On-Trend With Hunt Country Designers
On-Trend With Two Hunt Country Designers
From Trending Tenniscore Looks To Garden Inspired Loungewear
Written by Jennifer Gray
Recreational Habits. Photo by Ashley Soong Photo by Ashley Soong
Tenniscore Looks with Recreational Habits
Based in Middleburg, Virginia, Jackie and Marlon Muller are the owners of Recreational Habits. You may remember them from our February ‘21 bridal issue cover story. If not, catch up on who they are on MiddleburgLife. com by searching “Meet Mr. and Mrs. Muller.”
Since launching their clothing line in spring ‘21, Recreational Habits has released several retro-inspired athletic wear collections with an ‘80s fitness club vibe. The clothing can be worn while playing sports or taking a stroll around town. With their newly released line of sportswear, they are crushing the now trending “tenniscore” aesthetic with ultra-preppy looks and comfortable styles. They even shot the new tennis collection locally at the Middleburg Tennis Club!
Co-owner Jackie Marlon shares more about her style and the business.
Co-Owner/Designer, Jackie Marlon Photo by Ashley Soon
What’s your personal go-to summer style?
It’s my first season in Middleburg and it is hot-hot-hot! You will always find me in a cotton dress or our Martha cotton shirt with biker shorts underneath.
What made you start the clothing side of the business?
We were very hesitant to start the apparel side of the business since we had just come out of the fashion industry and knew how competitive and intensive it is! We tried our best to discover products that felt aligned to the editorial side of our brand, but couldn’t find anything in the market, so we thought we’d start with a small collection to see if we could fill the empty space. Thankfully, we have a great audience that loved the product and the first season was a hit!
Do you design the styles yourself?
Marlon and I work together to design the collection alongside our technical designer, Crystal, [who] I’ve known for years. We have so much fun designing each collection and digging into the RH lifestyle of each sport we’re focused on.
Where are they made?
The collection is designed between Middleburg and New York, and produced in North America and also in Asia.
Do you have plans to keep expanding the clothing business?
We are super excited to launch the men’s apparel side of the business with our greater fall ‘21 collection.
Are you sold in any shops yet? Or have any pop-ups happening?
Recreational Habits is sold at the Salamander Resort specialty shop and Matriark in Sag Harbor and will continue to expand our wholesale footprint into beautiful destination communities. Currently, we’re looking for a flagship type location for our business so we can host events, parties, and build a community around our brand.
To shop the collection, visit www.recreationalhabits.com
Photo by Ashley Soong Photo by Ashley Soong Photo by Ashley Soong
Garden-Inspired Loungewear with Beaumont House Design
Designer Julie Abrera. Photo by Victoria Heer Photography
Based in Berryville, Virginia, floral designer Julie Abrera (Beaumont House Design) has expanded her design repertoire into textiles. Inspired by both the garden and her love of travel, her cotton robes and nightgowns are soft, colorful pieces that you will reach for again and again. The fabrics are hand-printed in Jaipur, India by artisans using centuries-old techniques. Since launching her line of robes, Abrera has expanded her collection to simple nightgowns that also work as a chic beach cover-up or an easy summer shift.
We caught up with owner Julie Abrera to get the scoop…
What’s your personal go-to style for the house or garden?
Oh, this is a great question! I love mixing and matching my prints and spend most mornings in a robe/nightgown combination. My garden look is a bit more practical with Hunter boots, white a t-shirt, and jeans/shorts with a colorful bandana. At the end of the day, there is nothing more glam than slipping on a flowing kaftan with some gold bangles and sitting on the cabin porch with a glass of wine. For me, I love the idea of easy pieces that flow and make me feel pretty. This has been the idea behind the collection from the beginning, creating pieces that are easy, soft, and a joy to wear.
What made you start the clothing side of the business?
A combination of nostalgia, love of craft, and florals. I have always been a nightgown girl and fondly remember the soft cotton nighties I wore as a child. They became harder and harder to find as I grew older. On a trip to India in late 2018, I visited a studio that does handblocked prints using vegetable dyes. The technique of hand blocking fabric goes back 1,000 years, using hand-carved blocks on soft cotton. They were able to make a few nightgowns and robes for me using beautiful and colorful prints. I showed these pieces to friends and they were smitten – loving the soft cotton prints. The idea came from wanting to share these fabrics and remembering the feeling of chasing fireflies at dusk as a young girl wearing a soft nightgown.
Seated model in red dahlia robe. Photo by Rudney Novaes Photography. Robes hanging. Photo by Rudney Novaes Photography
Do you design the prints and the styles yourself?
Designing custom prints is on the horizon for 2022. The studio I work with has an extensive library of designs and we work together on creating custom colorways. I’m always drawing garden-inspired prints and have been pressing flowers from my cutting garden for inspiration. As soon as travel to India is possible, I am headed back to work on custom prints, as well as be inspired by the endless possibilities of color and fabrics.
Do you have plans to keep expanding the clothing business?
What started as a small line of robes is now expanding into nightgowns that can double as an easy and chic summer dress. I’ve added a few embroidered kaftans, channeling a 1970s poolside vibe, perfect for late summer or a winter getaway to the islands. Summer dresses are in the works for next year and perhaps a line of lounge pants with a few patterns/styles for the guys!
Are you having any pop-up shops soon?
Pop-ups are always an option and I’ll be at Lucketts Fall Market this October. ML
New patterns are arriving over the coming weeks, as well as a limited edition of hand-embroidered kaftans that should be worn poolside, sipping a gin and tonic. To shop the collection, visit beaumont-house.com/new-products.
This article first appeared in the August 2021 Issue.