getyourshirttogether-blog

[getyourshirttogether-blog]

Preorders are LIVE! This is NOT A DRILL!! Get your #transowned #transfashion fix here: http://www.leoroux.com/9mx3lnu8ck5z8kzrgqevtf5b1sg6zn while FREE SHIPPING lasts! #transfeminine #transisbeautiful #fashionisforeveyone #fashion #denim

[getyourshirttogether-blog]

Preorders are LIVE! This is NOT A DRILL!! Get your #transowned #transfashion fix here: http://www.leoroux.com/9mx3lnu8ck5z8kzrgqevtf5b1sg6zn while FREE SHIPPING lasts! #transmasculine #denim #fashion #transisbeautiful #fashionisforeveryone

[getyourshirttogether-blog]

Hey everyone! We are so very excited to announce that preorders are going LIVE THIS MONTH!

Check in at http://www.leoroux.com/ for more details and take a peek at http://www.leoroux.com/blog/ for a look at how and why we do what we do!

[getyourshirttogether-blog]

Some of our favorite fabrics #designer #fashion #runway #fashionisforeveryone #inclusivefashion #fashionactivism #transisbeautiful #transfashion #transmasculine #transfeminine #nonbinary #newyorkfashionweek

[getyourshirttogether-blog]

To everyone who voted for us last week, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! Well over 3,000 votes were cast, and with your help we came in third place with 12% of the votes, which gives us a strong chance at advancing to show at #NYFW! Community voting will count for 30% of #dapperq's selection -- their staff decision will count for the final 70%. Stay tuned for updates as we get them! #transgender #transfashion #nonbinary #transmasculine #transfeminine #fashionisforeveryone #leorouxkickstarter #fashionactivism #newyorkfashionweek #runway #fashion (at Seattle, Washington)

[getyourshirttogether-blog]

Yes, yes, yes - more of this, please!

[getyourshirttogether-blog]

LAST DAY TO VOTE for #leorouxclothing -- please take a moment to vote and help us get to #NYFW -- vote for LeoRoux here: http://www.dapperq.com/2016/06/vote-designers-shown-brooklyn-museum/ ♡♡THANK YOU♡♡ #fashionisforeveryone #leorouxkickstarter #transfashion #transisbeautiful #fashionactivism #transmasculine #transfeminine #nonbinary #fashion #runway #newyorkfashionweek

[getyourshirttogether-blog]

#article in the #austinchronicle about #leorouxkickstarter - read it here: http://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/gay-place/2016-06-07/breaking-down-barriers-for-inclusive-fashion/ -- and don't forget to VOTE to help us get to #NYFW: http://www.dapperq.com/2016/06/vote-designers-shown-brooklyn-museum/ ♢♢THANK YOU♢♢ #transfashion #transisbeautiful #fashionactivism #transmasculine #transfeminine #nonbinary #fashion #runway #fashionisforeveryone #inclusivefashion

[getyourshirttogether-blog]

UPDATE -- #leorouxclothing is still in the running to show at #dapperq's #NYFW show at the Brooklyn Museum in September - but we need your help to get there! Voting goes until June 12th -- Please take a moment to vote for us HERE: http://www.dapperq.com/2016/06/vote-designers-shown-brooklyn-museum/ Check us out at leoroux.com and ♡♡THANK YOU♡♡ for your support! #leorouxkickstarter #transfashion #transisbeautiful #fashionactivism #transmasculine #transfeminine #nonbinary #fashion #runway #fashionisforeveryone

[getyourshirttogether-blog]

BIG NEWS -- #leorouxclothing is in the running to show at #dapperq's #NYFW show at the Brooklyn Museum in September -- but we need your help to get there! Please take a moment to vote for us here: http://www.dapperq.com/2016/06/vote-designers-shown-brooklyn-museum/ Check us out at leoroux.com, and ☆☆THANK YOU☆☆ for your support! #fashionisforeveryone #leorouxkickstarter #transfashion #transisbeautiful #fashionactivism #transmasculine #transfeminine #nonbinary #fashion #runway

[getyourshirttogether-blog]

#designprocess for #leorouxclothing - the devil is in the details -- and so is the design: working to create transfeminine and transmasculine lines takes time and attention to every detail... #fashionisforeveryone #leorouxkickstarter #transfashion #transisbeautiful #fashionactivism (at Seattle, Washington)

[getyourshirttogether-blog]

Design is in the details... #theLeoRouxLook #fashionisforeveryone #leorouxkickstarter #transfashion #transisbeautiful #fashionactivism (at Seattle, Washington)

[getyourshirttogether-blog]

#theLeoRouxLook #fashionisforeveryone #leorouxkickstarter #transfashion #transisbeautiful #fashionactivism (at Seattle, Washington)

[getyourshirttogether-blog]

Minding Our Business

Everyday when we get dressed, we take for granted the huge amount of human ingenuity, craftsmanship, cooperation, and labor that went into a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, or a dress. Cotton had to be grown and harvested, fabric had to be milled and dyed; prints designed, patterns drafted, samples sewn, machinery maintained, workforce trained and paid, product transported and displayed... It might not be as revered as the advent of indoor plumbing, but accessible clothing is such an indispensable part of our lives that it almost should be.

