Where's Wilbur?

Just the other day, I saw a post on my Facebook wall from my friend Jamie Rice. She asked me where I had been and informed me that she missed my blog entries. The truth is that I had been floating in the abyss of self-doubt and disappointment once again. I had tried so many times to write about my odyssey, but I was stuck and everything I wrote sounded as blue as I was feeling. I just didn't want to put that out there to whatever readers I may have left. And so I held my tongue.

Ashanti and I had run ourselves ragged trying to sell the Spring 2011 collection. Each evening after returning home from the plantation, we were feverishly making calls and sending emails to boutiques and specialty stores throughout the U.S. in our desperate attempt to get the line out to the public. Certainly these store owners would embrace us like the curvy women who had sent me countless messages asking how they might purchase a Wilbur design. Despite all the love we received from our potential customers and the clamor of interest we got from bloggers and fashion followers, all we got from retailers was loud silence. And then I began to worry about how I was going to put a collection together to show this March. Time was moving by. Quickly. We hadn't even begun work on the garments. I was and still am seriously in debt from our September debut and there was no money to beg, borrow, or steal. My mother could see the obvious anxiety in my actions and suggested I take a break. "What?! I can't take a break now. Everyone is expecting my follow-up collection." I tried to forge ahead. Then a business colleague, Brandon Atherley, who is a talented and respected celebrity fashion stylist, shared his thoughts. He advised, "Instead of trying to throw something together and it not being your best work, why don't you sit this season out?" When two or more people share similar recommendations, I really take notice because I believe that the universe is speaking to me through them. And so I decided that I would shelf plans to produce samples for a fall collection and press the refresh button on my soul. It was the best decision that I've made thus far this year. It has allowed me to re-evaluate some of the ways that I handle my business. I am still interested in attaining financial success, but I will not allow the possibility of making it rule me to the point of breaking my spirit. I am finally, after 13 years, beginning to understand that I have a gift and I am not going to let people in positions of power make me feel like my designs are less than awesome. I am going to treat myself with care and not let the validation of others define my self-worth. After all, I Am Fabulous. . . despite what you might think!

Peace & Fashion!

Vitamin Me

I have always held myself to an incredibly high standard.  My feeling is: If I'm not going to do my absolute best, then there is no point in me doing it at all.  Yet, lately, despite my best efforts, I feel like I am falling short.  I have promised to write in my online journal regularly, but I have not.  It is with the best intentions that I start my week promising to get back to my exercise regimen and start eating right so I can drop some of these unwanted pounds, but I have not committed to climbing out of bed at 4 a.m. so I can get to the gym before I head for the plantation.  And by the middle of the day, I am so frustrated that I just want to head over to Dunkin' Donuts and buy a half dozen of those chocolate glazed cake donuts.  And at 320 calories a pop, that kind of behavior is just really counterproductive - to say the least.

The truth of the matter is that I have just not been motivated.  With the holidays here and me trying desperately to stretch my dollars to make sure that there are gifts under the tree for my loved ones, I have become increasingly disgusted by my financial situation.  And I do not want to pour that kind of energy into this blog.  Earlier this year I wrote that I was only giving myself one more year to make a go out of Sorta Kinda Enterprises.  And after the less-than-stellar reception by retailers of my spring collection, I am feeling disconnected from my dream and beginning to wonder if this may very well be the end of an era that was filled with some triumphs, but mostly struggles.  I have almost always felt certain about my path in fashion - like the universe had called me to this career.  And although I have not yet counted myself out, I cannot help but start to wonder after 12 years if I have been on some crazy vanity ride.  I told my sister, Ashanti, who is also one of my partners in fashion crime that I have been put in a place of total surrender.  In the past, I have done everything outside of magic tricks to keep up the momentum of getting the Wilbur brand off the ground.  Any one who has known me during the last decade and change, knows that it's the truth.  But at this point, the well has run dry of all resources.  So as my church folks say, "I've got to let go and let God."  To that end, we are working with Nakeisha Jennings of Prime Planners who does brand building and raises money through corporate sponsorships.  She has quite a Rolodex at her fingertips and I am praying that she is the key to finishing and presenting my fall 2011 collection "Eye Candy" this coming March.



