[ad_1]
RIDGEFIELD – When Ashley Alt gave birth to her son seven years ago, she said she suffered from postpartum depression and stopped taking care of herself.
That depression was the “final push” that inspired her to start her own fashion brand to help improve women’s mental health.
“I was breastfeeding in big t-shirts and boxers. I wasn’t doing what I normally do, which is doing my hair, doing makeup, wearing really nice clothes because that was my job (working with modeling and acting agencies),” said Alt, a mother of two.
The Alt clothing line, called VALT, launched in May and is a luxury loungewear brand built on the foundation of positive mental health. Since then, VALT has appeared twice at New York Fashion Week and this year has exhibited in other US markets in Los Angeles, Miami and Chicago. Featuring mostly silk and cotton coats and scarves, the brand can be purchased on Instagram @valtbrand or by visiting valtshop.com.
“I want women to feel important and to feel that they deserve to wear what they wear, be who they want to be, say what they want to say.”
‘Escape from reality’
Alt buys all the fabrics, materials and trims for her designs at the Garment District, a garment hub in midtown Manhattan. Then Emily Hiro, a seamstress from Manhattan, does all the handwork.
One of Alt’s aims is to design fashionable clothes for women to wear while waiting to go to their gynecologist for a check-up – an idea born from recent personal experience.
“I got a mammogram last week and they gave me a waffle dress to sit in the waiting room. There were about 10, 11 women all sitting there in waffle dresses. These places can be scary,” said Alt. She has a showroom in her home studio in Ridgefield.
“I was looking at everyone in the waffle skirt and they looked really sad,” she said. “I want to replace it with something that makes women feel beautiful and feminine when they’re feeling scared.”
She also works on designing what she calls “robe dressing,” which are kimono shirts that one wears over a T-shirt and jeans as a duster or as a bathrobe after getting out of the shower.
She is also interested in designing clothes for women in her spare time.
“When you walk into a hotel room and put on a fluffy white robe …[it puts you]in a healthy escapist mindset.”
She also designed beach covers for women to use while lounging by the pool.
She said she got the idea to make silk scarves from the leftover fabric from her kimono robe.
“Most of them are sold through trunk shows organized by various boutiques and salons,” she said.
‘Wear what makes you happy’
Walt grew up in Ohio and previously worked with the Art Academy in Chicago teaching students modeling techniques and coordinating with casting coaches and photographers for photo shoots and commercials.
She has managed several women’s boutiques, working closely with local designers and styling models for fashion show productions.
She learned about starting a career by taking classes and researching.
“There were so many different fashion courses, sustainability courses … knowing gaps in the market (and) where I wanted to go,” she said. “That’s what helped me get out of my postpartum funk — listening to motivational podcasts and reading self-improvement books. I wanted to turn[my interest in fashion]into something that could give me money.”
She, along with ALT, wants other women to know that no matter what they face, their lives are worth living.
Her fashion advice is to go wherever one wears rather than what the current trends suggest.
“Be true to your own beauty and wear what makes you feel good,” she said. “If you go to a thrift store or a thrift store and put things together, if you feel good … do whatever makes you feel good.”
She added that one doesn’t have to wear only black or white to be “chic”.
“You’re allowed to be like a little purple here, a little orange there — it’s just so hard because life is so short,” she said.
Ideally, she said, she would like to have her own storefront and see her brand at select resorts in the U.S. and beyond.
“I love being in the smaller resorts … and in the gift shops where people go to get a great souvenir and remember the fun times they had at their luxury resort or vacation spot,” he said.
[ad_2]
Source link