Right now, our company is in a staring contest with all these factors. We're hard at work costing our future products, and that means we have to weigh each potential cost that will factor into our garments - factory labor (grading, cutting, sewing, etc.); fabric; trim (buttons, zippers, elastic, etc.); packaging and shipping, and so forth. Essentially, we are determining how to balance three very important factors:

Quality of goods and ethics, which drives our production costs up: We want our clothing to last you more than a few washes before it starts to pill or fall apart, and we want it made by someone who was treated well and paid a fair wage.

Affordable pricing, which drives our retail pricing down: We want our product to remain as affordable as possible to the trans and non-binary communities.   Standard procedure for clothing companies is to mark garment production cost up by 100% when they sell to a retailer, and then the retailer marks that same garment up another 100%. So, a garment that cost $20 to produce ends up selling for $80 in the store. We want to eliminate that inflated cost by selling our garments online.

Sustainable business: We need to ensure that our business policies, strategies, and management will generate enough income to pay for wages and salaries, warehouse and office space, and for the next shipment of fabric, and the next, and the next. Only by minding our business will we ensure the future of our business, and be able to serve the transgender and non-binary communities on an ongoing basis.

[getyourshirttogether-blog]

#theLeoRouxLook #fashionisforeveryone #leorouxkickstarter #transfashion #transisbeautiful #fashionactivism (at Seattle, Washington)

[getyourshirttogether-blog]

Changing the Architecture of Clothing

We interviewed Simone [of Simone and Sylvia] about her fashion and design background and the role she played in helping us create the first casual clothing line designed specifically with transgender people in mind. It has been a huge privilege for us to work with her, and without Simone's dedication to our project and the wealth of experience she brought to the table, we would never have come this far in so little time. So, from all of us at Leo Roux, a huge thank you to you, Simone!

LR: How long have you been drafting patterns and doing what you do?

Simone: I have been doing this since 1974, so for over 40 years. Although I actually started sewing when I was seven; I made my own clothes. I was tall and a lot of things didn't fit me, and back then Seattle wasn't known for having a lot of hip and trendy clothes - so I would just make my own.

LR: Did you go to school for design and pattern making? Or how does that work?

Simone: I got a degree in Fashion Design and Textiles from the University of Washington, and I graduated in 1978. Then I did a pattern making program through Fashion Institute of Technology in New York for two years.

LR: That's awesome! Can you list a few of the major brand names that you've worked for over the years?

Simone: Yeah, so... I've worked for Levi's, and Betsy Johnson; I've worked for all kinds of local companies like Brittania Jeans and Normandie Jeans. I started out in denim, and then worked for some high end lingerie companies, and for some circuses like Barnum and Baley and Cirque du Soleil and some European circuses. I worked for the Pacific Northwest Ballet and the opera here. I've worked for local gay and indie theaters, as well as cabaret and burlesque groups. I've owned three different boutiques, the first of which was called Polka Dot (which opened in 1980) and sold punk-themed clothing. I designed a lot of that and did a lot of silk screening. I've designed a lot of children's clothing as well.

LR: Wow. So it's really more a question of what haven't you done! ... How have you applied your craft to the specific needs we had for our clothing line?

Simone: I've worked with all kinds of bodies throughout my career, so I have a pretty good understanding of anatomy. I was able to use that knowledge anatomy, pattern making and the architecture of clothing to incorporate the measurements and physical attributes of the fit models - and in a sense 'remove' and 'add' some of the physical features that we usually associate with men and women - to create the clothing you wanted.

LR: What was one of the major challenges you ran into, and how did you find a way around it?

Simone: The fit of the jeans was a primary concern of mine. I think the length of the crotch and the ease of the crotch are what needed the most work, because those attributes of jeans are most characteristic of gender. So we had to get the the fit right by building in ease or taking out ease where needed, as well as paying attention to the shape of the buttocks.

LR: Thanks so much for your time, Simone. We are so grateful to you for sharing all your expertise with us! We look forward to continuing our work with you, and seeing what comes next!

[getyourshirttogether-blog]

As we draw closer to our finalized Kickstarter launch date - August 1st! - we are narrowing down which factory to work with once we go into production. [9B Apparel] is our top contender right now, a manufacturer with over 20 years of handmade-in-the-USA experience. They manage five factories in Los Angeles, with each factory specializing in either denim, knitwear, wovens, or outerwear. They offer low minimums for brands just starting out, but also handle large-volume production for many high-end brands, so we would definitely have room to grow in working with them.

Not only does 9B Apparel produce expertly-made, high quality garments; they also "adhere to the most environmentally friendly manufacturing laws anywhere in the world," sustainable manufacturing, as well as Fair Labor practices and California living wages. Working with a manufacturer that values such ethics is very important to us at Leo Roux. Because, to be plain, we like being able to sleep at night, and we figure you do, too.