SpoiledinLA | New in LA

Designing clothes with your best friend sounds like every girl's fantasy, but for Sarah Woodward Becker and Sarah Cius, the designers of Puella, it's a reality. The fun and flirty line that they start

ed in 2003 (Puella is latin for "girl") is focused on creating comfortable and wearable designs using the highest quality of easy fabrics and prints. The label stays true to its name as the clothes ARE girly without being fussy. And that's a tall order.

Prints are in fact, Puella's specialty. Their inspiration comes in various forms - a swatch of wallpaper, a mother's vintage scarf - no source is off limits to these L.A based designers. The prints then blossom into wearable mini and maxi summer dresses, sexy tanks and extra-comfy t-shirts.

Their line this spring is no exception. The Tahiti-print bubble smock dress bursts with beautiful flowers in pinks and greens making one dream of a caribbean vacation. Another favorite is the Knot Strap cami in Marina whose light blue cross-hatched pattern could easily be paired with cut offs for a day lazing by the beach or could be dressed up with a blazer and jeans for dinner or a night out. The same holds true for most of Puella's pieces - the soft irresistible cotton makes you want to wear their clothes all day - while the chic designs can easily take you from day to night.

Especially exciting for spring are the variety of maxi-dresses Puella is offering. The simple Strapless Maxi dress in White has an ethereal, breezy look while the same dress in the Fuji print has a decidedly bright, flirtier feel in its blue and green tones.

Puella can be found in stores nationwide, but for those of us who prefer to do our shopping from home (or our computer at the office) they also have an online store - puellaclothing.com that is bright and easy to navigate. For the recessionista in all of us, prices are reasonable. Henleys are sold for about 60 dollars while dresses are about 120.

For anyone looking to add a girly splash of color to their wardrobe, Puella is the perfect place to start!

by Natalie Krinsky

4/12/2009