The diamond industry has sold us a narrow vision of romance — one that equates love with the size, sparkle, and price tag of a center stone. But what happens when we question the 4 Cs, the obsession with diamond size, and the idea that bigger means better?
In this episode, we dive into how the diamond monopoly reshaped our expectations of engagement rings and why it’s time to break free. We’ll explore antique and vintage rings as sources of inspiration, challenge how feminism and gender equality get tangled up in ring culture, and imagine what it looks like when a ring becomes a true symbol of your love — unique, empathetic, and radically personal.
✨ If you’ve ever wondered what an engagement ring could be beyond the diamond, this conversation is for you.
It's been almost two years since our last checkin with the rentals for it-girls: Hauteline!
Since then Kristie Chow's business has expanded to another co-founder (and good friend) Michelle Li, another storefront in LES, and a wider selection of delectable designers, and nationwide shipping.
I'm so excited to share what's the same, and what is different with these ever-savvy entrepreneurs :)
It doesn’t take a fashion-head to reach the conclusion our clothes are about to get more expensive with tariffs looming. According to CNBC, 97% of our clothes are made outside the US and it’s estimated that our clothes will get 67% more expensive. Now more than ever, how do you decide what’s worth your hard earned money? In trying to produce sleepwear, I’m learning a lot about the nuance from the generation of the fibers (what we usually discuss in sustainable fashion) to the resulting fabric (so many steps happen here that aren’t well documented or understood).
If you’re interested in my idea of sustainable (to the best of my ability) sleepwear for the female fantasy, drop me your email below and I’ll reach out when the slips become available to purchase: https://drowzistudios.com/
And here is the instagram :) https://www.instagram.com/drowzistudios?igsh=MXFycDVmNnZlZXAxNQ==
Surprise surprise! This episode finds a re-invigorated, inspired Karina. This New York Fashion Week I had the pleasure of interacting with so many exciting independent and emerging designers that I'm genuinely hoping I can put y'all onto!
This fashion week there was a presentation to satisfy many of my sartorial curiosities thanks to Lindsey Media. A creative visionary that sold his name-sake brand for roughly $48 million and bought it back for less than $3 million. An emerging sustainable designer that creates not just boilerplate capsule-collection clothes, but closet staples with an original point of view stitched into its construction. This fashion week is so full of interesting stories I'm excited to share with you all.
The emerging designers I worked with to pull off NYFW looks courtesy of Doors NYC:
Call me crazy but a piece of jewelry is really that deep. Shana Cave conveys her profound understanding of the chaotic albeit beautiful experience of adolescence and adulthood as a woman. Uncanny that such complexity is so intuitively understood by women world wide through metal and stone, but Shana Cave’s ideas are as precious as the materials she uses in her work.
An impishly knobby Viking Princess ring, Topaz vines blooming on the wrist, delicate lace cut out of chunky sheet metal, rubies and sapphires sprouting from earrings, Shana Cave’s pieces touch the “I’m just a girl” that’s hiding deep in every woman’s soul.
Check out her collection Dec 6-8 11-7PM at 434 E. 9th St.
Trying out a new format here which is way lower effort to produce, and perhaps a gateway to me yapping more... But a trip back to China has left me with much to unpack about fashion here, my own biases and cultural identity... idk this episode was cathartic to produce :)
Support the Chinese Miao Tribe and help keep their embroidery history alive here: https://sourgongzhu.com/ Checkout Sour Gong Zhu's Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/sourgongzhu/ 00:00 Introduction to the Meow Tribe Embroidery 00:45 Understanding Sustainable Fashion 01:50 Welcome to Season Three of Changing Room Thoughts 02:36 Meet Becca Pu: Fashion Tech Innovator 04:23 Challenges in Sustainable Fashion 07:50 The Importance of Indigenous Textiles 13:54 Modernizing Traditional Folk Art 18:31 Empowering Village Artisans 28:29 Choosing the Right Textile 28:49 Creating the Perfect Silhouette 29:01 Collaborating with Seamstresses 29:56 Navigating the Tailor Market 30:58 Sourcing Sustainable Factories 32:53 Challenges in Sustainable Fashion 41:37 Debunking Pricing Myths 48:44 The Reality of 'Made in China'
Join us for a multi-faceted and inspiring episode as we delve into the worlds of fashion, creative expression, and personal resilience. Our conversations with Henry and Marco of Undermind span everything from their collective's ventures in fashion magazine publishing and music production, to tales of early techno raves, the power of community, and the importance of positive manifestation practices.Don't miss the exciting launch of Iconic Magazine on June 5th!
