Slow fashion for the busy modern woman
Crush is a female founded business .
It is a modern brand of beautifully handmade accessories for women.
Set up by Nicola Rodgers through her love of how fashion accessories can transform an outfit and how that makes you feel about yourself. Making special the simplest pair of jeans or refreshing a long loved dress. The range includes belts, scarves, ties and jewellery that flatter all shapes and sizes. Made for women who are not slaves to fashion but want to stay stylish even when juggling their busy lives.
Crush is designed for women who know that little changes in what we wear, and who we buy from can make a big difference to how we feel and the world we live in. The accessories are all made by hand, a slow fashion business with very little to zero waste in everything that’s made. Crush is designed for a lifetime of wear. All Crush accessories compliment and update your existing clothes, and make your preloved and vintage clothes uniquely yours. Crush makes the most of what you already own, who you already are and will bring out the best of your style. The Crush range focuses on great style, high quality and handmade craftsmanship. Giving you a beautifully made, modern accessory, that you will love wearing again and again as it becomes key to the way you dress and think about dressing. We’ve all thought looked in our cupboards and thought ” I need some new clothes”. But it’s not just what you put on that makes you feel great, its how you put things together that make you feel great. A small change, a different combination, a small addition can make all the difference. Don’t waste your time on things that won’t make you happy and confident, and if it doesn’t compliment, highlight and refresh you and your beautiful clothes then let it go. This is a slow fashion love affair here. A love affair that has you in the centre of its attention. A true everlasting crush thats starts and ends with you.
Crush is designed by Nicola, who as a former pattern cutter for high end fashion brands became self employed after becoming a parent to her daughter. The brand eveloved from the childrens wear label that she started when making clothes for her little girls. Named Little Troll, Nicola is Norwegian and this was her nick name for he daughter, the brand in its 2nd season introduced the concept of adding a collar accessory to refresh and extend the look and life of kids fashion. This collection was taken by Selfridges Department Store in London and the brand became the iconic stores first ever kidswear Pop up Shop. As a busy mother at the time Nicola experienced the importance of looking after yourself and how there was often little time or money to pay attention to yourself or your clothes. Short on time and not a fan of fussy dressing, when the accessories gained a lot of interest, the decision was made to concentrate on those only in order to produce ethically and affordably and still produce high quality fashion for the busy modern woman.
New clothes are fabulous, but when you know your style, when you know who you are, a new dress style every season just doesn’t appeal.
Accessories are for life.
Everything is designed and hand made here in the UK in the crush studio by Nicola. Beautifully wrapped so it reaches you in the same great condition as it was in the studio. Crush uses biodegradable packaging everywhere that still looks great. After all it doesn’t have to cost the earth to look and feel great.
A little affordable luxury everyday for you.
Crush accessories are exclusivley available to buy on-line through this website.
Love Crush
CRUSH MAKES:
THE SKINNY: A slim neck tie designed to be worn with everything because it looks great with everything! Wear as a traditional tie or as a scarf. The skinny is very versatile and fashion focused. It is super slim, unlined and hand made. New fabrics are added to the original ones seasonally in limited editions. Zero waste fabric is left over when making these scarf ties. Another great reason why they are such a joy to make.
TRADITIONAL TIES: Designed to be worn with shirts for a smart look or worn with your favourite T shirt for a relaxed funky look. These are cut and hand made in the tradional way, with a soft canvas lining. Each one is entirely hand made. The only waste fabric is the off cuts from the tip shaping, and these are all kept and used as tailors mending patches and backings.
BELTS: There are currently 3 styles. The signature Cloud belt comes in a variety of colours and will complete whatever your wearing. The embroidered belts and D ring belts are a must have looking just as good on the guys as the girls, so you’ll end up having to share it with your boyfriend. New belt styles are added seasonally though so dont worry! The perspex Cloud belts had 2 small cut outs that were going to be waste but are now a beautiful design in there own right, they have been turned into the gorgeous Stem earrings in hoops and studs.
