2 months ago I drew the Molly Skirt. I ordered the fabric, and the past 2 weeks I’ve been designing it. The idea was to create something Molly could sling veggies in at the farmers market when it’s 100 degrees. My deadline was yesterday and I showed up to our lil photo session with the apron prototype and no skirt. A little deflated and apologetic, as soon as she put on the apron I could see again, the forest for the trees. What if, instead of a rectangle, an apron was the shape of a mini skirt, and sized so that it was for our bodies, not one size fits all. What if, thoughtful design takes time to think of. Talking to you, Emily. Still pondering the design, but look how darling these photos are. 😍😍😍 Ps if you’re local, @benandmollysfarm plant sale is tomorrow! #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth
My business and my personal style have been formed over years of constraints - time and money. #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth
Fiber nerd 👋🏻 Working with linen for the May 1st skirt and basking in all the loveliness that is ancient craft and history behind this natural fiber. These are just screenshots from Wikipedia 👌🏻 Newsletter subscribers will get first dibs - link in my profile to sign up or here: https://mrsemily.com/pages/newsletter-sign-up #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth
In 2022 I had the idea to make a self portrait of me as a tiger. I loved the playful take - a tailor tiger. Olive, my daughter, nicknamed her Fashion Tiger. Fashion is our playground. Reconnecting with beauty and fun. This tee is in the shop at MrsEmily.com and skirts labeled “Fashion Tiger” are ones made in India. #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth
The hands that made the fabric in Bangladesh - the hands that sewed the skirts in India - my original design with its removable peplum and 4 pockets and elastic waist. These skirts are more than the sum of the details we didn’t quite get right. I’ve been watching the tulips bloom here, new and fresh after brown winter. And I see these skirts🌷. Unbothered by the small details that make them ‘imperfect’ they are without question, beautiful. Coming April 15th MrsEmily.com #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth
It was 2015, and I was sitting in my counselor’s office at the suggestion of my husband. After an unexpected move from NYC back home to IL, and 4 years as a stay at home mom, and a fashion career that seemed to be going nowhere… I told Janel: “when my product is perfect, then my business will be successful.” And ever-wise Janel told me my product will never be perfect. And so I was off, freed from the heavy burden of perfection. I created caps, and tees, then scarves, and eventually in 2018, returned to skirts. This week I announced a batch of skirts will be returning to the shop. These were the first attempt: fabric from Bangladesh, stitched in India. Kinks in our new system meant these skirts were unsellable, until now. As a designer I have to be vigilant, watching every variable and every detail. But attention to detail will only take me so far. The hands that made the fabric in Bangladesh - the hands that sewed the skirts in India - my original design with its removable peplum and big pockets and elastic waist. These skirts are more than the sum of the details we didn’t quite get right. I see now, these skirts are beautiful. I’ve been watching the tulips bloom here, new and fresh after brown winter. And I see these skirts🌷. Unbothered by the small details that make them ‘imperfect’ they are without question, beautiful. Coming April 15th MrsEmily.com #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth
What is it that helps us roll up our sleeves and get to work? It is recognition of beauty in the mundane. I picked up a tiny pinecone on a walk yesterday. Last night as Olive and I were going through flashcards for an upcoming test; we turned our attention to the little pinecone and drew a deep breath. The beauty of that little guy, with his hundred delicate layers, connected us with the truth that flashcards are not all of life. This is Why Fashion. Beautiful clothes connect us to beauty which helps us engage with our work. MrsEmily.com to shop 🫶🏻 #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth
I’ve learned that the struggle and difficulty birthing this business, is related to the magnitude of change I want to see in fashion. Like 2 sides of the same coin. Similarly, finding clothes that function, flatter, and reflect our personality is a challenge, related to the importance of our work. #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth
What if we dressed our postpartum bodies with as much love and care as we dressed our pregnant bodies? Or our babies? What if we saw that, in the same way our bodies changed through pregnancy; our bodies change through the rest of life, as we nurture and birth and care for dreams, relationships, jobs. #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth
