Okay.. this feels weird. I'm blogging again. I guess I'll take it one step at a time and see how I go. Where to start... hmmmm.... maybe at number one? Yep.
1. Let's start with some easy pickings....
BAM! See what I did there?
Okay, now I love Paris as much as the next girl, but there are some issues we gotta talk about. Wobbly zips and big dark crotch seams. They ain't your friends.
2. And...
KAPOW! Yeah, two on the trot... pow-pow.
I like the bodysuit, but the styling... nah. And what's the point of sewing leopard print panels into leopard print pants?
Seams like a waste of time (see what I did there?)
3. I believe in diversity. Wouldn't the world be a dull place if every girl wore Black Milk?
So why not get your pretty black leggings someplace else? And you can look like this:
SHINY!
Sure, they're a little saggy and wrinkly on the ankles. And the knees. And the butt cheeks. But there is nothing wrong with a little sagginess and wrinklitude.
My granny's wrinkly and she's a wonderful person.
Cute hoodie though.
4. So I suppose I owe some kind of explanation about why Black Milk has decided to discontinue the printed leggings. Okay, here goes.
I made a decision a while ago that our brand would be all about speed. We would stay mobile and move quick, like fashion guerillas. Whereas a big fashion house would take months to get a piece from concept to customer, we could do it in a couple of days.
Now, there are some obvious benefits to this method. Everything is fresh. There are new pieces being added constantly. It's interesting.
And some drawbacks. Primarily, you have less margin for error. Mistakes reverberate throughout the whole system and snowball. What I mean is, in most fashion houses, they get everything ready and then go to market. A gets sorted before B, which gets sorted before C. For us, A, B, and C all get done simultaneously.
We can do it usually, because we keep things tight and aren't too dependent on anyone else. We design our own stuff, make our own stuff, and sell our own stuff.
However... we are dependent. We need fabric suppliers and printers. And people make mistakes. And so do we. Can you imagine how many stuff ups can happen from the time a customer buys something to the time they receive it? A lot. Sometimes everyone's mistakes converge. And it's not fun. Of course, when that happens, you start losing money faster than a trader during a coke sale on Wall St.
And that's what happened. Everyone dropped the ball at once. The fabric dealers did. The printers did. And we did. And Black Milk turned from a fashion cheetah into a fashion elephant. Girls got sick of waiting, and I got sick of apologising.
Thankfully, I have all the executive power and a general lack of regard for money. So I cut them.
Two weeks later I find out I can't get any more black wet look fabric for a month. So, I'm kind of stuffed. I guess it's time for Plan C.
4. If you like looking at pictures of amazingly styling girls wearing shiny pants etc, and you're not freaky/pervy, check out these:
And another Tumblr.
And of course, Facebook. ;)
5. Because we are cutting prints, and I'm stuck in the middle of a major fabric shortage, I need to sell some more stuff! So I'm shooting a new collection of stuff next TUESDAY.
Tuesday. I guess I'd better go design some stuff.
Internet hugs all around.
x
jL
