Shameless self promotion: T-shirt edition

Basics are basics, yes but a good t-shirt is seriously important to a complete wardrobe. Yes, it's true, sometimes we all copy each other in fashion, but as a very serious t-shirt snob, I pulled 3 different t-shirts and copied different aspects from each. There was the body of one, the neckline of another, and the sleeve of a 3rd, and then I modified it all over again once the first sample was complete. I sourced some really amazing lightweight supima cotton (basically the best of the best soft cozy cotton), ordered a ton of it (made in los angeles!), had it preshrunk (yes so that when you wash your t-shirt it will not shrink, but just go back to its original shape), and used it to create what I called the perfect t-shirt.

Here are the keys to the fit

1. Rounded out and yes, low cut, v-neck makes this a woman's v-neck t-shirt and not one for your average douchy hipster dude rockin some man cleavage (guys always tell me they love to wear women's t-shirts, they like the fit - until they try mine - these are really for us ladies only)

2. The length crosses the hips so you will never look obscene rocking this basic with some leggings (this was obviously intentional as I also specialize in some rock star leggings)

3. The fit in the body cuts in slightly at the waist so you still have a shape underneath this loose fitting comfy but still somehow sexy basic tshirt.

Want proof? Look who's wearing it

Swimsuit Model Joanna Krupa wears the
Linden Basic Tee in Black

A very pregnant Katie Aselton of
"The League" wears the
 Linden Basic Tee in Black

Katrina Law of "Sparticus" makes it look SO
easy with the Linden Basic Tee in White

Sometimes I really like to have fun with those basic t-shirts and completely destroy them. I hand carve block prints and then work with a soldering iron to burn and distress the t-shirts. If you buy one of these items from any stores, I hand distressed each of them with love and an evil grin while I burn each and every singed whole into these tshirts!

Alexandra Chando of "The Lying Game"
 wears the Distressed Linden Tee in Black

Stella Maeva of "The Runaways" wears the
Exposed Ribs T-shirt in Acid Yellow

And then of course there was the modification of the perfect t-shirt, to create the perfect muscle tee. The neckline is the same, but here is a sleeveless t-shirt that ends just past the waist making it perfect for tucking into high waisted skirts, or perfect for a jeans and a t-shirt look!

Cameron Richardson wears the Linden
Muscle Tee in Black

Eloise Mumford of "The River" wears the
Linden Muscle Tee in White 

Janina Gavankar of "True Blood" wears the
Linde Muscle Tee in White

Grunge Aesthetic

I have no real affinity for country music, nor do I care to rock any western styles, but my two inspirations for Fall 2012 led me to a grunge rock cowgirl.

Initially I had searched for images of 1920's lingerie and antique pistols. The pistols inspired a laser cut leather lace that trims much of the collection as well as some of the rough edges, and the lingerie is referenced in some kimono-esque shapes based on lightweight robes as well as placement of the leather lace. But the surprise addition was a floral print fabric I stumbled on before I started to produce my samples.

The fabric is a double face, which essentially means 2 different fabrics woven together. Each side of the fabric has its own pattern, and each a beautifully muddled floral. I pretty much geeked out when I saw this fabric. It is a little 70s in the color way, but also a little bit 90s in it grungy floral pattern. Perhaps I have mentioned before that my formative fashion years were during the grunge rock years. I've never outgrown an offensive floral print paired with combat boots, and I'm certain I never will. I could not resist it, I had to buy it and knew right away how it would fit into the collection. It wound up defining the look I had created for the season and thus the grunge rock cowgirl became my look for fall 2012

So if you are keeping track, my fashion obsessions are:

- muddy florals
- combat boots
- leather
- obnoxious colors

Decisions

I'm coming up on my 4th round of manufacturing, and I'd like to think i've learned a lot in the last 2.5 years. I've learned why some items sell slower than others. I've learned that buyers are often looking for a deal because their customers are looking for a deal. I've learned that I often have to undervalue some of my pieces in order to put them into stores, or perhaps what I have actually learned there is that things need to be pristinely manufactured in order to deserve their appropriate price tag. All of these lessons are coming into play right now as I decide what to manufacture.

I do not automatically manufacture everything I design for each season because some things just don't make sense. My production runs are small and I manufacture locally so my costs are not really that low. (That said, my prices are significantly lower than those "high end" manufacturers who make everything in china!) Often, I find that the cost to manufacture dictates a selling price way more than what most of my customers would be willing to spend! 

Here are a few examples of items that would never have sold at their appropriate selling price

This silk camisole would retail for something like $200 and it's really hard to wear a bra under it. Would any of you out there pay that much for a silk cami?

This skirt doesn't have such a bad retail price, still winding up under $300, but how many women would rock both the porthole wasteband AND the fluttering layers on their hips. I designed it and I think it is actually flattering, but after working in retail for many years I know far too many women are incredibly insecure about wearing anything that might make them look wider. Any takers on this one?  

This one I am still debating. These leggings are from my fall 2012 collection, due out in stores in just a couple months. The contrast panels on this new version of the leggings are custom designed (by me of course) laser cut leather lace. The laser cutting process is by no means inexpensive and that puts these signature Linden leggings at a retail value of $385. Limited edition or not (there might be a grand total of 50 of these out there should I decide to make them), unless you are a recognized brand name it is hard to get someone to spend almost $400 on a pair of leggings. 

The image above brings me to my point about making a decision. I mentioned once before that I found a machine washable fish leather. It is completely sustainable (except for the part where it has to be shipped from iceland) because it requires only hot water for the tanning process and the plant is situated on natural hot springs so there is no excess energy wasted in heating the water. And oh, did I mention, MACHINE WASHABLE LEATHER! It is scaled and has a beautiful exotic look and also comes in a variety of colors. Where's the catch? It is not cheap. I have had a number of people asking me to recut the original Linden moto leggings (right), but the people asking are referring to the original washed lambskin leggings at a price of $225, but these leggings cut with fish leather may retail much closer to $400 as well. (This also takes into account that i have switched to a way better manufacturer but at a slightly higher cost) But just imagine them in steely grey, or bright red and obviously, black. Would you wear them? Would you pay that price tag for them? I always try to keep in mind that brands like Helmut Lang manufacture leather leggings for about $1000 (yes i know they are all leather and not just partial like mine) and those are not made locally. 

it's time to decide - order the fish leather, or not?  

I'm back, or trying to be

It has been some time since i've written anything at all for this blog and I would almost feel guilty if I had some kind of regular readership, but alas I believe that is not the case as I never post so nobody is really going to stumble onto my blog. That is all going to change! I think, or hope.

Where have i been?
As many aspiring entrepreneurs must do, I have been working a day job in order to pay for the business i so dearly want to succeed. So I work in a store in Beverly Hills. I was only working part time up until december (and when was my last post?) until I got promoted. To be clear I was not interested in being promoted. I was quite happy being an incredibly overqualified keyholder training people to work above me, but my boss convinced me it was the right move and I guess my eyes were filled with dollar signs, because I agreed. So now I am in charge of other people, and in charge of my line, and somehow I am supposed to be social, and involved in family obligations (a sisters wedding quickly approaching and a grandmother moving closer to be near the family), maintain a healthy active lifestyle, eat well, clean my house, and still have time to sleep. So long story short, this will be my outlet for the time being (meaning i plan to whine here a lot) and a place to muse about my current creative shortcomings, bounce ideas off of people who will hopefully some day one day read my blog and COMMENT on it, and perhaps work out the details of opening a Linden store in the (hopefully very) near future.

but so its not all just whining, here's a photo of linden stuff