I picked Olive up from school this week, and on the way home, told her someone had left a weird comment on my IG. It had hurt my feelings, and made me feel a little at risk out here on the inter webs. A couple hours later, it hit me. “Olive, I think it’s my pride. I think I want to be seen as someone who knows what she’s doing and I’m worried people won’t.” ☺️☺️ Many things can comment on our identity. But we are the gatekeepers. ☝🏻 and for me, when my feathers get ruffled I’m learning to check my pride. I DON’T know everything. I’m not everyone’s cup of tea. And I’m not building a business because I want to be famous. #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth
Added a 4th machine to my studio this week as I write my sewing class. And I’ve been thinking about learning. As a high school student, I didn’t have access to art classes. But there was an instructor at my community college that changed the course of my career. He taught me that drawing is a skill I could learn. I applied to fancy design schools - they didn’t want a girl who couldn’t sew. But there was a state school with a design program (@thisissiu) and again, I had access to learning. I heard a great quote the other day about not gate keeping your skills/knowledge but allowing access. And that’s why I have a 4th machine in my studio. I want to figure out if I can teach what I do. My next class is early summer at @parkland_ce Learn to draft a skirt to your measurements and sew it. No experience or machine necessary. Message me for details. #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth
Jarrett captured my kimono in action, as I was slinging fajitas last night. A long day of work, then Olive’s art show so dinner was at 7:30. ☺️ 12+ hour days doing what we love. This is what I design for. 🫶🏻 Kimonos are sold out for now but hopefully will return! #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth
Do you see it? The Erica Skirt went to Mali! Melissa said she was asked if her skirt was from Africa. ☺️🥰🥰🥰🥇 The handmade fabric is from India, and I made these skirts in my home studio in Champaign, IL. Message me if your size is out of stock. I have ways. 😉 MrsEmily.com to shop. 🙌🏻 #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth #handmadefabric #blockprintfabric #handmadeskirt #elasticwaist
The next basic you buy, don’t pick white, grey, or black. Try a stripe! I find they go with more and elevate a look by adding interest through pattern. In the same way a graphic tee makes all kinds of colors play nicely together - a stripe is 🔥🤌🏻 #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth #stripes
@thisisalikfitness reminding me to be keep going. 🥇😭🫠 #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth #bodyimagehealing #bodyimagecoach #bodyimagewarrior
Why do we take the time to figure out a system of dressing that we can set on autopilot? That makes us feel good, works with our lifestyle, is easy to care for? We are giving ourself capacity - clearing the mental clutter so we can be present for moments that are fleeting. MrsEmily.com for all the things 🫶🏻 #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth
A system of dressing can support and respect our work which ups our productivity and enjoyment of said work. What is a system of dressing? Easy care, easy wearing clothes that make us feel like ourselves with little daily effort. MrsEmily.com for my system of dressing. #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth #systemsthinking #systems #dressforsuccess
To build the right kinds of systems to slow the Fashion Machine, takes time. As a small business, that has translated to slow growth for me. I’m not saying this is fact, just my experience. But I wonder if there’s a correlation. #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth #slowfashionmovement #ethicalmanufacturing #transparentsupplychain #supplychainsolutions
Our guest bedroom is my studio. Our dining room holds my photo equipment. Last week my kitchen became holding area for sewing machines being prepped for my upcoming class. And this is a perfect picture of why we spend time planning a hard hitting wardrobe. To up productivity in other areas of life. We have. A LOT of apps running in the background. So how do we create systems (of dressing, etc) that give us rest 😌? #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth #wardrobegoals #personalstylist
I was in high school when I fell in love 🥰 (with fashion). Me and my trusty glue gun could make a pillowcase shine (as a skirt). I was thinking yesterday, about how fashion has always been in me. And that as I’ve learned, I’ve found fashion is sick. Things like overconsumption and sketchy ethics in supply chains… And a little tear came to my eye when I realized why I stayed with fashion. It’s been like a friend who got sick. You don’t leave when friends get sick. You help them get better. #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth
