spruced by marlene

When I grow up, I want to wear dresses like these every day. That’s what I thought when I first discovered Thone Negrón a couple of years ago. It’s the label by Berlin designer Ettina Berrios Negrón (by the way: when I grow up, I’d like to wear that name). She originally wanted to start her own brand after she finished her fashion studies. Then she discovered that her city had so much good fashion to offer that she focused on Konk instead – still Berlin’s first stop for homegrown design talent. But the idea of filling a store with her own designs stuck and after launching in a small space on Schröderstraße, she has now moved to a bigger location on Linienstraße in Berlin-Mitte.

It’s the kind of store I’d have walked into even if I didn’t have an appointment with the designer: thick grey carpet, fine furniture, a selection of home accessories that you can buy, and of course her collection, of which there aren’t many pieces, but the presentation is all the more beautiful. Ettina designs blouses, shirt dresses, gowns and bolero jackets that would be fitting for cocktail hour in an English manor house: Romantic but not girly, elegant and strong. In fact, she does get a lot of the rich silk fabrics from England. On the other hand she’s completely dusted off the concept of evening wear. Because I probably wouldn’t wait for the right opportunity (or manor house) to get one of the dresses. No, for something as exquisite as the Skarabeus Dress, I’d invent an opportunity. The blouses and bolero jackets I’d just throw on with jeans, like Ettina, who wears her own designs most days. Her current favourites are the Bridge Blouse with a Liberty print and the Duplex Blouse in Ecru Caramel.

What I like so much about Thone Negrón is that while new collections are added every year, the old ones don’t disappear after six months. It gives you time to think about what you want to get, fall in love with a piece and then have it tailored to your measurements. I already know what dress I’m getting when I’m back in my usual shape, the Willow Summer Dress in Azure.

Thone Negrón | Linienstraße 71 | 10119 Berlin | 030/53 16 11 16