When it comes to blouses and button-downs, I’ve never really been into them. They can often be too preppy and conservative, therefore I find myself in cotton tees and anything leather. But that all changed the other day during an extra special shopping excursion in Berlin…
Last week, I shared with you some of my favorite stores and designers I’ve come across during my time in Munich and Amsterdam this month, but I wrote this before even hitting up Berlin…which could be a blog post in itself when it comes to the fashion here. This city has a lot of unique offerings in the fashion department but the one I’ve been most impressed with is Mongrels in Common.
Both a design house and a boutique, you can shop their store while seeing how everything is designed and produced. I thought it was pretty awesome that everything was made in this location yet I could also shop it like a regular boutique. When I first walked in, I saw some well dressed women (which turned out to be the designers/owners) and a lot of silk blouses, but once I actually looked through the racks and asked about the different shirts, I was immediately blown away. ME? Blown away by a button-down? Yeah it happened. Not only is everything extremely well made and fits oh-so-perfectly but it’s the actual closures where the Mongrels really draw you in. Instead of your typical buttons, their shirts have these special vertical pins that just take them to another level. The best part? They come in silver, gold and rose gold and every shirt comes with a second set in the metal of your choice (basically a two-fer!) And some of their designs even use these pins in other ways besides closing up the front of the shirt. For example, one pin connecting the collar in the front or or even a sleeve closure (as pictured above).
And although their signature piece is a silk blouse with these bad-ass pins-as-buttons, Mongrels in Common also dabbles in pants, blazers, and a really cool black and navy silk bomber jacket that I may or may not have purchased (just to name a few). A one trick pony? Not even close.
The only downside is that they’re not carried all that much in the US (thankfully they do have e-commerce) so if there’s any boutique owners out there who have especially good taste, take note (and let me know if you decide to make a buy because I will be your new number one customer).
Look me in the eye (or just look at your screen) and tell me right now these aren’t the coolest blouses ever. Just try…you can’t! They’re that good, right?
If you want to do a little more stalking, you can do so on their website and even shop their online store. You know I can’t do the whole work wardrobe thing but between suits and Mongrels in Common…who knows? I might just get all corporate on you (but probably not).
Images via Mongrels in Common
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