originally posted on the POP
Sarah Sulzberger Perpich: What are your earliest and fondest fashion memories and who in particular inspired and fostered your love and curiosity for fashion and jewelry?
Pamela Love: My grandmother Rose first introduced me to fashion magazines when I was very young. She used to play dress up with me and let me put on her makeup. She had an extremely unique style: all black clothes, black beret, jet black hair and lots of silver jewelry and she played guitar. Everything about her was artistic and it inspired me even at an early age.
SSP: When did you first fall in love with jewelry and what do you love about it most?
PL: I first fell in love with jewelry when I was about six and my mother gave me my first pair of dangly earrings. I thought it meant I was mature and ladylike. I love jewelry because it holds so much significance for people.
SSP: How did your previous work and experiences influence your sense of style?
PL: I spent several years as Francesco Clemente’s painting assistant. His creative process is so inspiring to me. I learned a lot about being an uncompromising individual from him.
SSP: What inspired you to start your own jewelry collection and how did it come about?
PL: I started my collection shortly after the death of my father in 2006. For whatever reason, it just felt right and helped me through a very dark period of my life.
SSP: How did you manage to successfully launch a high-end jewelry line (some price tags are over $2,000) during an economic recession?
PL: I think when people have less money to spend they don’t stop spending. They are just much more particular and far more concerned with quality and value. I think my customers recognize and appreciate the value and care that goes into my work. I feel honored when people don’t have tons of money at their disposal and they still choose to buy one of my pieces.
SSP: Can you describe your creative design process — and if you think it is similar to the creative process behind fashion, art and music?
PL: I usually get an image in my head. Sometimes it will just come to my mind out of nowhere, other times it will be directly related to something I saw (a movie, a sculpture, a plant etc.). Then I may or may not make a quick sketch. Then I carve the model out of wax or clay.
SSP: How would you describe your collections’ design aesthetics? Signature styles?
PL: It’s a little dark and gothic but also light and spiritual… Rock and Roll, flower child, nomad, shaman, sorcerer, knight… My most recognized piece is the eagle talon cuff.
SSP: You are queen of creative collaborations: How is the design process different when collaborating with a fashion house and runway show?
PL: It’s totally different trying to take someone else’s ideas and inspiration and executing it your own way. It’s challenging to find ways to be true to your own aesthetic while realizing someone else’s vision.
SSP: Which collaborations have you enjoyed the most and why? Which ones have been the most successful and in what way?
PL: I loved collaborating with Zac Posen on the jewelry and accessories for his Spring ‘09 show. He gave me so much freedom and the pieces were such a focal point. I also loved collaborating with Opening Ceremony and Spike Jonze for a line inspired by his film Where the Wild Things Are. It was so fun and different from anything I had done before. It gave me a chance to be more whimsical and childlike in my designs.
SSP: Do you have any interest in launching a more affordable, accessible collection in addition to your high-end collection?
PL: Yes of course! As long as I can control where and how the collection is produced. I am extremely committed to domestic production.
SSP: What has it been like and what have you learned from your experiences so far in the fashion world and your instant success at a young age?
PL: Just to go slow. It’s not a race. Don’t take on too much at one time. Quality is always better than quantity.
Pamela Love’s top ten loves right now
1. Jackson C Frank
2. Torelli bikes
3. Turquoise
4. Men’s oxfords
5. Devendra Banhart
6. Old aviator sunglasses
7. New tattoos
8. Gardening
9. This amazing band called Woods
10. Dr Martens
Info: www.pamelalovenyc.com
Bra shopping: I have loved it, hated it, spent more money than I should on expensive ones at Henri Bendels, and recently sought out the cheapest at Target or The Gap. Being a born again Recessionista, I thought that kind of money ($200 or more) better spent on an array of t-shirts and jeans from American Apparel, a dozen international fashion magazines, dinner at Whole Foods for a week or the occasional indulgence of a cab ride.
And while most women have to buy new bras over the years to keep up with changing breast size and shape, I’ve been lucky enough to wear the same size I first fit into at age 13. Which is another way of saying I have the same flat as a wall, barely-there boobies 17 years later.
I spent most of my life hating my prepubescent chest and avoiding body conscious shirts and dresses because I would look like a boy on the tops and “pregnant” (as I was called at least four times in my life) on the bottom. Then New Years Eve 2009 I decided to do something radical: I put on a skintight dress. That it took three bras, one strapless padded, one regular padded, and jelly inserts, to make it work didn’t matter. It worked so well that, something I had always thought shallow and trashy – the boob job – became my new obsession. But like a bad trend, about ten days and 10 Victoria’s Secret push up bras later, this phase thankfully came to an end. I was over it and the so were the bras, which were stuffed in the garbage thus erasing all evidence.
About two months ago, at age 30, my belief that the only things that mattered in a bra was that it had a hook, was under $20, and didn’t dig into my chest with underwire was challenged. My fashion career had taken off. With requisite TV appearances, designer interviews and fashion videos there were many times I found myself changing clothes in rooms with no privacy. My favorite flamboyant beauty and hair experts Taymor and Hector consistently commented about my bad bra choices: ongoing jokes that were made even funnier because they were completely warranted.
Fashion designers, friends, and family also began to make subtle comments about my undergarments. But the straw that broke the camel’s back was when Taymor, in the middle of doing my makeup suddenly stopped, stepped back and taking a full look head to toe exclaimed,
Fighting with and avoiding the bra situation was no longer going to fly so I decided to take action. I asked if anyone knew a good bra store and the feedback was unanimous: “Go to Bra Smyth on Broadway at 77th Street”. Despite feelings of apprehension, I shyly entered the store and explained to the woman who greeted me, Fahima, my situation: I had never bought a bra that actually fits. In response, she simply smiled and signaled me to follow her to the dressing room. She walked in behind me, shut the door, and said, “Take it off.” I had flashbacks of when I first went to the bra store and had to take off my shirt in front of a salesgirl, but this time I was much less timid. I stood in the dressing room in nothing but a pair of cut-off shorts and RayBans while she walked slowly around me staring at my torso the entire time.
Within about 30 seconds, she left the room saying only, “I’ll be right back”. About two minutes later she returned holding six bras of varying styles, shapes, cup and width sizes. I was rather incredulous: how could this woman possibly figure out the best bra for my body without asking me my size or even measuring my chest? She insisted that I start trying them on, and with nothing to lose, I took the first bra from her and hooked myself in. I immediately went into shock:
Fahima quickly diagnosed and described why I had experienced such difficulty with bra sizes and shapes and then identified all of the bras in her store that would best fit my body and why. She handed two bras to the seamstress in the back of the store for alterations: one needed to be wider so she moved the hook, and one was beautiful but had zero support so she inserted some padding. I had never heard of bra alterations before and it seemed like it could be hassle but was completed within minutes and best of all it was FREE. She worked like a scientist, observing and getting everything exactly right. She reassuringly added, “No two bodies are the same…I have the same shape as you do,” making the process a lot less uncomfortable and even a little exciting. I walked up to the cashier where she had laid out all of the bras we had selected: four black ones, two white ones, a nude tone, four lace bras, and one strapless. In less than an hour she managed to solve my lifelong battle with the bra.
The first thing I did when I got home was throw out every bra I ever bought making room for my new bras. I was starting a new chapter in my life leaving behind the bad bras and the bad feelings. I never really realized how important a bra is to the overall outfit until I actually had the “right” one: one that fits. Now that I do, my only regret is that I didn’t go to a bra specialist sooner.
Bra Smyth Broadway
2177 Broadway
(corner of 77th St.)
NY, NY 10024
212.721.5111
http://www.brasmyth.com/