PARADE by Neely Shearer

Insouciant, dapper and the cat’s meow were words that designer Neely Shearer used to describe her newly minted clothing line- PARADE by Neely Shearer. During my last trip to LA, I had the opportunity to meet with Neely in her quaint vintage West Hollywood studio to talk fashion and play dress-up. Last year, I was breezing through Facebook and came across Neely’s page, which featured a photo of a model wearing this marvelous ’60s inspired dress with black lace bodice and rich colorful floral print. After I had inquired about the dress, she mentioned that she was getting ready to launch a line… This year, she is officially launching PARADE during the F/W 2013 season, however she is bringing out certain items for summer. Neely concluded that since ‘parade’ is a celebration where people come together, put on costumes and party and that she adores the idea of ‘parading’ around in an outfit; she thought that PARADE would be a fun and fitting name for the brand. I browsed the rack of beautiful, vintage-inspired separates, picturing myself wearing EVERYTHING. From a ’20s style lace semi-sheer frock to a pleated sheer skirt paired with a tailored bustier bra to an amazing pair of high-waist shorts, this easy-breezy collection certainly did not disappoint. The pieces are perfect for dressing up or down and the prints could easily be mixed ‘n matched (and worn to a certain music festival in the desert). I whole-heartedly 100% concur with Neely that PARADE is the perfect name for the brand and her inspiration, which is- “feeling happy, feeling pretty…free…free to be who we want to be in the moment.” When I tried on some of the pieces, that’s exactly how I felt:…pretty…free…confident and ready to turn heads at an event. PARADE by Neely Shearer can be found online and at Stylehaus in LA and Pearl Drop in Venice.