EARRINGS: Gold and silver hoop earrings. Perspex hoop and stud earrings designed from the waste left over in the belt production. A portion of these proceeds go towards Refuge and Mind Charities. 100% of the Mother and Child for Refuge earrings goes to charity.
COLLARS: In 3 styles, designed to change or define the neckline of any top or dress. So little but so clever.
If you’d like to know a little more here is a word or two from Nicola:
Hi, my Name is Nicola and I’m the designer of Crush. I trained and worked in London for a number of years as a designer and then pattern cutter for high end brands. I started designing and making accessories back in 2012 while I was a childrenswear designer. The idea was to get more out the clothes as kids grow so fast and kids fashion has a really quick turn over! Eventually it evolved and developed into the womens range of accessories which now includes belts, skinnys, ties and most recently scarves.
The ethos is to offer women accessories that enhance the clothes we already have, transforming them into something even more fantastic. Without breaking the bank they are there to make you feel and look good. We all lead busy lives and wanting to look and feel great should not have to take forever or break your spirit! You won’t have to squeeze your self into these and there is no chance of growing out of them. These accessories are for everyone regardless of shape, age, skin tone or hair colour. In fact there are so many colours and styles to choose from you’d be hard pushed to not find something that suits you! What I like most about the accessories is how versatile they are. The Skinny is the best seller because its so versatile, affordable and comes in so many great fabrics. It is a take on the traditional mans tie and was developed from the tie range. I wanted to offer something more relaxed and fashion forward, but like in a neck tie, still defining the neck. So, the traditional tie was slimmed down to the max, softened by making it unlined, and finished with angled ends to complete a really sharp and yet softly casual look. This new feminine shape was then put into gorgeous prints and plain colours and named the Skinny. It’s simply a relaxed, feminine, version of a traditional tie that you can wear any day or night. Its not as relaxed as a scarf or as formal as a tie, it sits comfortably in between and I love it. It’s what makes it the best seller for Crush. A great accessory to have when you want to add a little colour or pattern to your day, an accent if you like. There is also no right or wrong way to wear it, no rules, thank goodness! Just tie as a tie, or simply loop it once like a scarf, or wrapp around and around super short like a neckerchief, or layer with a necklace. They even look good around your wrist! Ive been told by customers how many compliments they get when they wear one, which is just the nicest thing to hear. You feel and look great however you style them I think. Wear them casually with T shirts and jeans, add edge to a shirt or jumper with one, rock up your look for a night out at a gig or add sharpness to a floral dress. However, wherever, they are an instant refresher and a really easy day to night switch.
The ties are a little bit of hand made luxury with style and comfort meshed together to create a beautifull accessory that will last you a lifetime. The guys should not get all the ties so these are just for us ladies. They are a borrow from the boys!
The collars I designed to transform the neckline of anything instantly. They come in 3 styles and lots of gorgeous fabrics.
The buckle belts bring your outfit to life. They are really tactile and super comfortable to wear too. I hate belts that dig in so these had to feel as though they were not even there! There is the glitter belt which looks great added to say black jeans and ankle boots for a gig night or added to a dress is really transformative, there are pastel shades for a more subtle look. Wear them with soft knitts, dresses, jeans, they are really versatile, funky and feminine.
The Elastic belts are a wardrobe must have. Sharp looking but soft wearing, real understated cool. Plus they keep your trousers where they should be!
All the accessories are designed to enhance or change your outfit styishly and quickly. They are made to enhance who we are. They are a really easy way to re – vamp your look and add a little extra style when feel like it.
All the accessories are cut, pressed and finished by hand in a studio in Hitchin. Specialising in just accessories allows the time to work at a more bespoke level creating a little affordable luxury for everyday. I also offer custom made too for when someone has something very specific in mind.
On a more serious note I hoped to produce something that would make the most of what we aleady are and already have, not use an enormous amount of fabric if I could help it and create work for skilled women in an environment that is really supportive. A studio environment allows that and I hope the business will grow and grow to create work for more skilled people.
I really hope you like the crush hand made accessories range. I look forward to bringing out more and more, making the world a happier place one accessory at a time !
xx