Real Women, Real Clothes: Meet Ashley

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Photography by Jeremy Lee

jeremyleephotography.com germyinsocal.com

Real Women, Real Clothes

I’ve always wanted Linden to be an accessible brand. The goal has always been to create fashion forward clothing with an edge that is easy enough for the average person to mix it into their wardrobe. You can be bold and daring with it, or dress it down for everyday wear.

This past Saturday I invited some friends to my studio for a photo shoot. Four wonderful women showed up, each a different body type, age group, profession, and each with her own personal style. I asked them to pull from my racks (anything available for purchase from www.LindenCA.com) and style themselves as they would if it was their own closet. I helped when I was asked but I tried to give them as much control as possible.

They all did their own hair and makeup, wore their own shoes and accessories, and the only pro in the mix was friend and photographer Jeremy Lee (http://jeremyleePhoto.com/ http://www.germyinsocal.com/) Talented as he is, he repeatedly brought out the inner super model of each girl.

After 6 hours on the roof of my building on a hot Los Angeles day, we wound up with some beautiful photos and what I consider a successful experiment. Over the next week or so (Jeremy has a lot of photos to filter through) we will introduce each girl and each outfit she put together. We are so excited to share this with you.


Much love,

Jennifer Lynn

Pre-Spring Clean

I try to keep things simple in my closet, but sometimes I have unnatural attachments to inanimate objects. Shoes for example. I have some shoes I purchased years ago, have worn once, but don't have the heart to give away. Like these pink Anne Klein shoes I bought at least 5 years ago at Macy's, on sale for $25, that I dubbed "barbie shoes". They are hideous, I bought them mostly as a joke, wore them once, as a joke, and yet continue to hold onto them. Someone please explain this. Or these Miss Sixty boxing high tops? Seriously love them, worn them maybe 5 times, also owned at least 5 years.

I'm getting rid of the barbie shoes for sure, but as for the other half dozen shoes in my closet I love dearly but never wear, I'm giving myself a challenge:

If I do not wear them once by June, then off they go! Same goes for old purses, wallets that are falling apart, and t-shirts.

At a certain point, I just start to feel weighed down by THINGS. Not to mention, new Spring 2013 stock is almost ready and I have to make room in my closet for all of it!

Now to assemble a box of donations, someone else will surely love these barbie shoes.

Screens

As I make my first real effort to begin constructing something from Fall 2013, I decided i wanted to create a print. I really love having a hands on approach to my work, so I've decided to take a stab at screen printing for the first time since college. I'm not that old, but its definitely been a while.

I'm only posting a few photos since i'd hate to give away all the details pre Fashion Week, but proof of my arts and crafts are below. Just know that my fingernails are stained black, and not from polish, but from screen printing ink. It looks pretty cool, but i do need to brush up on my skills.

painting the resist onto the screen
(That face in the background is from
whatever I had on in the background
while I applied the resist. )

print setup 

LA Fashion Week

Wow, the last few weeks have been overwhelming! Last thursday, October 11th, 2012, Linden had its first ever LA Fashion Week show with Project Ethos. All the necessary drama ensued, including models dropping out the morning of the show, 10 designers backstage but 1 outlet to plug in a steamer (in the ladies room of course), and the terrifying quick changes happening between shows. Will the girls make it to the runway on time? YES! Instead of inundating you with stories of stress and terror, just enjoy these photos of the fruits of my labor. I could not be more thrilled with how this show turned out. A huge thanks to my models, Project Ethos, and everyone who attended. Make sure to check out the new online boutique at www.lindenca.com and enjoy a 15% discount off your next purchase with code: ProjectEthos to celebrate this exciting LA Fashion Week debut.

Also check out the lines of fellow exhibitors and new friends, Lawren Michele and Collective26. Those girls put on some good shows!

Hero: Elsa Schiaparelli

Day 3 at the Pool Trade Show in Las Vegas and I have been inspired by a fashion history lesson I basically exploded onto my unwilling student/helper/roommate to take a moment and just acknowledge the greatness that was Elsa Schiaparelli. I wont word vomit the same lesson on all of you, so instead, pictures:

She was just amazing. Thank you for shocking pink, lobster dresses, shoe hats, and so much more.

American Psycho

Just over a month ago I quit the full time day job and just about 18 days ago I decided that without a single sample ready, I would show a Spring 2013 collection at Pool TradeShow in Las Vegas. So what did I do? I buckled down and worked my freaking butt off to produce one of the best collections I've ever put together.












The only way to do that after being burnt out from the day job was to have some kickass inspiration. I looked to one of my favorite authors and one of the most well written and disturbingly visual books, American Psycho by Brett Easton Ellis. Without going into an epic analysis of what I think the book means, I took a couple of different ideas from the main character, Patrick Bateman.

1. True identities vs how we want to be perceived

2. Open wounds, both literal and metaphorical

3. Piecing together an outward presentation of perfection while internally struggling with the imperfections

4. A nod to the Patrick Bateman wardrobe








In less than 3 weeks I have 23 pieces, a look book, and have debuted the collection here in Las Vegas today!

Have a look at some of the looks from the shoot!