Wilbur & Kitty Kat are all smiles at the wedding reception of A & R



My dream has sustained me all these years.  Fashion saved me from a life without purpose.  And whatever the outcome, I know that there is something better around the bend.  I am wishing all my readers a very Merry Christmas and a healthy and prosperous New Year.  I am going to take a moment and revitalize my spirit and try to refresh myself so that I can be better prepared for this part of my fashion crusade.  See you in 2011!

Peace & Fashion!

It's All Me!

I lost track of time and before I knew it a month had passed and I hadn't posted anything to my online journal.  Truth be told, I've had a lot of things on my plate and the blog took a backseat to all my stuff.  So I am just going to have to take this moment to fill you in on all the behind-the-scenes fashion drama. 

Maryellen & Wilbur at November to Remember Event

Having nothing at all to do with fashion and just on a personal note, on October 31 I celebrated another birthday.  I am officially 43 and FANTASTIC!  It was all very low-key with the family and then I was among the thousands of people at the Halloween Day Parade down in the Village with my close friend, Chris.  There were lots of half-naked people masquerading as something ghoulish or sexy (I'm not sure which?) and I know they were cold.  In NYC, you can use any occasion to show off your stuff.  But pneumonia as a side effect is so not cool.  I'm just sayin'!  I've shunned big blowouts and costumes for awhile, but I think when I turn 45 I am going to have to reconsider. I am just happy to have reached this age in good health, loved, and pushing forward.

So you already know about my trials with Bloomingdale's and the less-than-positive meeting I had with the buyer for Special Size Dresses.  Well, it seems that all the powers-that-be are on the same page and are not interested in opening accounts with any new vendors.  This information comes directly from my favorite salesperson in the women's department at the 59th Street flagship, Scheffie, who met with the regional director and general manager.  I guess, all's well that ends well.  Next season I will perhaps have a different story to tell.  Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue also did not take the bait, so Ashanti and I have been chugging ahead and contacting the specialty boutiques.  We've heard some positive things from a couple of the stores.  So we're in talks to see what we can do to seal the deal.  I promise to keep you all in the loop.

Having written this blog for over a year now, it became apparent to many, especially my sister-in-law, that I have a voice.  And I was urged to write my book.  So I have begun.  I settled on writing my memoir and started early in the summer.  I asked certain people whose input I trust, like my friend Sheila Rule, a former New York Times journalist, to tell me if I was headed in the right direction.  Sheila assured me that I was a good writer and had an interesting enough story to tell.  But, she said, I was leaving out the meat and only providing the bones of the story.  I needed to give a full picture of my life.  I've had to re-live some parts of my life that I had forgotten or that I found painful.  But the process has been surprisingly very cathartic.  And I really like how I've been able to craft a visual by using words on a paper.  I am shooting to finish it by sometime in 2011.  And then I will have to tackle the whole publishing monster.  But right now I am just taking it one step at a time and enjoying the process.

I've also been busy supporting some of my colleagues in the curvy community.  Two Saturdays ago, On November 13, I attended my friends Jeannie Ferguson and Tasha Hill's presentation of their Big Girls United (BGU) Chameleon Collection..  And this Saturday past, my friend Dhylles Waight-Davis presented her Katwalk Katerers' November to Remember charity runway show.  I am always happy to support my friends in their endeavors and happier to be a part of the audience instead of the one running around frantic and crazy making sure everything is running smoothly.  The curvy community is tight knit and many times I see some of the same players.  But that's okay with me.  When I was creating fashions for the less ample, I always felt like an outsider and it is this sense of community that makes me feel like I am home.

Wilbur & Ashanti show some love to Jeannie of Big Birls United



P. Crawford, Wilbur, and Renee J congratulate Dhylles on her Novemeber to Remember Event



Ashanti and Wilbur meet face-to-face with Renee Jennings 

I am busy working on the next collection which my team and I will present here in New York City in March.  I've already started fittings!  We've got a full plate already for 2011 including a trip to Los Angeles to participate in a runway show for a fashion initiative called Kiss The Curves.  I feel like there are just not enough hours in the day.  For real!  But I promise to be more diligent about documenting my odyssey.  I'll be back after the holiday.  But until then, Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

Peace & Fashion!

Like A Great Bra



Wilbur, Dee Dee, & Ashanti at WWD book signing party.



