Our New P+P x Elisamama Collection!

We are so thrilled to introduce our newest collaboration: a collection of colorful, pattern-filled dresses with Elisamama! With upcoming warm weather travels in mind, we wanted to create a lineup of four versatile, easy to wear dresses: Medallion print shirtdress, Palm print tie front dress, Abstract print short sleeve shirtdress and Swirl print puff sleeve caftan. These dresses will be great for sunny getaways over the holidays, as well as all throughout the year (and they’re perfect for our friends living in warmer spots like Florida and Southern California who like a rich color palette without looking too wintery!).

We’ve been big fans (and wearers!) of Elisamama’s dresses for years now, and loved working together to create these versatile styles. We absolutely adore that Elisamama’s origins are rooted in a commitment to serving women, with all of the designs hand made by amazing female artisans in Nigeria. Elisamama’s founder Fisayo Che, who named the company after her own daughter, Elisa, started the brand out of a desire to create joyful, stylish and comfortable garments for other “mamas,” while bettering the lives of fellow Nigerian women through work opportunities and income.

Our mutual love of color and pattern is celebrated throughout the collection, with a mix of Ankara print fabrics sourced from female suppliers in the local markets in Lagos, as well as the custom-dyed red and white swirl fabric that uses a hot wax stamp method to create the pattern and then the fabric is hand dyed in a process called Adire. The fabrics used in the collection are all cotton and machine washable, and the shirtdresses feature our favorite natural wood buttons.

We love the broad size range of the collection, which is available in XS through XXL. Gen is wearing an extra small in all styles shown here with the exception of the red and white swirl caftan, where she is wearing a small (the only sample available during photography, but she’ll wear an extra small in the production version). The red swirl style has a great detail inside of the neckline at the shoulder (shown in the photo above) to keep the scoop neck up by buttoning around your bra straps.

We love the versatility of the ivory and brown palm print dress; the top can be worn with a bow or knot in the front (also great for adjusting to different bust sizes), as well as in a wrap style that provides a little more coverage in the chest area and ties in the back. And you know we can’t resist a great shirtdress, so we had to include two versions in the collection: the blue, red and gold medallion print with long sleeves, and the burgundy and cornflower blue abstract print with short sleeves. Both shirtdresses come with self belts, and we also like styling them without a belt or by adding a favorite leather belt.

The full collection is available to shop now at elisamama.com! We can’t wait to see you in your new dresses…be sure to tag @pencilandpaperco and @elisamamaofficial so we can share your photos!

Photography by Jessica Amerson