It's been over 5 years now, and people ask me, "do you get tired of making the belts?" While producing large orders can be a big job that entails long hours and a tremendous amount of work, I honestly don't ever tire of it! It is exciting to have your own product and business because you get to flex all sorts of different muscles in the process. You must be creative and receive joy from this process. For me, shopping for the fabric is my favorite part as well as my most stressful part.
Once I hit send on the order, I know it's over and I am hoping that my clients love my fabric selections. It is hit or miss, always and just when I think I know what a customer is going to pick, I am wrong. However, when I am at a show and they are indecisive, I instinctively know what to pick for them. I will ask, "are you shopping for yourself or for a gift?" If it's for them, I take into account what they have picked up, looked at, and combine that with the overall feel of their personal style and talk with them about their lifestyle. These are good indicators for me and work. If they are shopping for a gift, I will ask: 1. How old are they? 2. What is their style: earthy, bohemian, preppy, conservative, non-descript, etc. 3. What do they do for a living or how do they spend most of their time, i.e., student, lawyer, creative job, etc. 4. What are their hobbies? Once I have this information, I know exactly where to go and what to pick up and the customer always agrees with my selection. I never get any returns.
I believe the different fabrics I use translate to different types of people. However, since it is such a small strip of fabric, it's not a big deal like buying a printed top or bottom. It is an accessory and should be whimsical and fun. I also believe that people are misled when trying to match the belt to other items in their wardrobe, unless they have something specific in mind.
A pop of color is always in order when completing your look, or an interesting print, or even perhaps a feminine floral print. If you think about Anthropologie, urban Outfitters, J. Crew, Ralph Lauren, etc, and imagine their ads, often times different textures and prints are mixed and that creates a much more interesting style. It's about individual expression, and nothing is wrong, and there are no more rules in terms of color. When my clients are focusing on darker prints for the fall, I find myself reminding them that there exists pink cashmere sweaters, ivory corduroy pants, bright blue down vests for a reason. That reason is color is IN no matter what season it is. It is 2012, and there are no rules, except for perhaps, NO SEERSUCKER in autumn, summer or spring!
The fact of the matter is, all the belts look fantastic on, every single one, it depends on your own mood and what colors or prints you are feeling that particular day! Fabric belts are for all seasons, they are lightweight, interesting, and are just as important as your shoe selection in terms of completion of your look.
I never know what sort of fabric will appeal to me on which day, but I know at times I am searching for something specific, never find it, and then have about 6 different fabrics in my cart that just speak to me somehow, someway. I particularly like the ones that glow with color.