My Hoang is the definition of multi-hyphenate. But despite her many titles: jewelry business founder, AI Inventory Management SAAS startup founder, marketer, woman in stem--it is My's attitude that really left a mark on me.
My's passion for her custom watch jewelry business, Sage and Saber, is not fueled by pride or money -- but by love. Love for what she does, love for her customers, and the love of learning how to do something new. Being delulu is just being delulu unless you back those dreams up with an appreciation for what you're able to do for others and the bias-for-action to make those dreams real. We can all learn something from the way My handles herself and her business.
Poshmark's head of merchandising, Chloe Baffert, has been featured in Vogue, Elle, Daily Mail for her trend predictions. And if you've had the privilege of watching any of her TikToks, you'd know her refreshingly honest takes from 2023's trends being 2010's references to calling out Staud's overpriced and unoriginal Cleo Peppiat dupes.
Her content belies just how much the girl knows how to shop. Chloe is a bonafide e-commerce queen. Not only has she led merchandising at Poshmark, but also product management at Macy's leading digital style strategy and even contributed her fashion taxonomy expertise to The Yes--an AI powered shopping platform startup that sold to Pinterest for 80 million in 2022.
As a techie girl and fashion nerd, I cannot explain my delight To have Chloe join me on changing room boss today. Check out her IG and TT here:
https://www.instagram.com/chloebaffert/?hl=en
https://www.tiktok.com/@chloebaffert
Undermind is an innovative collective and music label whose continued growth includes recent Latin Grammy nominations and a collaboration with NYC's iconic venue, Elsewhere. Soon, they'll launch the second issue of their magazine, Screens Don't Capture Reality, at the legendary Iconic Magazine in NYC.
Drawing inspiration from techno warehouse culture, Undermind encourages its community to embrace the present. The magazine will also be available across retailers in South Korea and Japan. I've had a sneak peek into the contents and it is some serious fashion eye candy.
Thank you, Henry and Undermind, without which today's episode would not be possible. Check them out here:
https://undermind.xyz/
https://www.instagram.com/undermindnyc/?hl=en
Met Gala this, Met Gala that. What is the Met Gala? And what is so special about it that it captures the world's attention on the first Monday of every May? What does the costume institute do? If you've ever been curious about the Met Gala and are curious about this year's event -- this episode is for you!
Join the Changing Room Thoughts Discord Server
Follow @newyork.ccc on IG for more events like the one we did at the Met's exhibit: Women Dressing Women
TikTok: @karinajchan
IG: @karinajchan
Join the Changing Room Thoughts Discord Server
Follow @newyork.ccc on IG for more events like the one we did at the Met Gala's exhibit: Women Dressing Women
"The Craze for Feminine Rage" by Emily Tom
"Your Satin Ribbons Will Not Save You" by Salome Sol
Women Love Power - Feminine Archetypes
Dark Feminine Designers/Brands Mentioned:
Elena Velez
Mirror Palais
SS24 Alaia by Pieter Mulier
Check out the time stamps below to skip around!
Vivian's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vivian.z/
Today's episode of Changing Room Thoughts touches on some controversyyyyyy. But we said what we said! Vivian and I talk about it all: cultural appropriation, is it lunar new year or Chinese new year, internalized sinophobia in Chinese Americans all while we drink some actual tea! 0:00 CRT 21: Happy Lunar New Year 09:17 being REALLY chinese 11:47 lunar new year or chinese new year? 14:22 Fast Fashion 17:50 expensive fashion can still be "fast" 20:23 lunar new year traditions 21:20 how to stay connected to the culture 22:58 internalized racism in Chinese Americans 27:45 how traditions differ across china 29:55 Chinese Zodiac 33:30 traditional Chinese jewelry 37:22 how to connect with your culture more 40:09 shanghainese representation
You might cross Faith on the street and think to yourself, "My goodness, what a beautiful and well dressed girl!" But dig a little deeper and you'll find that Faith Nathanie isn't just a pretty face. Her youth belies her maturity, experience, and entrepreneurial prowess. Years before she was known as @faithnathanie, the certified social media star sitting at 134,000 followers on Instagram. Years before she started running her own creative services business. And right before moving halfway across the globe to live her dream of studying fashion at LIM in New York City, Faith was running her own sustainable fashion business from Perth, Australia at the ripe age of 19. I myself had discovered Faye Studios In late 2021, much to Faith's surprise when I later ran into her in person at a fashion event with emcee Studios in New York. Now armed with a degree in fashion business from LIM and years of PR experience as both influencer and creative services entrepreneur--Faith is looking to relaunch Faye Studios and today we're going to learn all about it. Please join me in welcoming the inimitable Faith Nathanie. 