Meet: Jacqueline City

I am officially on vacation now! But even though I am enjoying myself right now I still think of you guys! So I have something nice made for you: posts! And today is definitely special. It is an interview with lovely and super talented person. Make sure to shop or at least take a look!

1 First of all tell my readers a little bit about yourself. How did you come up with your clothing line idea?

Hello, I’m Jacqueline City, a 22 year old disabled artist, petite model and entrepreneur. Ever since I was an infant, I’ve been obsessed with fashion. One of the earliest stories my mother and grandmother love telling of me as a child is when I would pull dresses down from the racks into my coach before I could ever speak. I taught myself to sew from a children’s book at about 6 or 7 and went on to get a kids sewing machine by 10. I would visit the rows of fabric stores in my hometown of Philadelphia, shopping for fabrics, buttons, and decor. The idea of a clothing collection and online store came when I realized that I could take my future into my own hands. My health has been my focus for the last few years but now that I am stable I am able to now focus on my passion: making style easily accessible to everyone through my new adventure Jacqueline City Apparel.

2 What was the first thing you ever designed? Do you still have a photo?

I started out very young around 7 designing pillows, dolls’ clothes, small bags, and what I thought could be clothes for myself. I would cut open my own pillows and cushions to take out stuffing, take fabric from old clothes, cut off my jeans to make shorts, and glue my own paper drawings to tshirts. I had not quite figured out how to make anything usable or wearable; I just taught myself from trial and error, mistake after mistake. My mom embraced my makeshift items and took me to many craft stores and fabric stores to get the proper equipment. I never took proper lessons or classes.

3 I know you haven't yet fully started but do you have any plans for next collections? May be something else you want to add to the line, something that didn't make it to the classic and/or Manic Pixie?

The Classic Collection is a unisex collection of 4 items in 2 colors each with plus sizing options available up to a 5X. The Classic Collection releases Friday, February 15th. The idea behind “Classic” came from the fact that these are wearable, affordable, comfortable yet fashionable items for any age, sex, or size. The Manic Pixie Collection will be our first women’s boutique collection ranging from sizes extra small to extra large. The Collection releases on March 1srm just in time for Spring. Manic Pixie includes 12 cohesive, feminine items in black, white, and light pink. It is a combination of graphic design, hand painting, adding jewels and faux pearls, sewing, and customizing items all done exclusively myself. Jacqueline City Apparel has many exciting plans for future collections. We hope to be releasing a new women’s boutique collection every 2 months with the new seasons, with their own themes. We hope to put together very curated, cohesive collections that are easily mixed and matched. Jacqueline City Apparel also has hopes to keep the Classic Collection as a permanent fixture, in the future adding many more designs.

4 Talking about the collections: I am a bit curious about Manic Pixie name. Why did you pick it for super lovely and pink items? Where did you get the inspiration?

The term “Manic Pixie” comes from the film stock character type, “Manic Pixie Dream Girl.” The MPDG is described as a bubbly, carefree woman who leads men on, inviting them to chase life’s infinite wonders. It is often depicted as a bad thing as if these women do not have their own lives; however, I see Manic Pixies as very dreamy, complicated girls that are difficult to tie down because of their fierce independence. Some famous Manic Pixie Dream Girls would be Marilyn Monroe as “Sugar Kane” in Some Like It Hot and Audrey Hepburn as “Holly Golightly” in Breakfast at Tiffanys, as well as newer film characters like Zooey Deschanel as “Summer” in 500 Days of Summer and iconic literature characters such as Daisy from The Great Gatsby. Each piece in the Manic Pixie Collection is named after a manic pixie dream girl character.

5 Here is the question I always ask during the interviews. They say most of creative people been creative even since they were very little, for example future hairdresser cut all the doll's hair short overnight or used mother's favorite skirt as material for a new doll dress... Did you do anything like that when you were little? May be 'classic collection' has roots in your childhood.

As I spoke before, I have had alot of fashion mishaps from an early age involving locking myself in my room and cutting up my perfectly good clothes, using real markers on my clothes, even cutting a hole in my coach to get stuffing to make pillows. It was all a creative process that led me to this new adventure in Jacqueline City Apparel. I am so lucky to have been surrounded by a family that helped me grow and learn about fashion in my own time by buying me books, sewing machines, sketch pads, fabrics, and anything else I ever needed. I am very excited to see if my skills have improved or just gone downhill since the age of 7.

Information:
The Classic Collection releases on 2/15 (unisex, up to a 5X, permanent collection)
The Manic Pixie collection releases on 3/1 (women’s, spring collection)
Jacqueline City, 22 years old, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Website: JacquelineCity.com
Facebook: Facebook.com/JacquelineCityApparel
Instagram: Instagram.com/JacquelineCityApparel


Photo credit: Veronica Takes Photos (facebook and instagram) for all photos with exception to Jacqueline’s baby photos

 

Have a nice day,

Lyosha