WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO CREATE A CLOTHING LINE?
Many years of frustration. I have very specific ideas of what I want to wear, and I just couldn’t find it anywhere. I’m not cheap, I’m more than willing to drop some serious cash if I find what I want, but it didn’t exist.
For example, I wanted a great leather mini for YEARS. I scoured the internet and couldn’t find anything that wasn’t either crap or didn’t fit me right (I’m 5’1 with hips that do not lie) That skirt ended up being one of the very first pieces I designed for SISTER.
It took MANY iterations to get the cut right, but now I finally have the piece I wanted for years. In addition, I’ve been a musician my whole life. My look is heavily influenced by classic rock and roll... Not Hot Topic punk grunge and NOT Affliction (which is wanna be rocker meets country IMO). When I was touring it was SO HARD to find stage clothes that just looked easy and effortlessly rock and roll.
I felt like there wasn’t a place for ME to shop.
I wondered where all the classic rock girls had gone? And I figured if I couldn’t find clothes that I LOVED to wear, that other women were having the same issue.
WAS THERE A CERTAIN MOMENT THAT PUSHED CREATING A CLOTHING LINE FROM JUST A DREAM TO A REALITY?
I had been tossing around the idea of creating a clothing line, but it’s a massive undertaking so I was sitting on it. Really I was just feeding myself a whole bunch of bullshit about “not being a real designer” so I could stay safe and not try.
Then One day a friend asked me if I could create a classic rock and roll starter wardrobe of sorts. Much to my surprise, I was able to rattle off the 12 pieces of clothing that were essential for an edgy wardrobe in seconds. Later that day I wondered if I was full of shit or if those pieces would really be as awesome as I thought they would together. I wondered, if women got these 12 pieces, would they be able to throw out the clothes they don’t love but they keep just because they think they have to?
So I created a graphic to see how many outfits/looks those pieces would actually create and realized that I actually DID know what I was doing… so we decided to give it a shot! I thought if nothing else, I can give women these first few pieces that I wish I was able to easily find and they’ll be wardrobe staples for them.
WHY IS LOOKING GOOD SO IMPORTANT?
For me it’s about mental health.
Fashion isn't just about aesthetics and vanity for me. Clothing is one of the ways I lift my mood and get excited about my life. It’s one of the ways I encourage myself. It’s one of the ways I express myself. It’s one of the ways I take care of myself.
When I look in the mirror and I look like I’m about to make the day my bitch, it’s exciting! The truth is, what I see looking back at me in the mirror is important.. but it’s not about how I look, so much as how that look makes me FEEL about me. Clothes have helped pull myself out of many funks, and they’ve acted like my armor when I needed to be stronger than I felt I was.
HAVE YOU ALWAYS BEEN INTERESTED IN FASHION/PUTTING TOGETHER OUTFITS?
Yes. Since I was a very young girl my aunts, cousins, and family friends have been calling me for outfit advice before events, dates, or just when they are shopping in general.
Even back when I was in elementary school when I would answer the phone my aunts would ask “is this 1-800-dial-a-style?!” Just yesterday I got numerous texts from my mom and a friend of mine asking if “this shoe would go with this outfit?” and “tell me why this outfit isn’t working? What am I missing?” And that has always been super fun for me!
That feeling they get when they know the look IS dialed in and they know they look good.. I LOVE helping women get that feeling.