0:00 CRT 20 | What it takes to build a sustainable fashion brand from scratch with Faith Nathanie 00:37 Introducing Faith 03:13 Being Australian 03:49 Ambition stems from funding expensive taste 05:34 Why start a sustainable fashion brand? 07:11 Crushed dreams 08:33 You dont need to be an illustrator to design 09:37 Google is free 11:53 Why move to New York? 13:52 Tips to improve production efficiency 16:07 Finding a sustainable manufacturing practice for small brands 18:58 The goal is to learn not just achieve 19:48 Building effective brand marketing 25:28 Launching Nathanie 28:48 Postgrad Plans
I am soooooo excited to bring this SS24 Couture Week review episode of Changing Room Thoughts to you today! Joined by my very knowledgeable and insightful guests Ari Arvand and Edward Park we uncover all the juicy details of this season's finest masterworks and biggest flops. For those of you who don't know: haute couture garments are handmade, unique and custom-made garments while ready-to-wear is clothing produced in large(er) quantities in a factory. TLDR couture week showcases the creme de la creme of craftsmanship, design talent, and fashion heritage. Hope you enjoy diving into all the looks with us! 0:00 Intro 08:38 JPG, Simmon Rocha, and the Nipple Bra 12:02 quality loss in clothing 15:59 addition through subtraction 18:44 fragrances keep couture houses alive 23:09 Robert wun 26:24 margiela 29:44 dark aesthetics 32:26 feminism 36:09 miss sohee 38:03 rahul mishra 41:11 tweens at chanel
Shop DAWANG here
There is something so undeniably gorgeous about the Qi Pao. The refined, structured tailoring. The divine hand-feel of silk brocade. As a Chinese American -- it's always been a shame to me that I felt I could only celebrate the beauty of my heritage's sartorial culture on rare occasions. You may have seen traditional Chinoiserie at weddings and graduations, but on a day-to-day Chinese Americans don a more "practical" and "casual" dress as dictated by our obviously euro-centric culture.
In comes DAWANG -- a shining beacon of expressive hope for fashion-forward Chinese Americans who can finally fill this hole in their closet and their hearts. After taking a class on subcultures, Chinese-born Daisy Wang realized that nobody was making the type of elevated Asian streetwear that she wanted to consume—comfortable, ready to wear, and not a gimmick. DAWANG's brocade patterns in lavender, periwinkle, cobalt, and orange are sewn into practical streetwear silhouettes--allowing the wearer to enjoy the beauty and heritage of Chinese sericulture day to day.
DAWANG (大王) means "Big King" and is a New York-based contemporary streetwear design brand that draws influences from East and West. DAWANG is committed to celebrating a modern interpretation of traditional Chinese aesthetics. Later joined by her best friend Abby Li in 2022, with their similar background growing up, having absorbed aesthetics from both American and Chinese cultures, they meticulously joins traditional chinoiserie apparel and Chinese fabrics with Western tailoring techniques and trends.
In addition to fostering a creative space for Chinese and Chinese Americans, Daisy and Abby's aim is to invite people of all backgrounds to partake in the beauty of #ModernChinoiserie. The intention to create a melting pot of culture surrounding modern Chinese streetwear is more than apparent in their diverse casting choices across runway and e-commerce models.
I hope you enjoyed this episode as much as I did -- this one is really special and personal.
Today’s guest speaker is the zenith of corporate baddie on TOP turned fashion tech startup founder. A former Blackstone employee, our esteemed guest speaker today left the trillion-dollar asset manager to start Pickle, a peer-to-peer clothing rental app, that allows users to rent out their closet to people who live nearby and favorite of enterprising fashion girlies nationwide. Though born in New York City in 2021, Pickle has more than half of its new users come from other parts of the country.
In the sea of startups vying for the all elusive venture capital funding — she and her cofounder Brian McMahon has raised $8 million in funding from FirstMark, Craft Ventures and others in 2023, giving it a $30 million valuation. An all the more incredible feat given that only 2% of venture dollars goes to women founders.
Fashion nerds I hope you enjoy this episode with the inspiring, Forbes 30 under 30, Julia O’Mara. We get INTO it from her most worn pieces, Pickle's incredibly cost-effective marketing strategy, and the creative features which this startup has developed to help fashion lovers across the US try beautiful clothes in an environmentally and fiscally sustainable way.
Have you given Pickle a try? If not, would you? As a renter or as an owner? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
