Similarly, ever wonder the amount of work it takes to establish a lifestyle brand. It's not really about going into a store and seeing a hanging picture of Nantucket above a bowl of oddly colored seashells and then determining, this brand is all about New England and sailing. It is, rather, about acknowledging a tradition for a founding belief that a particular culture of people bound by activity, location or status deserves a kind of homage, if you will. There has to be a certain amount of confidence and contentment with a lifestyle brand; a kind of innate proud inclusion that says 'all that comprises this lifestyle deserves to be showcased solely for what it is and stands for'. The selling of that confidence, that freedom, that curiosity to preserve what's being heralded, be it of grand status or cult status, is what draw people in.
So sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of fateful ship named Trovata. This ship's journey began in 2002 from a rowboat berth, but has since grown to luxury liner dimensions that now includes womenswear. Like a well written film or the plot of a dog-eared novel, Trovata's CEO John Whitledge started the label as a kind of sidekick to his seaside, mildly preppy, exuberant college life. The label seems to have grown due to the unabashedly honest approach to clothing that it embodies; easy, comfortable, fuss-free clothes that afford the wearer to just 'be'. Its first retail store in Newport Beach, California continues to promote the brand as more than just clothing as well. It creates an experience through selling vintage magazines, found objects and even develops vintage film. It's almost an induction, if you will, for the patron to understand what creates the thoughts that drive the people of this informed yet 'chilled out' lifestyle. There is something intelligent about Trovata clothing and the way the designs challenge a plaid to be more than simple, push a lived-in blazer to have treasures just for its owner beyond a modern fit and call for fabrications to pull out the luxurious side of understated chic.
For Fall 2011, Trovata still tailors with that soft live-in hand but not in the way of the shabby chic. The collection stays true to its American vintage inspirations and seemingly offers a remix of the kind of treasures one finds when they go rummaging through the racks of a small seaside vintage bazaar. The cozy over-washed tees scream layered comfort while wonderfully double layered tees offer up deceptively appropriate layering without bulk. There's a lived-in washed element to the jeans and chinos that seem über-casual and when paired with trim, superbly cut plaid shirts and svelte rustic outerwear seem harmoniously balanced. What Trovata continues to showcase and is probably one of their nicest elements are the little details that seems just for the wearer to know about like coy piping against cheeky inside jacket linings, the decorated waistband tab options to go sans belt on non-dressy trousers and their comfy gossamer lightly lined knits that make reversible a plausible option.
Perhaps Trovata can pull from the stories of the mile-wides and seasides yet thrive in the metropolises because it offers what many cities (and labels) are losing. It preserves what it is from stitch to snip. That's a story worth wearing.
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