The Most Asked Question I Get

How did you get started?

Well, how far back shall we go with this?

It all started when I was about 12 years old, chopping the legs of old jeans off to create small denim handbags after reading an article in some teen magazine. I sewed up the sides, bedazzled them with ribbons and hot glue, and decided I needed to make a career out of crafting. (Here is a fun article to catapult your career, too!)

But for real, I was always an artsy kid. Art and design was always my path, and after graduating from Syracuse University with a BFA in Fashion Design, I set out to the mean streets of New York to pursue the glamorous life of a fashion designer.

I learned very quickly: the fashion industry is anything but glamorous. It is dark and dirty, wasteful and ruthless, and the glamour and glitz is all a facade. Sorry to burst any bubbles.

I was disgusted by the practices I saw at brand after brand, job after job. Irresponsible and unsustainable manufacturing practices, and undercutting hard working seamstresses and garment workers at every turn seemed to be the industry standard. The extent of my job at most companies I worked for as a designer was being told to straight up knock off other designers and brands. At one job, they completely stopped paying us. At another, they hired me as a freelance designer, fired me, but took all my work and gave my bridal sketches to another designer to make under his label instead.

In fashion, it seemed like the only way to "make it" was to either sell my creative soul to the mass market world for the paycheck, make an unlivable New York City salary working 80 hours a week with a high end designer, or say fuck it all and start my own thing.

So, I did the latter (lattest?). While working for a bridesmaids dress company, my bestie Timmy and I would complain about our jobs to each other 0n G-Chat, reminiscing about our college days, when we would be at the studio creating and crafting away. We talked about our individual dreams of started a lingerie brand (Timmy), and a bridal brand (me), and then basically came to the conclusion, "those kind of go together? Should we do it? Let's just make some shit? Let's make some shit."

We sketched, designed, and made some stuff on nights and weekends. I got a Masters of Business, and made the business plan and concept of Loulette Bride my thesis. Friends of our asked us to make them custom gowns for their weddings. We rented a shared studio space for $400/month at a Greenpoint warehouse building. It was awesome.

And then, my bosses at the bridesmaids brand called me into their office. They told me I needed to take my name off my side hustle if I wanted to continue working for them. Was I ready to jump into Loulette full time? No. Was I too stubborn and proud to take my name off my passion project? Yes. Was I super happy to quit? Also yes. Was I scared shitless? Also very yes.

So, I dove into Loulette full time. I decided that at Loulette Bride, I would basically do everything completely opposite of what I saw in my 10 years in the fashion industry. I would make everything in New York City, and any garment industry worker who I have the honor to work with would be paid what they deserve and on time. I would pattern our garments to utilize fabrics responsibly, and recycle every fabric scrap, creating as little landfill waste as possible. I would use compostable garment bags and no plastic packaging. I would meet with my brides in person, meet their friends and families, help them choose their gown, and allow for any size or customization their body and heart desire. And my dresses would be fucking awesome, and every bride would feel like the most confident and fabulous version of herself in a Loulette Bride dress.

We launched our first collection in Fall 2016, and have steadily grown ever since. We have worked with hundreds of brides and dozens of boutiques, creating gowns for brides from Brooklyn to Australia to Japan and everywhere in between.