I LOVE THAT FIRST DRESSSS

Vegas/Nora trip was rad but its nice to be home. Every year we say “five days is too long to spend in Vegas” but it never changes. Oh well, this years hang over only took me 2 days to shake. I feel like the bad quality of the photos is a testament to all the fun we were having- too busy dancing to worry about focus. Extra love to all the ladies pictured and to my one and only and his $69 win.

Dress: Rumi for Rvca
Necklace: Mom’s from Bahrain
Beanie: Matix

Have you ever met anyone who you got along with right off the bat? Someone who actually LAUGHED at your jokes, not just to be polite but because you were both totally “there” right then? That’s how felt about Michelle Nguyen Williams when I met her about a month ago at her work space. She apologized for being reluctant to open the gate when I knocked – ” sorry, thought you were a crack head”. Nestled on a quaint 3rd st corner, not too far from downtown long beach and probably the only quaint corner in that area, sits the Quail Headquarters where Michelle gets to let her imagination run wild. When I sent her over the questions, I really couldn’t wait for her to get back to me. Girly girls, listen up.

Being from LA, how has that helped shape you as a fashion designer? Quail isnt that typical “LA” style.. in a good way.

Growing up in the Southbay, I remember the thrift stores were incredible. At the time, no one cared to step into a Salvation Army unless it were to donate something or buy a halloween costume. Which meant more for me! I found incredible designers like Proenza, Oscar De La Renta, Moschino in some of the dingiest thrift stores ever! It was a huge passion of mine to buy something and transform it, make it my own. I trained myself to see the potential in items that the average person wouldn’t deem “fashionable”. This helped me create timeless and feminine styles with the hint of tomboy grit that makes Quail, QUAIL!

Whats the most important part of a sandwich?

CHEEEESE, PLEASE!

Photos of inspiring things

Yes, I want this.

This kills me. Love it!

Stellllla! I love the Floral explosion.

HOT DOG! I love how the dog has crumbs on its back.

I have a serious obsession with bows. Look at how huge that one is! (that’s what she said).

Whats New in Quail land?

We just launched our Spring 2011 collection
The season we focused on the usual…..paying homage to throwback styles with a modern twist. We wanted to celebrate who the Quail girl is! She is someone who is always up for a good time, never too serious, always playful, and very feminine with a hint of tomboy grit.

I just launched QuailBridal.com which features wedding dresses and bridesmaid dresses for the “fashionable bride” who doesn’t have a huge budget. This project has been such a big passion of mine and I am thrilled to share it with the world. We have 2-in-1 wedding dresses where a bride can “unzip” her floor-length gown to a short cocktail dress just in time for dancing! Its something I wish I had for my wedding so why not create it for brides to come?!

Also, this Fall/Holiday season we created some exclusive styles for UrbanOutfitters. My favorite piece is the Marabou Vest. Hello, fluffy penguin!

Phrase you say way too much

I say “Literally” way too much. I literally start every sentence with it. See!

Fashion Do’s
Bright lipstick
Basic trench
Perfect red dress
Comfortable “everyday” wedges
Show some leg!
Statement jewelry

Fashion please do NOT’s:

Dresses over flared out jeans
Too much makeup
Wife beaters

This or That:

I HAVE to ask- beets or turnips?
Beets.

Family guy or The Simpsons?
Simpsons.

Creepy warehouse or long dark hallways?
Warehouse

Orange or Green?
Orange

Sneak Peak of Quail Spring 11!!

Ive been trying to write an intro for Liz, designer or Leatherette Heart, for the last 20 minutes.. but all Ive written down is big hair, glitter, busty, hazy-eyed all nighters, dance machine, and drugs cats. And while all those words fit liz pretty well, I think its kind of an good thing to not be able to be summed up by a few poorly strung together sentences. Liz, like her designs, is pretty outlandish; the best kind of outlandish. Hell, the theme of her last Catalog was a Murderous Barabella Delorean Gang. Ya. Awesome. I think Im just gonna sit back and let Liz do the talking here.

Did Lizfind fashion or did fashion find Liz?
well i always loved clothes and was always the little girl trying to wear my moms strapless dresses despite having no boobs, or wearing 80 million necklaces at once. but it got real bad once my mom put me in catholic school. i was soooo upset with the thought of wearing a uniform, but my mom said “well if you wear a uniform to school you can wear whatever you want on the weekends” shit she must regret saying that hahahahah! but i always sketched clothing when i was a kid, but more for outfits or costumes i wanted to wear. fast forward through the tumultuous drug filled, arrest laden teen years, and mom said i should move to SF with them and go to a fancy fashion school. i loved SF and thought it would be a fun change. she thought secretly it might keep me out of trouble. so i went to school there, while getting in trouble (above the law) being in bands and go-go dancing. so i guess i always loved fashion but was steered into making it a vocation.

