drink me, eat me, fit me

So a very tiny, very lovely woman came in today with her slightly less tiny daughter, and when I stepped into the dressing room, to fit her, and show her how a long dress can NOT overwhelm a littler person, it was like I was Um, Alice, after she eats too much of the 'makes you bigger cake' in Tim Burton's recent Alice in Wonderland. A giant person, in a world of smaller people. Now those of you who have met me know I'm not Um-like, and pretty much avoid cake, but do actually have questionable Mad Hatter hair. But the whole point of this is that if it fits, if it's made for you, you can wear a lot of stuff that otherwise seems off limits. Both she and her daughter were amazed how weightless the clothes were, how great they felt one,and how a little tweak here and a little nip there makes all the difference. The same goes for people with Um-like bodies. But none of it matters if the dress is a big yawn-it's got to wow you. Not every dress does for every person-me, I love all the stuff I make, but when the right dress meets the right person with the right fit-now THAT'S cause for a party involving more than tea.

That Fresh Feeling

Nine weeks until showtime-time to get crazy busy. Time to make the new ideas real, get the samples finished,fix what isn't right, and take a long look at everything I'm saying. I can't imagine what I'd do if I couldn't re imagine clothing twice a year. Not doing a collection, not rethinking everything, not coming up with something new-it would be a rather joyless existence. But so would sitting in a shop with nothing selling. There's nothing like that moment, when someone says-"Wow! I love that-it's just what I needed" when it didn't exist a few months ago.The relationships I have with 'the regulars', the people who know they can come to me, and get something fantastic, that easily works with their lives, but makes everything new, is a fabulous way to spend your day. But when someone who has never been in before stands there astonished saying "you made all this?"-that's the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

Jacket, you're dead to me now

So it's only the first day of June, and already, it's time to take stock. What sold, what didn't, what you loved and thought was great idea, but sits there unordered, what you thought was nuts and sold through the roof. Welcome to retail. Or at least retail at my place. My husband just made me watch a few minutes of Jersey Couture. My eyes bled. Now I'm in the middle of making the Fall samples, deciding what to produce, what to take a risk on, what answers the needs of the women who walk in the door everyday, and maybe don't know what they want, but more what they don't want. And i hope I'm more on the side of knock your socks off than "Oh, that's nice", said with a yawn. But I also hope there's still some hope for the cool red eyelet jacket that hasn't made anyone swoon. Yet.

The Idea Farm

"Where do you get all these ideas?" I hear that all the time. From everywhere. From everything. From daily life, as in, I overslept this morning, have a terrible headache, and had to get ready for a 10 hour work day in minutes. Answer:a gorgeous green hounds tooth wool jersey. From customers:"My son is getting married, I can't find anything that doesn't make me look 60 and tired, or like I'm 60 trying to look 25" Answer:a silk chiffon and stretch lace gown that weighs less than a pound, and looks like a million buck (for a whole lot less, I may add). From the fact that's it's been freezing in May, and I had no great jacket to grab every morning that made sense.Answer:I'm working on it.. From the smart, modern, thinking grooving Massive Attack show I saw on Wednesday.Answer: Come see my Fall 2010 show at FTC on September 24th, but in the meantime, keep checking my blog and facebook page for updates as we make the samples for the show. And in the meantime, pop into the store for some of the great pieces that make that 5 minute morning dash easier.

It's dark in here....

Okay, half a foot of snow, grey skies, colder than anyone wants to be-this has put me in a blue mood. But that's not bad, because I'm talking actual blue, the color. As I line up the collection, baby, it's dark in here-in the world, in our brains, and on the racks. I am not really sure spring means pink and flowers anymore. Which is not a bad thing in my eyes. The reality of what the customer wants? She wants a black suit. A grey one if she's feeling frisky. How do I know this? Because she walks through the door, and says "I need a black suit". That's the trouble with not being in an ivory tower-you hear when the people say what the people want. And I listen. Except..I..uh..I didn't make a black suit. I made a slate one. Actually, two. One with my new Weenis sleeve. Do you need to ask? Can I tell you, it came as a shock to me,at first, but I can never look at elbows the same way again. No one wants to see your elbows. Even Angelina Jolie's, but I'm not 100% sure on that- let's google her elbows, but I'm thinking, there's other parts of most of us we ought to highlight. I like having the whole arm out there, a full on gun show, but then again, not everyone wants that. Yes, the people speak on that, too. But luckily, we live in a democracy still. So despite the dark, the future is very bright in the end.

she put in her thumb, and she pulled out...

PLUM! Lots of plum. And slate, all sorts of blues, grass green, and grey that won't make you think of your grampie and grammie, and lots of metallics. Yes, super cool is the word for spring. Who wouldn't want to be super cool? It all looks so new, and fresh and USEFUL. Superfine lightweight wools, fantastic silks, and some great metallic linens, and drop dead evening looks. I'm terribly excited. Come see what the fuss is all about on March 12th, and don't forget the sale is going on all through January and February, but things are flying out the door, so come in soon!

It's that time again..

Time for new ideas. Frankly, if I couldn't do new ideas all the time, this would be no fun. But by the same token, the ideas from "the beforetime"-they're still good. I wore them today, and they worked. I looked great, I crouched around the floor fitting coats and skirts on people, I hemmed, I hawed, I went out,and people said_that looks fabulous". I started at 9am and ended at 9pm, and all was good. Now, to do it all over again, but make it better, fresher, newer.So this season, I think we all need to be super cool. In our heads, our bodies, our outlooks. Armored to deal with the stress of everyday, but not look worn down by it. No one wants to see you like that, let's be honest-"I saw Jen, she looks like crap-things must not be good-she looks tired". Well of course I'm tired, who isn't? But I'm thinking if I put on that plum sheath with the cool asymmetric pin tuck stitching I'm working on, tired would not be in my vocabulary. And if I donned that iridescent blue raincoat with the black moc croc trim, my inner outlook forecast? Quite bright and sunny. The sad truth is what we wear-it colors our day. Somewhere between false pastels and black holes, I'll find a new way of living. See it all at the show at Fairfield Theatre Company on March 12th. Tickets go on sale soon. In the meantime, you know where I'll be.