I may be experiencing some issues with finding a distribution channel so that my dresses are available for women living outside of New York City.  But I refuse to dwell on what I do not yet have and instead focus on what must be done next.  I am impassioned by my efforts to bring more fashion to the curvy woman and I know that the universe is creating a pathway for that to happen.  In the meantime, I press forward and rely heavily on my circle of sisters, the wonderful women who comprise the curvy fashion community and nurture my creativity and support me emotionally.



Keicia Derry wears WILBUR.  Photo: Jeff Fasano



On Monday afternoon, I had lunch with Tara Taylor. A makeup artist with limitless talent, I'd spotted her work posted on facebook.  Talk about beautiful!  I was awestruck.  And she is more lovely as a person than her skills could ever be.  We officially met at the 5 year anniversary celebration for another plus designer, Monif C., a couple of weeks ago.  And I told her that I just had to have her share her talents on my next project.  And so she's agreed to collaborate as I prepare my collection for Fall 2011.  But more than the work, Ms. T was there with assurance to let me know that, despite my less-than-stellar showing with Bloomingdale's, there is a plan and I just have to remain steadfast and focused.  After our 3-hour afternoon chat fest, I felt like there was a renewed sense of hope.  And for that I was grateful.



Wilbur & The Curvy Fashionista - Marie Denee



During our meeting, Tara informed me that The Curvy Fashionista, a blogger who'd written a lovely post about me a little over a month ago, was going to be in town.  I begged her to arrange a face-to-face meeting since The Curvy Fashionista, nee Marie Denee is west coast based and I wasn't sure when the next opportunity might arise.  Tara, who is connected to everybody fabulous in the curvy community, reached out to Madeline Figueroa-Jones, the founder and the creative mind behind the online glossy Plus Model Magazine.  It just so happens that the ladies along with Alissa, Ms. Stylish Curves herself, were all together for a style symposium hosted by Just My Size.  So before they made their way to dinner, I made my way to their hotel where we chatted and had a love fest.  It was just an awesome experience to be in the company of these positive curvy role models.  And feeding off their energy just inspires and motivates me.

So this group of women is really like a great bra.  Their support makes me look good and I look forward to a relationship where I do the same for them.

Peace & Fashion!

The Bridge Is Out

Yesterday I noticed that there is a serious divide going on in fashion.  I think I've always known it, but it became more evident as my day progressed.  Plus size is still fashion's ignored stepchild.  Despite the 62% of women who are a size 14 and above, it seems like the chasm may be permanent.  My fashion mogul friend and founder of Full-Figured Fashion Week, Gwen DeVoe, pretty much tried to convince me while we were laughing and chatting over cocktails a few weeks ago. "Wilbur, the big boys still have not invited me to the table," she said explaining that high fashion is an exclusive club reserved for the fabulously skinny.  Sporting my rose-colored glasses, I really didn't want to believe her.  After all, I have received so much attention for my creative efforts concerning the curvy woman.  Just to name a few recent gains by the curvy community - -  during New York Fashion Week this past September, One Stop Plus staged the first runway show dedicated solely to contemporary fashions for the curvy woman.  Clingy and sexy dress designer, Monif C. recently celebrated her fifth year in business.  And big girls continue to make "special" appearances in mainstream magazines.  But so many people don't want to embrace the curvy.  A couple of weeks ago when I was in Re/dress, the Brooklyn-based destination emporium for all things vintage for the curvy woman, I met a lovely young lady named Jessica.  Jessica and I fell into a deep conversation like we'd been forever friends when she confessed to me that she had recently gone down to a size 14 from a size 24.  And she shared something with me that has stayed on my mind since.  Jessica thinks clothing manufacturers do not put a lot of effort or style into plus fashions because most women consider the weight temporary and are always striving to become a more socially acceptable size 6 or 8.  Hello Oprah!  I immediately disagreed with her because if that is the case then my career choice is a big mistake.  But maybe there is a little truth to it?  Yesterday afternoon I met with the buyer at Bloomingdale's.  I felt empowered by the many women whom I have met online and in person who have asked me when and where they'll be able to buy my dresses.  So I carefully pulled out each of my confections explaining how we could accommodate her customer by adding sleeves or changing colors and fabrication.  I explained to her that the customer wants to celebrate her curves and is looking for pieces that caress her curves, not tent-like frocks that do nothing for her shape.  "She wants more fashion," I added.  I informed her that I have over 500 followers on facebook.  I write a blog that goes out to about 250 readers.  And we maintain a website as well. When she calculated the retail price of one of my dresses, she thought it was a bit pricey for the Bloomingdale's customer.  I assured her that the Bloomingdale's customer is not resistant to price if she is getting value and fashion.  She told me that she'd never seen a line like mine before - a statement I found a little ambiguous to be sure. When I left that meeting, the buyer said that she was unwilling to change the status quo and add a new designer to her mix of vendors for now.  I was disappointed as I walked to Bloomingdale's to inform the sales team who had been so supportive over the last couple of months.  As I rode the escalator up to the 3rd floor, I saw a lot of fashion happening in other departments that were bustling.  In the women's department it was quiet and overflowing with a lot of the same clothes by the same vendors like Jones New York that are found in other stores such as Lord & Taylor and Macy's.  So although I am on the front lines talking to the customer doing my best to accommodate her fashion and style needs, she's losing in the long run. The message that is being conveyed is that because she's bigger, her access to more fashionable items should and will be limited.

