In the ’80s, we loved a preppy gold belt and popped collar.  Throw in a monogrammed pocketbook, and add-a-beads, and you had a winner.  We grew up, had our own children, and those styles went by the wayside- well, except the collar; we can’t give up a good collar pop, can we?  

By the time my daughter, Chrismon, was in high school, and a junior national springboard diver, there was not a pair of shorts or jeans that fit her tiny waist and strong legs.  Everything had to be altered OR she needed a belt.  I refused to buy anything to be worn with one of those fake designer belts and she asked the question- “Well, what did y’all wear???” From there- an idea was born. We decided to solve the problem ourselves.

My father was in apparel manufacturing, so the idea that something beautiful and practical could be created from nothing more than a pattern, or a plan, was one I knew.  It just had to be broken down into pieces.  That, I got from my dad.  My mom, Ceil, on the other hand, was our fashion icon.  We got WWD when it was still newspaper.  In a rural town of 14,000 people, I’m sure we were the only subscribers. She was a woman of immeasurable style; unafraid to pair unique and basic pieces for a current, while ageless look.