🥹🥹🥹 I got to host 2nd and 3rd graders this weekend, as they earned their fashion badge 🫡 We talked about how moms in India who sew my skirts, get to take their kids to work, and their job includes healthcare so they can take their families to the doctor. #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth #girlscouts #girlscoutsofamerica #girlscoutbadge #girlscoutbrownies
I know clothes that don’t cost much are generally made in shady ways. And clothes not made in shady ways, cost a lot. I know my skirts are expensive and I feel it when I’m pricing them. Thank you for saving for my pieces! #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth #consciousshopping
I have my phone out all day, trying to capture video, hot glue it together, add music and some text. What am I doing? I’m storytelling. I passed 3000 posts on social media this week. And I’ve been thinking about storytelling. It’s the process of telling my story that gives me eyes to see it. But there’s a learning curve too. How do I capture the beauty of making skirts, the hands of artisans in India and Bangladesh, the joy of color and silhouette and feeling like yourself? I think of this as learning a language. I put in time learning how to tell my story so that I can tell my story. And this has been my rhythm for years. Learn how to use my phone and apps to string together enough syllables to communicate my heart. These 3 designs, my little skirt vineyard, are about storytelling. If you feel stuck, learn a language (knitting? gardening? dressing?) so you can express yourself better. #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth
November 2022 I was just finishing up my Grand Plan To Scale And Find Relief From Sewing Too Much Remember it? It was tshirts. 12 tees in 2022 was going to launch me into the next strata of business. Only they didn’t. I covered my costs but didn’t make money. Meanwhile skirts were selling well, but I was the only one sewing them. My back hurt, my hands hurt. The stress was piling up. Surprise bills for my family, made us look in the obvious place: the business I spend all my time working on. Only the biz wasn’t making any money. Covering costs, yes. Making money, no. And that was the straw that broke the tired sewing-camel’s back. I returned to my counselor and said really, this time I think I’m done. I started looking at job postings. Started thinking about liquidating my stock. My counselor made a list with me. Of possible ways forward. One of those was manufacturing in India with @ziyada_bemore And the other was her suggestion, but I had heard it before: “have you thought about teaching at parkland?”. Being in a classroom with people, I hope, will bring relief from being alone in my studio. I think I have unique perspective to teach sewing. And I’m excited to get started. Thank you for being here. 🥹🫶🏻 #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth
@jld_studios thanks for this! If you wonder why I sell 1 product (elastic waist skirts) it’s because of this! It’s really hard to do a lot of sizes well! #sizeinclusivity #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth
Written in 2018, but perhaps for us, today. I find every year, a new side effect of dream-following. And my job, as much as designer, is excavator; digging myself out again and again: Who am I outside of social media and sales stats? Who am I other than my last mistake? #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth #followingdreams #buildingconfidence #notquitting
To get to the right pant, skirt, top, you have to be willing to look silly in a mirror as you try a million wrong things on. #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth
New skirts are being made as we sleep, over the next month in India. So I go to bed and wake to texts and videos and emails as we walk through every step of cut and sew. The attention to detail the team at @ziyada_bemore gives to my product is more than I could have hoped for. The learning curve is steep and I’m making little mistakes often. I can have my biz or my ego. But to learn what I need to; to make the quantity of errors that will get me to the right product made the right way for my client…I can’t pretend I have it all together. 😮💨 Reminds me of dressing. To get to the right pant, skirt, top, you have to be willing to look silly in a mirror as you try a million wrong things on. I love how all life lessons are actually about fashion and personal style 😉 MrsEmily.com for your skirts. 🫶🏻 #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth
This will be my 3000th post on Instagram, so here are some stats. November 2017 I hit 6000 followers. That was 76 months ago, and 2000 posts ago. 1400 new followers over the last 76 months and 2000 posts. Those are some dismal stats. The discouragement and fatigue have been intense. But I’ll say, I have more to say now than ever before. Business has grown, though social media stats haven’t. And I have a business because YOU are here. Thank you 🫶🏻 #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth
