Introducing the Edit: The Curated Collection by Alley Bees
Updated: Sep 9
There are too many things on the internet, truly.
There are thousands upon thousands of bags, shoes, coats, and weird little accessories to sort through. Most of them are terrible, but every once in a while you'll see something that makes you stop and say, "wait, this is really cool, and I kind of need it..".
The problem is that they're few and far between and hard to find - and that's why I made The Edit. The Edit is not a giant catalog, nor is it an endless stream of whatever happens to be trending this week. It is simply a collection of sourced items that I think are really f*cking cool.
I spent weeks looking for the first 14 pieces for this launch. Scrolling through suppliers, comparing factories (literally zooming into their facilities on Google Maps to see the vibe), working through pricing and distribution, and asking myself whether something was actually wearable for people other than myself.
For each piece, I thought about what I would pair it with, whether other people had access to the pieces that I was thinking of pairing it with, where I would wear it, and whether I would still want it in my closet a year from now.
I want your existing wardrobe to feel better
I don’t think most women need an entirely new wardrobe every season. In fact, I think that sounds exhausting. In almost every case, all you need is one interesting thing that changes the equation.
Take The Marty zebra coat.
On paper, a zebra faux-fur coat sounds like a statement piece, and it is, but it can also live a completely normal life. Throw it over workout clothes on the way to the gym, wear it with trousers to the office, put it over jeans for dinner, or wear it over a dress when you’re going somewhere that requires a little more drama. It goes everywhere and adds just enough interest to make you feel extremely put together.
The same thing applies to The Runaround Ballet Sneaker. They’re slightly unexpected, but incredibly easy. They go from office to farmer's market effortlessly.
Unfortunately, for now, my models are AI - but rest assured that these clothing choices were thoughtfully chosen by a human (me).
Then there's The Sunbeam Platform Boot. I know, yellow platform boots are not going to be for everyone, and that’s okay. But platform heels are also one of fashion’s better tricks. Because the platform under the front of your foot offsets some of the heel height, your foot isn’t pitched forward at the same dramatic angle it would be in a traditional high heel. Translation: you get all of the ridiculous height and impact without necessarily feeling like you’re sacrificing your feet to the fashion gods - while you look cool as hell.
Interesting, not incomprehensible
I want The Edit to live in a very specific place: just outside your comfort zone.
I don’t want to sell you things that make you look at yourself in the mirror and wonder what happened. I want you to put something on and think, "Oh. I didn’t know I could wear this," and feel like an absolute queen.
The pieces I choose should be interesting enough that someone stops you and asks where you got them, but wearable enough that you don’t have to reinvent your entire personality around them. The idea is that you should be able to bring them home and immediately start trying them with things you already own. And then try them differently next year..and the next year..and the one after that.
Sustainability is also about keeping things
I talk a lot about sustainability because I make clothing from reclaimed textiles, shop secondhand constantly, and have spent a large part of my life thinking about how clothes are constructed and how long they can realistically survive.
But sustainability is not only about buying used; it's also about buying less disposable stuff. I don’t want this to become a place where you buy something because I told you it was cool for three weeks and then forget about it in the back of your closet.
The intention is for these pieces to earn their space in your wardrobe and you should want to wear them. You should want to keep them and keep discovering your personal style while working through new ways to wear them.
That is why I am being very selective about what makes it into each collection. There are only 14 pieces in the first Edit for a reason. I wanted the ones I would actually tell my friends to buy, and that I would buy.
With The Edit, I’m asking you to trust my eye.
I’m the person who will spend hours looking for the one strange, perfect thing that makes everything else you own suddenly make sense again. Because, ultimately, you don't need more stuff. You just need better stuff, and sometimes you need someone else to do the digging. I've got you.
The intention is that The Edit will drop seasonally and if you'd like to receive updates, you can follow me on Instagram for now. Maybe one day I'll make a recurring newsletter (you probably saw the pop-up that it's coming; you can totally also sign up for it there), but I haven't quite made it that far. One step at a time (in my new Love Bites Boots).
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