its one thing to be admired by the millions of fans who fell in love with the toddler-sized olsen twins during the peak of full house. another, for those who became avid collectors of their kid movies and fox family channel awfully acted made for TV movies. after full house's debut back in 1987 mary kate & ashley olsen's undeniable cuteness skyrocketed the shows success and their own personal futures filled with dollar signs and mega-success. the blonde-haired, blue-eyed twins were mini moguls by the time they reached their teen years with a hit television series, movies, books, dolls, a clothing line, beauty products and everything in between being marketed with their munchkin faces and billion-dollar names intact.
the funny thing is, for those who saw their most recent movies such as "new york minute", which hit theaters worldwide back in 2004, its safe to say that these girls don't exactly have a whole lot of talent in the acting department. aside from the slogan, "you got it dude" and their super cute 5 foot nothing, 90-pound physiques, their ability to product worthwhile films came to a screeching halt and the twins decided to seek careers in other spectrums of life. after all, there was not going to be any oscar nomination coming their way unless they.... found a way to buy one.
after enrolling in nyu and spreading their wings worldwide the dynamic duo began getting a lot of media attention for something that came natural to them: their unique, sensational sense of effortless chic style. sure the two had designed some fashion lines that hit the shelves of walmart and targeted tweens and teens, but these "fashions" had no more spunk or enigma than the average $10 hanes tee or pair of simple levi jeans.
as the ladies grew up and their sense of style began to transform into near-genius levels they combined their powerful minds and began to structure and design two new high-end fashion lines. these pieces were to be intricately designed by the two and really for once be garments that the girls would actually wear and have even ended up on red carpets being rocked by some of the entertainment industry's finest ladies: beyonce is fan, lauren conrad has hit many a-list events dawning the line, fashion tycoon heidi klum loves the way the clothes make her body look, vanessa hudgens & jennifer garner have faced off battles for best dressed lists on in-style's website, and even british fashionista sienna miller hit elle magazine's style awards in a funky elizabeth & james designed frock. these girls have hit the jackpot. talent-wise anyways, they've already got more money than god.
from elizabeth and james (named after their other, less-successful siblings) the olsen sisters decided to take their iconic style from the shelves of walmart to the top of the market and create a super chic line that is far more about who've they become as adults than who they've been and most known for.
it's almost impossible to some up their individual style in a sentence or two. since they've ditched their adolescent matching outfits the two sisters have each evolved into two, very different, styles. mary kate never fails to embody the superhuman bohemian goddess that she is. she's eccentric. she's glamorous. she may wear 10 frumpy goth rings at once and mix vintage with high-fashion , but she always manages to pull off her sort of "avant gard" silhouette. ashley has backed away from the homeless bo-ho chic look and really become her own glamorous, classic-self. she always appears to be a little more put together and is less likely to experiment with funky dark rare fashions that might end her up on a worst-dressed list in some silly tabloid.
the two have certainly separated themselves a great deal in the last two years. they conduct interviews separately and even spent two years studying at one of the most prestigious universities in the country. ashley studied architecture and mary kate studied photography, but one place they always saw eye to eye at was: fashion.
their new line the row features a variety of perfectly constructed classics. they don't worry about experimenting with new innovative finds, rather they stick to the few timeless pieces that never went out of style and try their best to create them without error. from swanky blazers to stretchy leather leggings and even $300 cashmere tee-shirts, this line has reached the title of best-seller at high-end retail store bergdorf goodman.
people no longer care about who is the designer behind the collection; in fact the consumers rarely even realize that the power duo is in fact the ones designing their clothing, rather they see a flawless piece of clothing that they really like and make the purchase based off of that and that alone. the fancy french seams and well-cut tailored pieces have allowed this minimalist collection to succeed with a net-earning of over $10 million in the first year alone. recession, say whaaaaat?
the plush over-sized fur coats have sold out and been hitting the streets of new york city worn by manhattan's elite fashionistas. unlike the past signature lines mary kate and ashley are extremely involved in the entire process from start to finish of this new line. this is them. you can see it from simply viewing the collection. it screams olsen!!!
the color palette remains very simple and sophisticated. think blacks, whites, creams, grays, and the occasional hint of red. mary kate admits that the row was "her sister's baby", but she did everything she could to help design the line. she added her own individuality through over-sized man pants. the two both really like to mix and match simplistic pieces and overload on the accessories.
the new york times even recently wrote an almost out of character mushy piece about the seemingly compelling line. the row was designed as clothes designed by "magical millionaire pixies" and that it cannot be improved in anyway because,
"They're perfect."