“She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.” My mom sent me that proverb this morning and it made me think of my vineyard tee (MrsEmily.com for yours). The fruit of our hands is usually surprising and catches us off guard. Progress doesn’t look like what we think it should. The fruit comes up all weird, just like the vines in the photo *should* have held grapes but came in all elastic. 💁♀️ #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth
👯♀️ I don’t call them for weeks at a time when I just cannot deal with them ✋🏻 But wow, do they have my back. #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth
When we spend time dressing; finding clothes that work; we are respecting our jobs, our bodies, our creativity, our self expression. The industry wants us to move quickly, buy lots. But I’ve found collecting special pieces over time, builds a story. Personal style is a narrative we invent, then live as we wear our clothes. Respect for our clothes and finding our style turns into respect for ourselves. And this is where confidence springs up 🌺. In well worked soil, the fruit of our perseverance is self respect! #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth
Monday morning thoughts, to encourage those knee deep in their dreams and those deciding if they jump into pursuing their dreams. It’s going to be terrifying. Thats not to scare you, that’s to help you be realistic. That’s to help you feel like “oh this is normal” rather than “this must be wrong” when you get to the scary bits. Dreams grow. They evolve and expand. You can’t see the end from the beginning. You can’t plan well enough to make them not terrifying. They’re risk. As they grow, they’re risk involving other people. Terrifying is a wave like any other emotion. Let it pass. Find your breath. Keep going. #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth
Found this quote when re-reading @thenester’s first book (The Nesting Place). I don’t know if I’ve made *all* the mistakes yet but I’ve definitely made way more than I ever imagined existed. 😅😮💨 In dressing, think of your personal style as a very narrow field. Make mistakes, and become an expert dressing your body for your life through the lens of your personal style. **fun fact** after moving home from NYC in 2015, it was @thenester ‘s online instagram course that helped me start sharing my story on social media. I got to meet her shortly after in her beautiful home, and shop her fave consignment stores with her. Realizing as I read, that I’ve drifted toward perfection again with my biz. I assume if something’s not working the way I want it too, it’s because I haven’t done it perfectly enough. #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth
Did you see the matching scarf for my newest skirt? Inspired by an illustration from my daughter’s book. I wanted a layer to keep me warm, whether in grocery stores during the summer, or chilly days in the early spring, or cool evenings in fall, or all bundled in winter. Simple is best. After trying different complicated curved shapes for the scarf, I found a rectangle was the right solution. Kind of like how you can get a million fancy kitchen gadgets, but a sharp knife and a good cutting board are the most effective. MrsEmily.com for my skirt and scarf. #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth
Wore this skirt this week and dug up these photos from its January 2020 launch. Just as chic today. And my favorite way to style a skirt still, is a T-shirt and flip flops. This is an Italian cotton voile from my NYC fabric shopping days. Super fancy. But what makes it work for my style and lifestyle, is dressing it down. P.S. this was my first attempt at taking photos on a white backdrop. If you zoomed out, you’d see my living room. Wasn’t perfect, but it was a start and a great one at that! MrsEmily.com for in stock skirts. Not this one 😉 but others as fabulous and long living and seasonless and amazing!! #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth
What worries me about the lack of mature models in fashion, is the lack of permission I have to grow older. MrsEmily.com for my newest skirt. Mamaw is wearing it with an oversized men’s wool vest, a la @goodwillintl and a yummy tunic length cotton tee a la @karensklosetcu. The jewelry is from her own, amazing collection. 🔥🔥🔥 My younger memories of both my mom and mamaw are of gypsy skirts and massive jewelry. What a legacy. 🔥🔥🔥 #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth #handmadeskirt #elasticwaistskirt #handloomcotton
Whether building a business or my personal confidence, I find myself often steering toward my neighbor because they look like they have it together so if I can just be like them… #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth
Lexie took my style class in the fall and texted me this yesterday. A fave style hack is to shop brands known for quality, and bring the style component yourself. @landsend uses real fabrics and dresses a wide range of sizes. I’ll be teaching this class again in the fall. Keep an eye out 👁️ #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth #landsend #quality #qualityfabric #linen
