hill House Home
Like with Batsheva’s line of house dresses, Hill House Home’s Nap Dresses were born out of the founder’s own love of them. “I feel like I’ve been somebody who’s been waiting their whole life to be cool and suddenly, everybody agrees with me. This is who I am. I am a house dress person,” Diamond says, adding that she’s always had one or two she’d wear exclusively at home.
“As someone who has always gotten so much joy from fashion and clothing and dresses, I’ve always wanted [house dresses] to be comfortable,” she explains. “There’s this line from ‘Clueless’ that I always think about, where Cher is talking about how she doesn’t feel well and wonders, ‘Maybe it’s because my party clothes are so binding.’ Definitely I’m excited that people are in on this thing that we can have great, pretty things that are also comfortable and practical.”
Hay, modeling Batsheva’s house dress.
Photo: Courtesy of Batsheva
Hay acknowledges that house dresses might not be for everyone: “I definitely get comments that are like, ‘This is so frumpy and horrible.’ But that doesn’t dissuade me because when I started making prairie dresses, that was also the response,” Hay says. “There are always going to be people that don’t like it, that just respond to the frumpiness of it. Then there are some who are like, ‘Yes, this is what I’ve been waiting for.’ That’s what I always want to get: I don’t want to do what other people are doing — I want to push the envelope.”
“It’s really weird that something so old and basic and functional and frumpy is pushing the envelope,” she adds. “But that’s the world we live in.”
Nothing says summer has arrived like our family favorite fresh baked fruit half pies. These real fruit pies are made with only the best ingredients, hand-selected from farmers we know and trust – from apple and cherry to peach, boysenberry, strawberry rhubarb and everything in between. Selection and availability varies by market.
Welcome to MNiCards! A small business focused on inspiring moments of positivity and love through hard-copy greeting cards. All cards are hand-drawn, made in Minnesota and ‘MNi” in size. We create quirky, loving, and fun card designs available for shipping, delivery or pickup. More affordable and more unique than what’s in stores. Every card is blank on the inside, so the sentiment is completely your own.
Shop our pages of designs and fill your cart with a stash for all occasions!
About: I’m Adam Hirsch. Founder of MNiCards. I was born in New York, grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and have lived in Minnesota for the last 10 years. Since I moved to Minneapolis, I’ve been on a quest to do something expressive and exciting, while also making a positive splash in the community. After graduating from the University of Minnesota, I began my financial services career in corporate America. I was missing an element of creativity in my day-to-day life, which is when I started to draw. In a world of technology, never underestimate the power of a hardcopy greeting card. I’ve always enjoyed purchasing cards for family and friends, so I thought there was an opportunity for me to be creative and reach the community on my own – that’s how MNiCards began.
At MNiCards, we strive to provide quirky, raw, and fun images that have the power to create a special and memorable moment for you and your recipients. All cards are either hand-drawn on paper or digitally, small in dimensions to reflect a “MNi” feel, and made in Minnesota.
Follow my personal journey on Instagram: @adamhirschj
The Current Sessions:Andrew Bird’s birthday was Saturday, July 11, and in honor of that, we look back to April 2016, when Andrew Bird visited our studio to perform this stripped-down set in support of his album “Are You Serious.”
