Meet Johanna. She's our designer for all of our cut and sew apparel
(that's all the dresses, shorts, cardigans, etc.) and the reason why we have such amazing fitting clothes that make you look fahhhh-bulous! As if that wasn't enough, she also has her very own clothing line called Wax Poetic (which you can
find for sale on our site) where she makes some of the prettiest dresses you've ever seen. AND they're made right here in the ol' U.S. of A. Now let's learn a little more about her, shall we?
Hi Johanna! So, what do you do here at Sourpuss? Hi!! I'm the designer for all of our cut and sew apparel! I've dabbled in a couple of accessories too, but that's my primary focus.
What is some of the inspiration behind the clothing you create for Sourpuss? Well, vintage clothing from the 40's and 50's is always a huge inspiration for me. I love looking at old patterns and images from old catalogs, I can find some of the best silhouettes that way. I also like to look at artwork and vintage prints to get ideas for themes and the "mood" of each collection. And of course, our customer is always a big factor - I want to give our ladies something new that they can't find anywhere else! I work with an incredible team of artists that make the most amazing prints for us - they're truly one of a kind - and they make my job a lot easier! I really like to start the design process with a print in mind, it really helps to know what kind of look or silhouette will fit it best. Whew! I could go on forever, so I'll stop now.
What’s your favorite item that you’ve designed for us? That is really tough. This particular season, my favorite items are the
Retro Diamond dresses for sure. I LOVE them, I love the perfect mid century diamond print on them, and the silhouette is really flattering. Also, the
Sweetie Pie shorts are pretty fantastic - they do amazing things for my booty! My favorite thing EVER though... it's a toss up between our
Keep 'Em Flying Dress and the
Anchors Aweigh Varsity Jacket that I designed my very first season here. I have a soft spot for anything military or nautical (my husband is a Navy Vet and my Dad's an Air Force Vet), hence those two being my faves.
We know that you love cats. Like, a LOT. If you could create the perfect outfit for a kitty, what would it be? Ok so I totally zeroed in on this question and had to answer it first, ha ha!!! I have always been pretty obsessed with little sailor outfits that were worn by children in the Victorian era, so that is definitely something I would have to recreate. I have two cats, Pooka (the boy) and Pandora (the girl), and they would look sooooo cute in their matching outfits! Even though they'd hate it and probably poop in every shoe in my closet.... it would be worth it.
If you could raid anyone’s closet, who would it be? Cate Blanchett. I couldn't actually fit into any of her clothes, but I could at least roll around in them and pretend. Did you see her dress from the Oscars? Oh and I would also raid Sarah Burton's closet. (She's the designer for Alexander McQueen) I think we might even be the same size! She's gotta have some pretty amazeballs stuff.
You also have your own clothing line, Wax Poetic. Could you tell us more about that? Yes! I started the company with my husband two years ago. He's always been pushing me to start my own label, and we decided that the time was finally right. I wanted to make really pretty, very vintage inspired dresses. It's so silly but I came up with the name of the brand on a train ride from NYC to Philly... two women were in front of me yakking away and I thought to myself, "omg I'm going to have to listen to these women wax poetic all the way home!" and then I thought.. Wax Poetic.. it clicked! Before that we had tossed around some real stinkers, so I feel really fortunate that I got stuck behind those two.
Anyway, we formed the company with the number one goal being production in the USA. We hit some major bumps the first year, but next month we'll be debuting our second collection and I couldn't be more excited about it! It's a very nautical capsule collection, with the major focus being an amazing mermaid sailor print, and polka dots, lots of polka dots! Stay tuned for that one.
What do you see for the future of Wax Poetic? Fame and fortune, darling! ha ha. (but seriously, though.)
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Follow Johanna on Instagram at:
@waxpoeticclothing
For more on Wax Poetic:
www.waxpoeticclothing.com