☝🏻 I am not at the beach but if I was, I’d be wearing a skirt as my swim coverup. Wanting to pack light, I’d wear it to dinner too. CREATIVITY takes a great investment purchase and makes it REALLY GREAT. How can you wear something more and differently? #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth @landsend swimsuit and @mrsemily skirt
My mom picked up my belt bag recently and commented on how light it was. Yea! I created this bag to EDIT what we’re carrying around. phone chapstick card wallet keys The bag, worn crossbody, is weightless. The full grain leather is soft and so, works with my seatbelt in the car. This means - I’m in and out of the car hands free, and feeling light. I was a stay at home mom for 4 years in NYC. See my fanny pack in the second photo? This design has been brewing for years. MrsEmily.com for yours! Made at a fair trade factory in Dhaka Bangladesh by Taslima and her team. #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth #bumbag #fannypack #beltbag #fairtrademanufacturing
MrsEmily.com for SHEFALI’S work, in my newest skirt. 🥹 #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth #handloom #handwoven #recycledfiber
😭 it’s been so hard BECAUSE I didn’t expect to care so much for the people making my designs. Remember my undone tee? Woof. It me. MrsEmily.com for the newest skirt. #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth
Personal Style on the other hand, makes space. #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth
🔥🔥🔥🔥 MrsEmily.com for the newest skirt. Special thanks to my Mamaw for stepping in to model. 🫶🏻🫠 #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth #stylehasnorules #turban #headwrapstyle
We need clothing that can cross barriers of age and personal style. My Mamaw in the newest skirt. 🔥 MrsEmily.com for yours. #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth #agelessstyle #agelessbeauty #agelessfashion #agelesselegance
Did you know… My biz took 10 years to become profitable? And I’m still not taking a paycheck. Imagine the level of support and patience from my husband. We both work from home and always have, so over lunch we chat biz and he can basically finish my sentences because they all end in “elastic waist skirts”. ☺️ New skirt in the shop and the heavy equipment world is going nuts over it 😉. Thanks for celebrating with me. Love sharing details of the design, and the designer. 👨👩👧 MrsEmily.com to shop my newest skirt. #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth #independentdesigner #fashionfamily #supporthandmade #workfromhome
Some of the hardest work I do, is mental. Many times I miss the joy of building, and my successes all together, because things don’t look like I expect them to. November of 2022 I was so discouraged, I visited my counselor and we worked in a list of possible ways forward. I had been rebuilding my business post-covid, after losing my retail space, sewist, buying trips, conviction... The one clear way, seemed to be exploring manufacturing in India. THIS Friday I launch a project very dear to my heart. Designed from the recycled yarn, up. Handmade by new friends in India. I was inspired by the drawings in my daughter’s book. See the scarf they wear, tucked right into their skirt? I made several prototypes before finding the right shape for the scarf. I always need a little layer in cooler spring months and then, in chilly air conditioning come summer. Of course, the scarf comes off and the skirt can be worn a million ways. Friday, MrsEmily.com. 🥹🥹🥹 #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth
A capture from yesterday as I was planning my upcoming sewing class. This skirt is coming March 1 to MrsEmily.com! Removable peplum for many dressing options. She loves cozy sweaters but imagine her this summer too. 🤩 #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth
A couple of moments this past week, where I’ve seen out of the corner of my eye, dreams coming true for my business. This goes hand in hand with restless sleep; loneliness; feelings of failure and moments of low confidence that what I’m attempting is going to work. ☝🏻Just to say, friend, it might be difficult because it’s worth it. This skirt coming March 1, made of heart and soul, as much as fabric. 🫶🏻 #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth #studioviews_daily #studioviews #recycledyarn #recycledcotton #handwoven #fairtradefashion
There are opportunities coming for you but they look like roadblocks. #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth
