I’m still taking August off from writing this newsletter full-on, but I haven’t stopped working and there are things I need to tell you.
Like, that the best-selling Trip Jacket is finally back in stock. And that I made the Pier Shirt in white in even more sizes (smaller, as per your feedback, thank you). It can be hard to resist the magnetic pull of fall fashion when we get this deep into summer, I know. But guys, it’s hot outside and it’s going to stay that way for a while (raise your hand if you know New York City in September). We may be ready for fall, but are we actually wearing it?
I often wonder how much emphasis I should put on the fact that I operate outside of the traditional fashion calendar. Does doing so make me look amateur? Small? Heaven forbid I appear slow to move, in this industry or any. The truth is that I’ve chosen to operate outside of the fashion calendar for a lot of reasons: Because I don’t like making more clothes than I can sell (and so I wait until I’m projected to sell them all before going into production on new stock); because I mostly design clothes that are perennial, especially for so many of my customers who live in California; and because doing it this way allows me to stay financially independent, which gives me control over where I make things (Los Angeles), and at what pace (one that works with my multi-responsibility’d life as a mom, wife, daughter, and friend). For right now, I like how I do things and it’s sustainable in all the ways.
That said, I’ve been around the fashion industry my whole life. I get it in my bones and love it, flaws and all. The calendar, which I respect and revel in every August when fall deliveries arrive in stores, September issues arrive on newsstands, and digital editors start working their butts off planning all the fashion week content around next season (I see you, friends), is actually not dysfunctional. Hell, it’s super impressive and, no doubt, profitable.
And for more than twenty years I lived with, worked under, and contributed to fashion’s pressures. It’s just that now, as an independent business owner at 44, I am happy being free of them.
Which doesn’t mean I’m not planning ahead. I’ve been busy this month fitting new jeans inspired mostly by Peter Stackpole’s photographs for LIFE. This one below, taken in Taos, New Mexico in 1937, got me thinking about black jeans (though I believe the pants she’s wearing are made of moleskin or some other hearty fabric, not denim, which then begs the question, Could I make something like them in denim?). I love the mood of this photograph. Her smile. How do I capture this woman’s energy in a pair of jeans? Her affection for the man in the photo is so moving and clear. A woman wearing pants and throwing punches in 1937 is the epitome of freedom from pressures.
I’m calling one of my new jeans the Bob, after my personal poet-hero Bob Dylan and the haircut I’ve had my whole life. Sometimes after a fitting I’ll put a photo and all of my notes in Instagram Stories with arrows, then save it (without posting) and send it to the factory as a reference. I’m told I’m their only designer who does this (which is maybe not so surprising). Here is one such notes-photo from the very first fitting of the Bob. What a mess. A brick of a top block and a very uninspiring wash. This is how it begins. I’m feeling good about where it’s going...
The Bob and other new styles will launch in late October when the weather is legitimately colder across the country. Until then, the Georgia in vintage blue is stocked in all sizes, and jumpsuits – great for fall, if you insist – are discounted at 50% - 80% off. (Forest will look particularly right under the currently favorable Field jackets.) Regular programing returns in September. As always, thank you for reading, shopping, sharing, and being a part of the process with me.
Denim forever.
Jane
More to read…
Wondering where I’ve been this August? This was the plan.
I still think drawstring jeans are a good idea.
Here is how the Georgia Jean fits women sizes 26 - 31.
Love those old LIFE photos. The woman is Rebecca James, an artist and big personality around Taos in the 1930s. Impeccable style—