"Is this from the men's section or the women's section?

Oh, it's for sure from the men's section.  In addition to being cut longer in the sleeve and broader across the shoulders, the design of men's clothes are often more classic and less trend-driven, and they're often made of more durable fabrics -- this jacket particular jacket is from the men's section, and is indestructible.  The clothes are fashionable longer and last longer. 

There was a great interview on NPR with the comedian Eddie Izzard, who describes himself as an "action transvestite" and expressed his interested in running for British parliament.  The host asked, "Do you think London is going to be ready to elect someone to parliament who has spent his career telling jokes, often while wearing women's clothing?"

Izzard responded, "Yes, but they're not women's clothes you see, they're mine, cuz I bought them."

"How frequently do you get stuck in car doors?"

I got *really* into leather fringe a few years ago.  It started slowly and bloomed into a full-blown obsession -- and now I collect vintage leather jackets, and spend way too much time on ebay hunting down vintage and one of a kind pieces.  And I have to say: I really do get stuck in car doors pretty frequently.  And I accidentally get fringe in my coffee, or lightly whip people when I get too excited going in for a hug.  Worth it :).

Leather fringe is an old cowboy standby, but it actually originally served a functional purpose on buckskin jackets and chaps, helping to wick the rain off and allowing the garments to dry faster. 

"You look like Paul Bunyan."

I grew up watching the men around me wear Filson and Carhartt long before it was cool. My grandfather owned a saw mill, and after he died, I took some of his flannel and denim shirts and re-cut and sewed them so I could wear them. These shirts were 30 years old — and had been put through 30 years of work — and they were still in spectacular condition. In design school they tell you to judge a garment from the inside out: different kinds of seams are more expensive, or require more skill or workmanship. I remember opening up these shirts and gasping: to find all flat felled seams and French seams — not an overlock stitch in sight. My grandfather died when I was still quite young, but I felt like I got to know him a little better in that moment, to know that he could see the beauty of a well-made, simple flannel shirt ❤️

"You look like Carmen Sandiego."

Early on in my career, I got a dream gig on the design team at Diane von Furstenberg (and this coat at an employee sample sale). I was living in San Francisco and was offered the job over the phone — and within two weeks was reporting for duty in the design studio in the garment district (DVF’s famed office in the meatpacking district is the corporate office — the design studio still resides in the heart of the garment district in midtown). It was one of my first experiences really understanding that the (mostly) women who work in fashion are super, super smart — never confuse a love of artifice with a lack of substance.  The design studio was an incredible think tank for self expression, and I learned something else I hope to carry with me for the rest of my career: the more confident you are as a designer, the more supporting you are of other designers. Have confidence in your own work, and then spread it around ❤️

"Nice shades. Are those prescription?"

Rimless, flat lenses are a big sunglasses trend for 2019, and these get a lot of comments.  Fun fact I did not know until we put a few similar styles into development -- the lens material you need to use for rimless sunglasses is more expensive than the lens material you use for rim inset lenses, because it has to be strong enough to sustain the drill holes so that the lenses can be anchored to the frame.  I love learning why different styles cost different amounts and what drives the cost of the finished goods -- and here's an instance in which the retail price justifiably has to go up because it requires more expensive components.

"You look like a polar bear."

Like a lot of people, I have a complicated relationship with buying fur -- there's something sooo decadent about it, it just makes you feel like you're in an old movie.  Buying vintage is friendlier to the planet, and there are some pieces in really great shape that you can get at a super reasonable price.  I've also found that fur breaks down easily if you wear it for more things than feeling like you're in an old movie, so spending less money makes it less precious, and something I'm willing to wear for all kinds of everyday occasions.

This particular jacket was a flea market find -- it's a little on the large size, with extra oversized slouchy shoulders.  I have no idea where it's from, but I do know it's hand sewn -- I found the sewing need in the sleeve (!).  (Actually, I found it when it stabbed me.  I fished the needle out of the sleeve and promptly checked the date of my last tetanus shot ;).

And this particular occasion was meeting my boyfriend's boss -- a baller creative director/tastemaker.  It was an impromptu meeting after work, and I didn't have time to go home and change into anything more normal, or more thought-out for the occasion.  But I walked on to the bar's patio and he seemed pretty psyched about my resemblance to an arctic mammal.  It was a good reminder not to dilute your fashion choices when you're walking into a new environment -- just be you.

"You look like Amish mafia...you know, not including the aggressive thigh slit."

Hats are hard for me -- I have an almost comically small head.  I started getting into them for entirely practical purposes (a first!): avoiding the sun on my face.  Straw hats made me look like a peasant, cowboy hats made me look like a costumed cowgirl, nothing really worked.  Enter, the bolero.  

The bolero is a trending silhouette that also happens to be really flattering on a lot of face and head shapes.  It transitions relatively easily from a summer outfit to a winter one, and makes you feel vaguely like a Spanish explorer without crossing the line into costume.