3 main components when manufacturing a skirt ☝🏻the pattern (that’s me) ✌🏻the fabric (that’s the team in Bangladesh) 👌🏻the construction/sewing (that’s the team in India) For the last batch of skirts (this green and her grey sister), there were issues at all three levels. A *global supply chain* means lots of moving parts and *creating patterns from years of custom sewing* means lots of distillation to get to my finished patterns. I’m a few days away from seeing the next batch of skirts. The hours that have been poured into refining our processes on every level are 🥺 humbling and I’m honored to bring a product to my shop made by people who care like I do, about excellence and craftsmanship and at the end of the day, you. Isn’t that wild? Like I said, humbling. Can’t wait to share the next skirt, and if one of these green skirts is hanging in your closet, know she’s really special and very rare. 🥹 #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth
Other skirts are in stock at MrsEmily.com, but the pink and blue skirts are sold out. Thank you for choosing my skirts, I know they’re an investment and I don’t take your purchases for granted. I’m excited to make you pieces that will live with you for a long time. Thank you for the opportunity. 🥹🫶🏻 #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth
I haven’t offered 2 color options for a monthly drop but I couldn’t get the pink out of my head. I had 1 day to make my samples and get my listing up. But my love for this cotton candy pink pushed my on, and after I had finished the blue skirt, eaten a quick lunch, I cut and sewed the pink. I want to design skirts you can wear the day you receive them and the next 6 months. Layered for cold temps, then worn with tennis shoes and a tank for summer. 🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻 Your size is your waist measurement in inches. Message me with questions. All skirts are returnable. This is a preorder so I’ll be making your skirt to order and shipping by March 1. 🧵🧵🧵orders close later today🧵🧵🧵 THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE!!! #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth
Ohhhhhh let’s start with the DARLING BLUE version of this month’s skirt. MrsEmily.com to shop! It’s time to start thinking about our warm weather wardrobe, but make it chilly-day appropriate. Here are the deets: ▪ The softest, most delish double cotton gauze. Gorgeous texture, washable, feels like a baby blanket. ▪ You pick your length! ▪ “midi + 2” is a finished length of 33” ▪ “short knee” is a finished length of 21” ▪ 1.5” elastic, no ruffle ▪ pocketzzzzzz ▪ Sizes refer to your waist in inches. I draft my skirts to sit right under the ribcage, wayyy up high, so that’s where you want to measure. Skirts ship March 1. I make these to order in my home studio in Champaign. #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth #handmadeskirt #elasticwaist #colorblocking #colorblockskirt #handmadeinillinois #blueskirt
Along with the skirts I’m manufacturing in India, I release a skirt the 1st of each month, which I sew in my home studio. Here are 3 recent skirts. I take orders until I’m out of fabric. Newsletter subscribers get first dibs. These are limited quantity. Some GOODNESS queued up for tomorrow, February 1st. Link in profile to sign up for my newsletter or here: https://mrsemily.com/pages/newsletter-sign-up #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth #limitedrun #smallbatch #handmadefashion #chambana #madeinillinois
I’ll be teaching my first ever sewing class at @parkland_ce in Champaign, IL this Spring! You don’t need experience. You don’t need a sewing machine. You don’t need to be a certain size or shape because I’ll teach you to draft your own personalized pattern. The class is almost full, so hop to the link in my profile to sign up! It’s going to be SO FUN! P.S. if the time and day don’t work for your schedule, let me know what does because we may add an additional class! #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth #chambana #parklandcollege
I’m back at work designing another fabric - this one for Spring 2025 (😳) 📸 1: after spending time using @plaidmaker to design different options of stripes 📸2: sketching ideas for the fabrics (I design the skirt and fabric together so I know how much yardage to order and it helps me better visualize the fabric) 📸3: my moodboard. Black and white! And see the aerial view of Illinois fields? Lines, snow, texture, beauty. #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth #handloom #recycledcotton #handmadeinbangladesh #handmadeinindia #handmadeinillinois #chambana #chambanavoy
1. Designed in April 2022 of recycled yarn made from garment factory offcuts 2. Woven by hand in Bangladesh, by fair trade weavers 3. Made into skirts by a team of amazing women in India Production on the skirts was paused multiple times for multiple reasons, including fabric delayed for a month when shipped from Bangladesh to India and power outages in the workshop in India that lasted weeks. Many many many emails, videos, calls… But they’re en route to me and will soon be in your closets! I designed this fabric 🥹🥹. Picked the colors of yarn, chose the width and design of the stripe and check. Can’t wait to see them in person and share them with you. 📸 1 + 2: the first photos i got to see of the finished fabric 📸 3: the yarn being prepped for the loom 📸 4: @motif.jackie speaking Bangla, working on locating the delayed fabric shipment #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth #handloomcotton #recycledcotton #recycledyarn
