Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Julius.
Hi Michelle, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I was born in Greenwich, London. When I was three months old, my family moved back to Borneo to a beautiful tropical city called Kota Kinabalu. That’s where I spent most of my young life growing up.
By the time I was done with high school, I made up my mind to pursue a degree in fashion design. I enrolled in a three years college for Fashion Design called CENFAD (Center for Advanced Design). In my first three years of my Associate’s Degree in college, I attended classes like textile design, design concepts, and fashion sketching. I absolutely loved what I was doing.
After graduating, I worked at quite a few companies, like Harper’s Bazaar magazine and even a bag manufacturing company. But I finally found myself in theater, designing costumes for a private production company. Here is where I discovered my love for historical costumes especially costumes from the 1940’s to 1960’s.
After two years in theater, I realized there was more I needed to learn and accomplish. So I decided to head back to school to earn my Bachelor’s Degree in the United States.
In the US, I discovered vintage clothing. I found it exciting to find dresses from the 1950’s and other eras gone by. So while I was in college, I opened my first Etsy shop, Minicoops vintage clothing. During my vintage clothing hunts, I discovered that a lot of the clothes were in sizes that women don’t wear anymore, and the condition of the clothes were less than desirable. It was frustrating that these things were out of my control.
Then a light bulb moment hit! Why don’t I recreate these styles of the past and make it available to the everyday woman? So at last, I found a perfect meeting ground for my love of historical costumes and designing clothing. That’s how MichyLou retro clothing was born.
For the past eight years most of my orders were custom retro dresses. In 2017, I started looking into custom belts to complete the look of my handmade dresses. Very few shops make custom cloth belts, and if there were any, most of them were not online and it was hard to place orders. I saw a gap that I could fill in the online market for custom cloth belts. It was a long process trying to find manufacturers that made the dyes for the buckle presses. Finally, after getting all my supplies for belt making, I offered custom belts in my Etsy shop. It has taken me a few years of trial and error to get to where my belts are now. My belt sales have now surpassed my clothing sales, so I have decided that belts would be my main focus. It has been a long road, but I think I have now found my niche market.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Retro clothing sales was good when I first started in 2010, but after the explosion of international retailers in retro clothing, sales have dropped by 50%. It was one of the reasons I decided to pursue custom belts. It is very hard for international manufacturers to make custom belts one size/color at a time, and there was a demand for it with my customers because belts are not one size fits all and customers wanted specific colors to match their outfits.
Another struggle I had was the startup costs. Purchasing the belt-making equipment was very expensive. I now understand why there are not make belt making shops out there.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I now specialize in custom cloth belts. I can make them in almost any color and I can also make them in customer-provided fabric. and my belts come in all sizes!
I am most proud of the journey it took me to get where I am now. My belts are my pride and joy and I enjoy making them. It has taken me a few years to perfect the technique.
I am also proud my belts have been featured in British Vogue and also seen in the HBO series “Plot Againts America”.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
As a child, my mother used to sew many dresses for me. She took sewing classes, and I used to tag along and sew Barbie doll clothes under the table. When I grew older, my mother taught me how to sew my very first skirt. From then on, I was hooked, so much so that I was constantly in trouble at school because I was designing dresses in my textbooks!
Pricing:
- One custom belt $30
- Free shipping in the USA
Contact Info:
- Email: michy.louise@gmail.com
- Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/MichyLouDotCom
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michyloudotcom
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MichyLouDotCom
Image Credits
Joe Coulas Anthony Lanza
