I’m someone who enjoys working in the evening. When I was working full time, I didn’t have much of a choice. Now, it’s a preference.
My quiet hours usually begin after dinner or after seeing friends. Instead of going to sleep, I’ll sometimes find a burst of energy to work on WABM and design. Lately, I’ve been enjoying this rhythm.
While working on a new iteration of the Wardrobe Tee Monday night, I found myself thinking about an old Harper’s Bazaar article on Tom Ford’s day. Inspired by that, I thought I’d recreate my own version and give you a glimpse into my world.
9:00 P.M. I finished having dinner with a friend. I remembered I have plans to meet with my vendor the following afternoon. Rather than prepare for that meeting in the morning, I felt inspired to work into the night.
9:15 P.M. It takes me some time to warm up my brain. I’m a very process-driven and systematic thinker. In other words, I like having structure.
On this particular night, it took me about 15 minutes to organize my game plan: measure garment, try on garment, finalize comments, update tech pack, cut fabric, print tech pack.
9:20 P.M. I have my soft tape measurer out. I’m laying the garment on my apartment floor. It takes me a good chunk of time to feel confident about the measurements.
I often find that I have to measure garments more than twice. Depending on the drape of the garment, measurements can sometimes be conflicting. When measured flat, the chest measurement on my tee reads 22”. When measured again, it reads 22.5”. On a third attempt, it measures 23”. I breathe, zoom out, and try again. I want to feel confident.
It’s not that I’m trying to trick myself into a measurement, it’s that a garment is multi dimensional so laying it flat on a surface is trickier than it sounds. As I’ve refined my design process, I’m realizing the through line to being extraordinarily good at anything is to be great with numbers and math. Designing clothes is no different.
9:50 P.M. I’m now standing up and trying the garment on. I’m attempting to make sense of what I like and don’t like. The interesting thing about design – and honestly anything – is that when you ruminate, sometimes you innovate and other times you sabotage. I’ve been trying to walk the fine line where innovation starts, not ends.
For this sample, I’ve identified that the length is too long and that the construction needs some amendments.
10:15 P.M. I’m starting to get in the zone. The hard stuff is out of the way and now I can sit at my dining table and be by my computer. I’m wondering if I should drink coffee – I love the taste and nothing screams “let’s work” than cold brew. I decide against it.
At my dining table, I’m reviewing my tech pack and making updates. I’ve been getting better at asking for help – recently, a friend helped me 1) dial in fittings and 2) optimize the way I communicate via tech pack.
10:40 P.M. I take a break. Admittedly, I love doom scrolling on Tumblr, Instagram, TikTok. I’ve been really good these days about limiting screen time but accept I can’t fully live without it. Such is life.
11:00 P.M. Wow, I can’t believe I doom scrolled for 20 minutes. I lost track of time.
Now it’s time to cut fabric. I need the following materials for a new simple: jersey fabric, neck rib fabric, and neck tape. When I meet with my vendor, I usually handoff a physical reference / current sample, fabric for a new sample, and a tech pack.
All my fabric is in my home studio. No shame, it’s actually the second bedroom in my apartment that also doubles as a fulfillment center.
11:15 P.M. It’s time to wrap up for the night. I clean up my work space, email my Tech Pack to be printed at my local ship station, and start moving to bed.
12:30 A.M. Now it’s time to sleep. After working, I want to unplug. I’m laughing as I type this, but basically that means I want to doom scroll a bit more because “I deserve it”.
I know I have an interview the next day at 8 A.M. and realize I should have slept earlier. But I couldn’t help it. I’m proud of the work I’ve put in for my design meeting.
In case you’re wondering, my design meetings are usually 20 minutes long. But in order to have a successful meeting, it takes me 2+ hours to prepare.
At the end of the day, I always try to remind myself of my purpose: to learn, be 100% myself and have fun. That’s what this brand is about.
