Melissa HebelerWhen it comes to fashion brands that are able to be both effortlessly cool and utterly feminine at the same time, Twelfth St. by Cynthia Vincent is it.
We caught up with the label's founder and chief creative officer, Cynthia Vincent, to talk about everything from how she started her own company to the inspiration behind the design of her hip Los Angeles-based showroom.
So if you'd like to be transported into a day in the life of a fashion designer, keep reading.
What was your very first job?
My very first job was working a paper route
How did you get started in your career?
I told my mother when I was six this is what I wanted to do, and everything led to that. When I graduated from Otis Parsons I lived and worked in London for two years and one of my first jobs back was working with designer Harriet Selwyn as her designer.
Who are some of your career heroes?
Diana Vreeland and her protégé, Polly Mellen.
What's a typical workday like for you?
There is nothing typical other than my day-long fittings on Tuesdays and Thursdays. From the morning I wake up, I am a mom until drop off, and the minute I am out the gate I have my design head on. Any given day some of my favorite things are reviewing prints, fitting final garments, and creative research. My most favorite days are when it is all design.
Describe your office décor. Did you decorate it yourself?
Yes, I decorated it myself, and I love to be visually stimulated. My office is an eclectic mash up of found objects from my travels, my love of California regency mixed with modernism. I was obsessed with anything mid-century modern, and have continued to keep my office ever-changing by bringing in new pieces I am inspired by. Currently I have my vintage camping cot in the design space for summer. I love brining in pieces that I have I have lived with for a while to inspire my studio and bring them into a new environment.
List five things that are on your desk right now.
Besides the pile of work and sketches on my desk, some standout items consist of my 17th Century taxidermy bird, a stack of books I am currently inspired by, my mustard jar that holds pencils and brushes, there is always a box of pins for fittings, and a bowl of apples that get eaten faster than I can replace.
What do you typically wear to work?
One of my caftans, vintage of current season for the warmer months and a long trench with cozy underpinnings during the fall.
What are your favorite stores to shop for work clothes?
JustOneEye and Bucks and Does in Silverlake
What's the best piece of career advice you've ever received?
If you know in a day, and it's the same answer in a week, and the same in a month—never let it go a year.
Finish the sentence…
Today for lunch I had…Caesar salad made with arugula, cucumbers and tomatoes form Anson's.
The first website I log onto every day is…My homepage is set to WWD.com.
The beauty product you can always find in my purse is… NARS lipstick.
My must-have work gadget is…my iPhone.
My usual Starbucks order is…a Starbucks Venti dirty chai latte with half the sugar.
If I need a quick break during work, I usually…take a walk around downtown.
If I wasn't doing this job, I would be… an environmental interior designer.
The best part of my job is…I am doing what I love, and nothing is better than getting to be creative.