Help me dress like the post-apocalyptic hedge witch of my dreams

December 5, 2017 1:16 PM

My favored style aesthetic is your weird high school art teacher as styled by Ann Demeulemeester. Where should I be shopping (or, more likely, pining from afar) for clothes?

I'd like to start (slowly) building up a collection of comfortable, well-made avant-garde-y items with that super-groovy balance of drapey-ness, asymmetry, and structure that I love, but I'm not quite sure the best place to begin my search. Check out my Pinterest board for more of a visual representation of what I'm looking for.

For the purposes of my mood board, assume price is no object, but if you know of reasonably priced options, I'd be all ears. Would also not be opposed to sewing blogs that make clothes like this, even though my sewing skills are...rusty, at best.

Thanks!

posted by helloimjennsco to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (18 answers total)

Those big drapey styles on your Pinterest board are called "Lagenlook". The linked site has a bunch of different designers in that style. Gudrun Sjoden is another (somewhat more affordable) designer. The color palette is pretty bright though, but there are some neutrals hidden in there.
posted by kimdog at 1:36 PM on December 5, 2017

Expensively, Rick Owens, Philip Lim, and (sometimes) Chloe.
Affordably, Marigold Shadows and COS.
posted by functionequalsform at 2:03 PM on December 5, 2017

Kaliyana. Pricey, but they do run sales.
posted by Cuke at 2:06 PM on December 5, 2017

Seconding Lagenlook as a search term. There are lots of options on ebay if you don't need to try on things first (which is generally fine as the multiple layers + loose waists generally means you can ballpark it when it comes to size).
posted by Mchelly at 2:14 PM on December 5, 2017

The styles look very 1970's to me. Maybe check vintage stores? Forget the wimple, though - even the nuns didn't like them.
posted by Enid Lareg at 2:22 PM on December 5, 2017

You might try Aakasha on Etsy. I bought one of her pieces and it was extremely well made.
posted by OrangeDisk at 2:32 PM on December 5, 2017

I follow a few people with this style on Polyvore. Check out Maggiehemlock, Grimoire Grotto, Niemand, N-Nyx, Bloodmoon Succubus, and Beyond the Wall of Sleep
posted by ananci at 2:37 PM on December 5, 2017

I've never bought anything from there, so I can't vouch for quality, but take a look at Babakud.
posted by jocelmeow at 2:40 PM on December 5, 2017

I've had good luck with Mordenmiss, and the price is right. They sell on Amazon too.
posted by Metroid Baby at 2:41 PM on December 5, 2017

I have a couple of tunic dresses from this Etsy seller that are beautifully and durably constructed, not break-bank-expensive, and seem to dwell in the aesthetic world that you're constructing.
posted by merriment at 4:03 PM on December 5, 2017

I must point you to my friend Helen, who runs Secret Lentil.
posted by stefnet at 4:49 PM on December 5, 2017

Yup, Lagenlook. Lagenlook does contain multitudes, however: One end of the range is definitely "Thunderdome Apothecary," but the other end is something more along the lines of "Artsy Florida Retiree Who is Fucking Done with Bras," and to get there it passes through a "Yayoi Kusama Sunshine Death Cult for Mimes" region. So don't get discouraged if you use "lagenlook" as a search term and turn up images of people in Creamsicle-colored tarp-tunics, or gigantic, aggressively polka-dotted pants. You really are in the right place, and you'll find stuff that suits you if you keep digging.

Folks have mentioned a lot of the key lagenlook brands already. To that list, I'll add Transparente, Rundholz, Zedd Plus, and Prisa. XCVI also has some nice, lagenlook-ish stuff, and while I don't have much experience with their more fragile, gauzy clothing, I can vouch, enthusiastically, for the ruched, poplin pieces that form the core of their line. They are reasonably priced, wrinkle-resistant, stain resistant (I once got bromophenol blue out of a pale gray skirt like it was nothing) and damn-near indestructible.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 4:59 PM on December 5, 2017

If you can fit into Asian sizes and don't mind slow shipping, there are a ton of affordable options.

These two stores on AliExpress are run by the same people: EAM and GUTU. I've ordered several things, and the quality is good - nice fabrics, no issues with stitching/buttons. As with all cheap fashion, synthetic fabrics are inevitable. A step above Zara/H&M quality, though.

And if you want to end up in a rabbit hole of shopping madness, Taobao. Use Google Chrome to translate, image search to find the best prices/sellers, and a buying service like Superbuy to purchase/ship.

Pinterest ideas here.
posted by ortoLANparty at 6:24 PM on December 5, 2017

It seems like they've had a family emergency and aren't currently selling, but idea2lifestyle on Etsy does made-to-measure clothes in your style. I purchased a winter coat from them last year and can attest to the quality.
posted by serelliya at 7:52 PM on December 5, 2017

I'm very much gravitating to this style as well. Here are a few more I've come across: Moyuru, Sarah Pacini, Alessandra Marchi.

No sewing blogs to recommend, but I've been perusing some of the Japanese sewing books out there in search of inspiration.
posted by medeine at 1:00 PM on December 6, 2017

Another search term you might try if you haven't is "Dark Mori". Mori Girl looks tend to be a bit twee-lacy but the Dark Mori stuff intersects more with Lagenlook and weird asymmetric Japanese fashion in the spirit of 80's Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto, etc. Mmmmmm.....Rick Owens.....mmmmmm. So good. So spendy. Want all the things. Nthing the asian clothing places mentioned, as long as you can fit into the very small sizes.
posted by SinAesthetic at 3:08 PM on December 6, 2017

Here's the current lagenlook discussionn on the Stitchers' Guild forum; there has been at least one other previously you could search for. As noted on the first page of the thread, lagenlook actually encompasses a lot of styles, but for those looking for sewing blog, pattern and designer mentions, you may find some really good references.
posted by vers at 3:32 PM on December 6, 2017

All Saints is another good brand for this. Expensive but can be had for cheap on, e.g., Poshmark.
posted by clavicle at 12:14 PM on December 7, 2017