The idea for my biz, was a way to be a wife and mom and designer. I celebrate 14 years today, since starting the biz. I mostly talk in this space about life as a designer, but wanted to touch on the wife and mom side. Today I wrap up 6 weeks of transition. 3 weeks - Olive out of school for holiday break 1 week - Jarrett’s last week at his job of 20 years and 2 weeks - Jarrett’s time off before starting his new job 6 weeks is an incredibly long time to not have normal work hours. And yet, my biz flexes to allow me to spend time with my family when they have it. The past 14 years have seen me prioritize the biz for the sake of my happiness and sanity ☺️ while also again and again pushing it to the side to be present when I need to for my family (also for the sake of my happiness and sanity). Flexibility is not a given it’s a gift. And I’m grateful for it today. There would be no biz without the “Mrs” part of Mrs. Emily. ☺️ Thank you for being here! #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth
If there are aren’t lots of likes or comments or views, will you still show up? Will you still tell your story, learn to tell it better, learn to use videos, photos, words? Learn to express thoughts? Today, after waiting a long time, I was finally *granted access* by Instagram to hide my like count on reels. I’ve turned off every number I can on my apps, because it gets in my head. I’ve been able to hide likes on posts but not videos. Something about hiding the number makes me not think about it. All that to say, my retail space, my clients, my manufacturers in India, all came from social media connections, because I kept showing up even if for only one. Just some random 6pm thoughts as I avoid doing the dishes. ☺️ #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth
Did you know… “Fashion Tiger” was born here. My daughter came up with the name “Fashion Tiger” to describe the artwork we were designing for my self-portrait tee (tap through for yours). And I wrote this poem to introduce the tee. It still gets me. I had to share it today, because as my brand evolves I wanted to remind you that YOU are the center of inspiration for me, always. Functional, beautiful fashion that reminds us we have function and are beautiful. #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth #fashiontiger
Had the opportunity to speak to a room of 60 women this past Friday. 🥹 They were amazing. I celebrate 14 years of business this week and I think I’m in my most challenging season yet. Challenging because it’s SUCH an honor to make your clothes, and to make them with the help of artisans in Bangladesh and India. I find I care *too* much, and desperately want to will things to work out: for a global supply chain to be up and running, providing confidence to women making and wearing skirts. Our Spring skirts will be arriving shortly. Our Fall 24 skirt fabric is on the loom in Bangladesh now. I keep having sleepless nights, not because I’m worried about anything in particular but because I’m watching a story and haven’t seen the end of it. I’m waiting waiting waiting to see what comes next. 📸 my mom, daughter and myself #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth #smallbusinessowner #comfidencecoach
Got to spend the weekend in Chicago with Jarrett, to celebrate his new job after 20 years at the same company. 1. Wind chill of -40 meant my clothes had to be functional. Layers of wool and down, with weather appropriate footwear but make it cute. It was the ultimate test of functional fashion. 2. A weekend away meant laundry, menu planning and grocery shopping got moved to yesterday, which was also my first day back at work. I was inspired afresh that I design to simplify our lives. Less time dressing, less time doing laundry, more capacity for our other jobs. #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth
Haaaaay Sweet Face, I’ve been away from social media for a month and have missed you! Among many thoughts as I returned to work this morning, was this little poem I scratched out… @ #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth #personalstyle #littlepoem #journal
It’s that time! I’ll be away from social media through 1/15. You can reach me via email and the shop is still open! THANK YOU for a great year. 🥹🫶🏻 #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth #smallbatchfashion #socialmediabreak #holiday
If you are familiar with my belt bag. If you are familiar with the handwoven recycled cottons I use for my skirts. Then you know @motif.jackie I met her in 2019, right before my business melted 🫠 over the course of 2020 and Covid shutdowns. She’s moving away (geographically) and I feel my training wheels are coming off. Excited for the future and really really grateful for the past 4 years living near her. THANK YOU JACKIE 🫶🏻🫶🏻 #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth #fairtradefabric #handwovenfabric #manufacturingindustry #fairtrademanufacture #recycledyarn