Alright party animal, whats a typical night out for you vs and ideal night out:

Typical= LB, at the pike with the pike peeps, either “Liz” casual, because you had to drag me out of the house, or in over the top Liz finery, both of which usually have a fingerless glove and/or glitter n rhinestones involved and a printed garment of some kind. This activity usually evolves in us starting the dance floor and my singing getting louder the drunker I get.
Ideal= well since NY fashion week just happened, I’m really missing it there so maybe in NYC, early evening sneak in at the tents (did it all the time, but I’ll never tell how) watching the shows on flat screens while enjoying the open bar. Then finding out about some fabulous glamourous dance party with the “boys” and doing illicit and scandalous things in the unisex bathroom. (I’ll never tell what goes on in there either…) all while wearing something “festive” like my rhinestone taxedermy headress or my “whomp there it is” shirt with knee socks and a military hat. (what I wore the first time I ever snuck in)
But sadly, these days it’s been me, the kitty a hot glue gun or sewing machine and cable…

You get handed 900 trillion dollars.. or something. What do you do?

TRAVEL! I move about every 5 years for a reason. I’d do a planes trains (boats) and automobiles trip around the world and teach paris hilton what it really means to party. i’d shop till i drop, dance till i split my pants, eat to the beat, and have sex till im onto the next, honey! then while i am in rehab at the fat farm i’d arrange some save the world type stuff…. something to save gay endagered eco economy stuff. there is no bad without good…

Last three songs you listened to

last 3 songs that i remember billy oceans “loverboy” (im on a serious billy ocean trip right now) i desperately wanted to hear “thunderstruck” by AC/DC on the way into Vegas. and i danced on the bar at hogs and heifers to bob segers “hollywood nights”

What’s new in the world of Leatherette Heart?

i just did a collection inspired by deloreans. the premise is that the girls who wear the clothes are in a car gang driving across america wreaking havoc on everyone in their wake. next season im either gonna go with a diana ross/mahogany inspiration which is like one of my favorite movies. she’s a wanna be fashion designer from the poorer side of town and she is discovered by a modeling agent and becomes an international model. while all this is happening she is falling for billy dee williams a brother trying to make things better for his people. she has the internal struggle of being true to her roots and dreams or living this glamourous models lifestyle. oh diana what will you do!?!?
the other inspiration idea is a james brown/black panthers theme based on a one off dress i made a few years ago called “say it loud, i’m black and im proud.” robyn the weapons expert/hairdresser/accessories stylist from the look book shoot bought it from me and thats how we became friends. there is a movie about how a james brown performance helped stopped riots that were happening post MLK’s assassination. he was set to perform in boston, and because of the riots the venue wanted to cancel the show. when this news reached the only black councilman in Boston they decided that if the show was cancelled more riots would erupt. they eventually decided to televise the whole thing in hopes of getting people off the street and to stop rioting. it fuckin worked. i wanna watch the documentary, research the time period and let my fashion brain do the rest.
either way i guess that eighth of sister in my DNA has something to say, and fashion is my platform….

whats the most important part of a sandwich
the cheese and the condiments! otherwise its just dry meat n bread…

Fashion Do’s:

me
originality
finding your own “classics” that work for you (ie leopard isnt a “classic” in normal people terms but its a classic for me)
fishnets
thinking outside the box
metal zippers
patent leather
fredrick of fredrick’s of hollywood was known to say “accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, and fake the non-existent”
another fashion do quote “Your dresses should be tight enough to show you’re a woman and loose enough to show you’re a lady.”
wearing your clothes and not letting them wear you.
you don’t have to be skinny or beautiful to be fabulous.
drag queens

Fashion please do NOT’s:

ed hardy
wearing clothes that are too tight or too loose
too much botox or collagen
fake boobs (all boobies are good! they dont need to be huge!)
ed hardy
too many labels, you should pay me to put your label on my body as i am your advertisement.

This or That:
Beets or Turnips beats!
Cats or Dogs cats!
Beer or Wine vodka or whisky!
Orange or Green orange!

visit www.leatheretteheart.etsy.com or listen to my podcast @ www.leatheretteheart.666.mevio.com

Im going to make a list:
Because Im bored
For the hell of it
Because I should be working
Because there’s nothing on TV

So heres a list of my favorite, in no particular order, fashoin-geared blogs that I click through everyday. This was going to be a top ten but 1/2 way through I realized how tedious list making is.

Im trying to redo my resume.. I think I need a big kid job.

“Off the internet and on the LA streets, pencil-like slenderness, natural or otherwise, is the prevailing aesthetic among the late- teens to mid-twentysomethings in particular, but most women of a certain social or professional aspiration want or, more pointedly, are expected to be rail thin — ideally, the mythical size zero. The boobs- and-bum sexuality that once defined the LA aesthetic is over. When someone now asks, “Who did your breasts?”, it is as likely to be about a reduction as an enlargement. “