"You kinda look like a character from That 70s Show."

I get asked a lot if I made the jacket.  I wish — it was actually bought from a “pay-by-the-kilo” bin at a thrift store in Paris in 2015. It’s an old Levi’s jacket, with cuttings from a wool blanket top applied to be front and back yoke.  I wish I knew it’s whole life story. Is it from the 70s? How did it end up in Paris?  Sometimes you touch something like that and you just know it’s got some cool stories to tell ❤️

"Your look is very...witchcraft swag."

A stranger in a bar said it to me while I was out with a group of friends.  What's so funny about it is that I've committed that phrase to memory for so long (and I remember exactly what I was wearing at the time), and I never saw or spoke to the person again, but I really felt...seen and understood by this stranger.  Based only on a two word description of what I was wearing, I really felt like -- this stranger gets me.

That can be magical

Jenna Lyons, former Creative Director and President of J. Crew until 2017, as well as all-around style icon, was known as "the woman who dresses America" (NYTimes).  She has spoken openly about her awkwardness growing up, exacerbated by her genetic condition, which affected the normal growth of her hair and teeth, and still wears dentures.  

I think there's a common misconception about designers, and clothing designers in particular -- that they became designers because they love beautiful things.  I've worked as a clothing designer for almost 10 years, and in my experience, people become designers because -- like Jenna Lyons -- they have had significant, formative events that taught them the real power of clothes.  And they want to take the power and share it.  Design studios are filled not with obsessive fashionistas or shopaholics, but artsy, introspective creatives who value self-expression over commodity.  Individualism and experimentation reign, and the biggest style faux-pas is imitating someone else.

"Damn, girl, did you borrow that jacket from Michael Jackson?"

I think this is the jacket that really pushed me over the edge, from "girl who likes leather jackets" into the leather jacket version of a crazy cat lady.  I remember buying it, from eBay.  I'd never heard of the brand, had no way of feeling the leather or inspecting the garment.  But I had been a clothing designer, and a leather designer, for a few years and I felt like I'd reached a place of confidence where I could look at those terrible pictures on eBay and I knew what it would feel like, and I knew what it would fit like.  It's strong, it's cool, it's unique -- and when I wear it, it makes me like I'm those things too.

"You really do dress like you think leopard print is a neutral."

I bought this jacket from a thrift store.  It was one of those places where 99% of the inventory is on hangers and racks in the store, and 1% is hanging on the wall out of reach, almost as if it's on display.  This was hanging behind the cash register.  I was with a guy friend who took one look at the jacket, pointed to it and said: "You're the only person in the world who could pull that off."  

"Rock on, cowgirl."

Ohhh this was one of those jackets that was just meant to be.  Honestly, it was before millennial pink was cool -- it never would've been lingering on a vintage store rack otherwise.  I'd read once that Audrey Hepburn believed everyone should have a "what the hell" coat.  For some reason I thought of that when I saw this.  That pink, 80s leather somehow made me feel like a cross between Audrey Hepburn and Sandy from Grease.

"You look like the leader of a really chic cult."

My first job after grad school was partnering with a venture capitalist to start a fashion brand, and one of our early collections featured these hand-beaded, floor length caftans.  It's a lot of look, but it's an entire outfit in a single piece -- super easy to wear, super high impact.  Since we were a startup, we were trying to save money, and I started taking the pictures myself for our photoshoots.  We needed a picture of this dress totally last minute.  I convinced a friend who was working from home to come pose for me for an hour, and we set up in front of an orange wall on relatively empty street and got to shooting.  And then, a Chinese tour bus drove up and stopped, and 40 other cameras went off, psyched to have stumbled upon us.

Not A Multiple Choice

This poster comes from the Design Museum, from their exhibition dedicated to taking "an unprecedented look at how princesses, models, CEOs, Dames and designers have used fashion to define and enhance their position in the world."  As a clothing designer this is something I think about a lot -- and was part of the genesis of Opening Line.  Human beings -- and women especially -- use fashion to enhance their power, not undermine it.  Put those clothes to work.

Read more awesomeness at: https://designmuseum.org/exhibitions/women-fashion-power

"You look like Zorro."

I love cowboy boots.  They just make you feel like you're about to rope some cattle or have a showdown at high noon.  But it's just sooo hard to wear real cowboy boots in a non country setting and not look like a lost prairie girl.  I'd found these boots at a vintage store in Montana for a song, and had to try to take them for a spin.  

"I wanna be that jacket's foster mom."

This is one of those jackets.  You just can't look at it and not smile.  Another vintage steal, from an out of the way, hole in the wall flea market.  While wearing this jacket, I have also been called "Rhinestone Cowboy" and "Jacket Girl," which I like to think would be my superhero name.