Changing Room Thoughts

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!

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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 Year09:17 being REALLY chinese11:47 lunar new year or chinese new year?14:22 Fast Fashion 17:50 expensive fashion can still be "fast"20:23 lunar new year traditions21:20 how to stay connected to the culture22:58 internalized racism in Chinese Americans27:45 how traditions differ across china29:55 Chinese Zodiac33:30 traditional Chinese jewelry37:22 how to connect with your culture more40:09 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 Nathanie00:37 Introducing Faith03:13 Being Australian03:49 Ambition stems from funding expensive taste05:34 Why start a sustainable fashion brand?07:11 Crushed dreams08:33 You dont need to be an illustrator to design09:37 Google is free11:53 Why move to New York?13:52 Tips to improve production efficiency16:07 Finding a sustainable manufacturing practice for small brands18:58 The goal is to learn not just achieve19:48 Building effective brand marketing25:28 Launching Nathanie28:48 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 Intro08:38 JPG, Simmon Rocha, and the Nipple Bra12:02 quality loss in clothing15:59 addition through subtraction18:44 fragrances keep couture houses alive23:09 Robert wun26:24 margiela29:44 dark aesthetics32:26 feminism36:09 miss sohee38:03 rahul mishra41:11 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.