Just finished the laundry 🥵 and am inspired anew 🤌🏻 The solution to the laundry pile lies in the design room. Low quality design leads to more work for us when it comes to laundry day. #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth #smallbatchfashion #slowfashion #handmadeclothing #capsulecloset
New jewel tone belt bag colors. Erica is wearing the forest green and I’m in the midnight blue. If you aren’t familiar - my leather belt bag was made at a fair trade factory in Dhaka, run by a woman named Taslima. Full grain leather, I designed the bag to be a lightweight way to keep the essentials nearby but out of our hands 🙌 so we can get our errands done (or our vacations vacated) without stress. I make the belts to order in Champaign, Illinois. I searched a long time before finding the magnetic closure that keeps the bag secure but is easy to get on and off. MrsEmily.com for all of this, including Erica’s skirt. 😍😍 The skirt is knit (stretchy), so you can size down up to 3 sizes for a more fitted look. #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth #fairtradefashion #handmadefashion #madeinbangladesh #madeinillinois #chambana
It’s one thing to wait when you’re 20. To wait through your 20’s. It’s one thing to wait when you’re 30. To wait through your 30’s. I thought because I had waited for years to get to this point, it would be quick from here. But I’m learning that I don’t get to do it right the first time just because I’ve been trying so long: Manufacturing is way harder than I thought it would be and dozens of skirts and fabric sit unable to be sold as is. And I’m trying to wrap my head around the way forward. Thanks to amazing partnerships in both India and Bangladesh, and your purchases, all costs have been covered and though I’m not paying my family’s bills with profit from my biz this year, I’m not in debt and the biz is still moving forward. It’s taken me months to write these words. Many good things in the horizon - new fabrics and new skirts - but I wanted to let you in on the lonely, scary parts of the journey as well. #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth #smallbatchmanufacturing #slowfashionmovement #ethicalmanufacturing
It was a little over 3 years ago, after Covid shutdowns forced me out of my retail space, after my fabric buying trips to nyc were canceled, after my sewist stepped away, I stopped going in my studio. There were no answers for my business, and nothing left in the tank to push any more. My husband, brother and sister eventually took me upstairs and we stood in the space as I cried for everything I had lost, and all I wanted for my biz that I hadn’t seen yet. After that, I was able to get back to work. “Why haven’t I quit yet?” I think I have, many times. I hold my biz with an open hand, knowing there may be a day when it’s just too hard, and there may be a day after that day, when it gets a little easier. Grief is a far bigger part of the entrepreneur journey than I expected. Plans go sideways, unexpected things come up, I reach capacity… That’s life too though, right? There are seasons where grief has to be the first step. And after the crying, there’s a new sunrise. Thank you for being here! So much progress since 2020, and so much in the hopper for 2024. 🥹🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻 #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth #retailspace #brickandmortar #dreamspace #smallbatchfashion #microfactory
To grow in confidence, is to grow comfortable with being opposite. If we are each unique… As we get to know ourselves… We’re learning to stomach, how we’re different. Then, we’re learning to lean in to those differences. Then we’re learning to celebrate those differences. Being opposite is uncomfortable, lonely at times. But it’s the only way. When YOU are yourself, you’re bringing something new to the table and it’s that never-before-seen voice that we’re needing. I can get so sick of being opposite, especially with my business. I can easily go here 👉🏻 “Another year of weird backwards growth, prioritizing things I hope pay off.” 👈🏻 Before recognizing my unique journey is growing unique fruit both in my personal life and in my product. Whatever is difficult and leaving a bad taste in your mouth rn, with some reflection, time, a walk, a good nights sleep, a talk with a friend - it may be the very thing that sets you apart in the best way. Cyber Monday draws to a close and not a % off on my website. ☺️ Instead, I opened orders November 1 for skirts I will continue to sew through Dec 15. Thank you for being here. Many times, its conversations with you that keep me on the opposite track, rather than veering into what’s safe and comfortable. #MrsEmilyFashionAdvocate #DebunkingTheFashionMyth