Interview: Carly from Chic Steals

Recently I was browsing DIY and came across a site called Chic Steals. I really liked what I read about the proprietor, Carly and contacted her to see if she would be available to have a virtual sit down. She kindly agreed, you can read the conversation below:)

Left: Carly with her DIY Christian Louboutin for Rodarte Super-Spiked Heels Right: DIY Pamela Love Arrowhead Ring

1) The Chic Steals motto seems to be “Luxury is a Construct”. Could you elaborate on what you mean by that?

What I mean by that phrase is that the idea that something is luxurious is an idea “constructed” (i.e., created) by companies wanting people to buy their stuff.  There’s no consensus among people in general as to what actually defines “luxury” – it’s different from country to culture to social group to socio-economic level to background to personal preference.  What items should command the highest prices in the market?  Fur?  Leather?  Diamonds?  Something that is made of materials that are extremely scarce?  Created by a single artisan?  Made by a company that’s been around since the 1800’s?  The idea of “luxury goods” and the high retail prices they have is just a marketing tool which does not reflect the actual cost to the companies making those items.  80% of the retail price of a luxury item is needed in order to advertise the item and convince people they actually want it, by making it seem rare, unique, unattainable, one-of-a-kind, and made with special and expensive materials.  In fact, most “luxury items” aren’t one-of-a-kind or even created using “special or expensive materials”…and the idea that having or creating a one-of-a-kind, artisan item is absolutely attainable by everyone if they’re willing to try making it themselves!

Carly and her 5-year-old son she calls “Lil Tot” on her blog

Right now yes, I am still a stay-at-home mom, but as my son is in school full-time now, I have a lot of “free” time.  The site does take a significant amount of time to run, as well as crafting posts, taking photos, editing photos, and email and interaction with readers – so I spend about 6-7 days a week working on that while my son is in school or late at night after he’s asleep.  Usually on the weekends I’ll devote one whole day to family things, and I’m still taking my son to activities and things outside of school, so right now there isn’t a huge amount of juggling since I’m home most of the time anyway.  If I were to get a full-time job outside of the home, then I would definitely have to learn to juggle like crazy!!:-)

I’m not sure how much they impact my interests in Fashion and DIY; I’ve always felt like it’s more the other way around and Fashion and DIY has impacted my experience in the TV/video and Animation worlds.  I’ve done wardrobe styling and prop creation for shoots – and a lot of that is about DIY and re-creating a look on a very tight budget and timeframe.  When I design characters for an animated series or short, it’s sort of a way of adding an element of Fashion Design to the characters’ clothing…but of course it’s not quite the same as true fashion design, which needs to create something new and unique and special in regards to details, and display your own aesthetic, and be manufactured at a certain price point for your market.  The “fashion” for animated characters has to be animate-able, that is, easy to be moved or redrawn hundreds if not thousands of times, so it has to be simplistic to a certain degree, will likely never be manufactured (and if it is for cosplay it will be simplified and cheapified for such purposes), has to be boldly-colored, unique to the character, and display the character’s aesthetic and personality.  It’s quite different than designing a line of clothing for an actual human consumer – it’s in a bubble, which can be kind of fun.

Movie: Far and Away or Marie Antoinette.  I’m a sucker for period films.:-)  Actors/actresses I don’t really have a favorite, because so much of their “look” is crafted by a stylist or stylist team behind the scenes, that you have no idea what that person’s style really is anymore.  I’ve always admired the screen presence of women like Emma Thompson, Keira Knightley, and Cate Blanchett, if that makes any sense.

RIVETED Clothing & Accessories

That was an amazing learning experience; it’s true that it’s something that you can never really understand just by studying it or reading books about it; it’s something you have to actually do to understand how difficult it is.  (I certainly didn’t understand what people were warning me about prior to trying it…;-)  Not only do you take on all the difficulties of running your own business, all by yourself, but given that it’s in the Fashion Industry that makes it doubly, if not triply hard, to succeed.  What I found was that unless you are a master at patternmaking, sample-making, and sewing multiples of the same garment, you need to outsource that, and then your line can be made or broken by the skill of the people in those positions.  Heck, even if you ARE an expert in those fields you still can’t do it all yourself (and run the business at the same time), so you’re going to have to work with someone to help you somewhere.  There’s a saying that you have to have either a lot of money, a lot of skilled people willing to work for free, or a lot of free time (on a 10-year timeline!) if you want to succeed in the fashion business.  The Sundance Channel’s All on the Line show really gets into the nitty-gritty of marketing and running the business of a line, so I really like watching it because it provides this true window into that world.  But I’m still unsure if I want to go back to it – it’s a huge amount of stress to bring into a young, struggling family if your line is solely funded by yourself.

I see my site as a place where people who are interested in trend-driven fashion can find ideas, inspiration, and how-to’s for re-interpreting styles to suit themselves.  I like to share information and be a resource, encouraging people to just try things out and have fun with it – and that they should never be scared of making things or getting their hands dirty.  It’s all in the name of Fashion!:-)  As for my plans for it…I just intend to keep sharing ideas and encouraging others to do the same, and hope that people see it as a place for inspiration and answers!

Right:  DIY Convertible Butterfly Lace Belt , Left: Men’s Shirt to Jumpsuit Romper

I think it was a brooch I made when I was 7 out of a cocktail umbrella, a tiny pair of plastic sunglasses, a couple of seashells, and some fabric sample scraps that were always included in women’s clothing catalogs back in the 80’s.  I remember seeing a photo in a magazine of a beachtowel on some sand, with a pair of sunglasses and some seashells lying about, and wanted to re-create that summery feeling.  It was cute – but of course I never wore it!

Soldering.  What a mess!

Ugh…more than I can even list!  A Jil Sander maxi-skirt, an Alexander Wang one-shouldered bra, an Aula Aila beaded sheer top, a Gap sequin totebag…it goes on and on.

For beginners: just try different projects, don’t be afraid to fail, and customize methods and materials and whatever to suit your own tastes.  Experiment!  Fun beginner projects involve just gluing or hot-gluing things, because there’s instant gratification there.  For advanced DIY’ers…the sky’s the limit!