Later in the evening, I had the opportunity to attend the book signing of WWD@100 at Bergdorf Goodman.  Populated by fashion industry superstars, my model Dee Dee and I along with Ashanti were a breath of plus size freshness.  And we did get snapped by one of the evening's photographers.  But Dee Dee commented that the atmosphere was very "clique-ish".  I am not sure how to infiltrate the fashion cognoscenti's sphere of fabulousness, but I am looking to build a bridge so that plus-size fashion is no longer an oxymoron.

Peace & Fashion!

Riding The Wave

So it's been a month since my line of dresses for the curvy fashionista made its debut.  And what a validating experience it was.  So many supporters and friends came out to catch a glimpse.  But in the days that followed it was a bit of a comedown.  After working so diligently on the project for 4 months almost non-stop and surviving mostly on adrenaline, creativity, and expectations, I was like a junkie fiending for its next fix.  But I had to slow my roll and adjust my inner machine.  Moving on to the next phase was no longer about creating, but taking the dresses and seeing if my investment was going to finally pay off.  Sure, I was interviewed for a couple of online publications.  And even on Life Size Radio.  Check out Bell-Noir.com and Daily Venus Diva to see what's been said about me. But mostly I need to see if I will finally realize one of my dreams having my dresses hang on racks in fabulous stores.  A verdict has not yet been reached.  But Ashanti and I are making inroads, it seems.  A couple of major department stores are giving us the opportunity to meet them face-to-face.  I don't want to speak out of turn, but I promise that as soon as I know something, you will too.  For now, I am just riding the wave to see where this road leads.

Peace & Fashion!

This Just In. . .

WILBUR with MODELS DEE DEE, SAFIYAH, AND SAM



WILBUR, VLADA, ASHANTI, & ALEXANDRE GERTSMAN



THE BEAUTIFUL CROWD AT THE SUPERWOMAN LAUNCH





KYM HAMPTON (FORMER WNBA STAR) & DAUGHTER ARIELLE, WILBUR



GWEN DEVOE (FULL-FIGURED FASHION WEEK FOUNDER), WILBUR

SAFIYAH & SAM MODEL WILBUR



ALLIE McG, CHRISTINA, TASHA, AND DEE DEE MODEL WILBUR



I could share ALL the background details involved with putting together my launch event during New York Fashion Week.  Pulling all nighters, loading up the SUV, and picking up all the supplies are commonplace.  And those tidbits are just plain dull.  But I am always humbled by the obstacles and validated by the smallest victories.  Being able to hold the presentation at such a grand space with about 100 people attending was surreal.  Because you don't know if anyone is really going to show up.  And if it's only your family in attendance, that can be a little disheartening.  Now it's on to the next phase and that means getting the collection into stores.  I've been casting my net and because of our price point we are reaching out to many of the department stores that carry clothing for the curvy woman.  I am not going to disclose who we've targeted just yet, but having the dresses accesible to the consumer is one of the most important components of the business.  There simply is no rest for the weary.  And I've already begun conceptualizing and sketching the followup collection for Fall 2011.  That being said, I still look at the photos from the event and smile as I realize that I think I am finally on the right track.  And it feels good.

Peace & Fashion!

ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF HUBERT WILLIAMS AT IMAGESZ OF US.