Yes, Virginia

Virginia Johnson is a Canadian fashion illustrator with a fresh, effortless way of dashing her brush across a page. Hasty little strokes become leafy fronds, sketched circles take shape as owlish eyes. Her latest project: designing breezy cotton pieces in the prettiest hand-drawn prints you ever saw. Don't sweat through sundress season without one of her lighter-than-air frocks. Available in Portland exclusively at--mais oui!--The English Dept.

Holiday! Celebrate!

We're back from the L.A. Fall & Holiday Market with a camera full of new clothes for the cold season. The mercury may be topping triple digits this week, but we're falling in love with peppy Parisian knits, European prints, silks in lovely rose and mineral tones, cozy wool coats...here are nine glimpses of what's coming to English Dept. this winter.


L.A. ahoy: Joy on Mulholland Drive

Hi, June!

Memorial Day has passed, and it's officially summer--the season for white shoes, black iced coffee and clothes you don't have to think about. Here are some new arrivals in that category:
One of a kind nautical jersey tops from Supayana--our girl in Brooklyn
Jersey tanks and dresses from Enza Costa (feather-light and functionally feminine)
Sundresses by Elizabeth Dye (she's obsessed with "Stepford-Wives"-meets-South-of-France maxi-dresses right now)
New Thread bridal samples! Some great slinky party styles as well as crisp, perfect silk seersucker. Order these dresses, find a meadow of daisies and get married in it, PRONTO.

Next up: Notes from So.Cal. We're heading to LA Market for the weekend.

The City of Lost Children

Around here we keep pretty interesting company. Lovely dresses from Brazil, little tees handmade in Finland...you get the idea. While some pieces barely make our acquaintance before heading home with someone else, others hang around a bit longer. Some might say they stay long after the party has ended. It's really hard to say why some items hang around. In fact, we're really at a loss, because we love all of our babies equally! We really believe that some great pieces are being overlooked. This entry is the first of a semi-regular series featuring some underappreciated beauties. Pam is wearing Annelore's Sophie top, denim trousers by Development, and the amazing straw weekender is by the French design house April,May. We don't normally reward neglectful behavior, but we'll make an exception here. All of these items are on sale! You know you always root for the underdog anyway.

We'd Like To Thank The Academy...

I was just looking through my archived pictures from the past few months. We never discussed our anniversary party. We had a nice, intimate turnout. After a little more reflection, we'd like to thank you for a really great first year. You have been so supportive and patient while we tried to figure this thing out. We learned a ton from you. We now know that you prefer clothing from lesser known designers, those who do it themselves. You responded so well to the likes of Supayana, Maria Bonita Extra, and Ivana Helsinki that we're inspired to find more like them! Here's to another year. We hope you'll join us!
-Joy and Elizabeth

Summer's new arrivals and SALE

It's that marvelous, mercurial Portland spring-summer, and The English Dept. is packed with special pieces for the season: modern sundresses, clever little tops, nautical knickers, and plenty of silk finery for summer parties. New designers include:
IVANA Helsinki. One of Elizabeth's finds from her trip to Scandinavia--adorable bird-print blouses, sailor-y t-shirts and tanks. Check out the full collection here.
Mon Petit Oiseau. Indestructible cotton separates in cute-as-the-dickens prints.
Supayana. A total underground fashion phenomenon--her one-of-a-kind jersey tops sell for hundreds on Ebay in mysterious hipster bidding wars...is it those Harujuku girls in Tokyo? Designer Yana Gorbulsky has been gracious enough to offer several of her fetching tops through The English Dept...her only store on the west coast. Get a look at her work here. We love it and we think you will, too.

ALSO...we're having a SALE for the Memorial Day weekend...which promises to be somewhat sun-flecked. Up to 40% off on our last sizes of Annelore, Development, Maria Bonita Extra, Mona & Holly and other favorites. There are truly some treasures on the sale rack; come have a look.

A big hand for summer

My summer obsession has always been polished nails. (Actually, it's a year-round obsession, but you don't need to worry yourself with that). I've been polishing my nails since I was a little girl on Long Island. I just feel like I have my act together when my nails are done. To me, there's nothing cuter than bright orange nails with a tank top and jeans. It's the cheapest pick me up ever. And it never goes out of style. Of course, your nails should be super short because Dynasty is no longer taking auditions, k?

The English Dept. turns 1!

Hallo! Next weekend, April 28th - 30th, the English Dept. is celebrating its first birthday. We've packed the store with sweet spring merchandise, and loaded the weekend with several special events: a fashion show, a party and a weekend-long sale! We'd love to see you at any and all of the hijinxs. Happy birthday to us!

FRIDAY April 28th
ARCH RIVALS: Elizabeth Dye spring fashion show
7:30 pm, at the English Dept.
724 NW 23rd Ave.
503 224 0724
it's open seating...and open season.

SATURDAY April 29th
late night shopping, drinks and music
6-9 pm

20% OFF STOREWIDE ALL WEEKEND
('cept bridal, dearies)

We hope to see you. Thank you all for a lovely first year.

Spring is busting out all over!

Hi all...just a short one to show you some recent deliveries to The English Dept. Beachy separates from Mint, Parisian picnic frocks from French company April May, and those promised Annelore photos. All pieces modeled by the lovely Sarah. Enjoy. --J&E

Glorious spring, Annelore and more!

At last, Spring! We at the English Dept. spent the winter months sourcing our very favorite hard-to-find lines from New York, Europe, Brazil and beyond, and we're happy to announce some exciting deliveries and debuts:

Annelore. Designer Juliana Cho, the brains and beauty behind Annelore, is the kind of designer that you discover once in a lifetime. Gorgeous tailoring, original fabrics, and vintage-inspired elegance are her trademarks, and you can sense Juliana's hand in every design. Each piece in the collection has the kind of poise and sophistication that you rarely see in American clothing anymore. Although she only sells to a handful of shops nationwide, she was gracious enough to admit us to her petite atelier in Greenwich Village last fall. We're proud to welcome her spring collection to The English Dept., its exclusive home in Portland. In fact, we love it so much that we have a special offer:

Buy one Annelore piece the week of March 13-20th, and receive a 30% discount on any additional item in the store. Come see it. It's truly lovely.

Maria Bonita Extra. We welcome the return of our dearest favorite from fall. The spring collection is loaded with versatile jersey tops, little travel dresses, and cute-but-chic tailored blouses. These styles go quite fast, so we recommend you visit post-haste to see what's on for spring.

Nieves Lavi. Silk jersey dress. Custom print. It's basically the smartest, most indestructible style combination ever.

Development. The house that Philip Lim founded in 2000 is known for wearably modern pieces that gracefully mix masculine and feminine elements. Now led by Erica Davies and Sue Tsai, the spring collection continues Lim's original vision: "Instead of chasing trends that disappear overnight, I want to create beautiful clothes that have staying power." Did we mention their pants fit perfectly?