The Meghan Design Process
For Meghan, making you look beautiful is very personal. She deeply loves her craft and loves our customers. Her style, attitude and joie de vivre come through in every garment she designs. And when you shop with us, you’re not buying from a big, faceless company. You’re buying a quality designer garment that was conceived with love by Meghan herself and manufactured under her watchful eye. Many of our dresses are cut and sewn by our partners right here in Los Angeles, all of whom are small, family owned businesses that we consider our friends.
QUALITY
Quality and craftsmanship are everything to us, and especially to Meghan. As she often says, “It’s my name on the door.” Every single pattern, sample, and TOP (top of production) are inspected and sometimes even created by her. No loose thread, poorly sewn seam or unbalanced hem stands a chance of slipping past her attention to detail.
OUR LINES
We offer two lines. BOHEME is our luxury line of dresses and tunics. These garments receive extra special attention throughout every step of production. They are fabricated in fine fabrics such as silk charmeuse and offer thoughtful details like dramatic kimono sleeves, hand-beading, and custom embroidery. BOHEME is launching later this year and we already have interest and budding partnerships with some of the most prestigious specialty boutiques in the country and around the world.
The Meghan line offers extraordinary craftsmanship and includes finishing and details that are normally only found in dresses costing much more. Our all-time best sellers like the LilyPad and the Jasmine are made with more than 7 yards of fabric - something that is simply unheard of with other dress makers at this price. They are cut long, because it’s always possible to hem a dress, but not to make it longer! (Meghan is nearly six feet tall!) You may not even notice the other fine finishing details, such as baby hem, a third button on a cuff, or upgraded elastic in the waist, but you’ll feel the quality. And we only select fabric that has a soft hand, drapes beautifully and is easy to care for. In short, this is a dress you’ll cherish for years - not months.
INSPIRATION
Meghan is inspired by all the beautiful colors of nature, especially flowers, butterflies and the ocean. The silhouettes, shapes and music of the 1970s always find a prominent place in her work. Subjects as varied as world religions and quirky museums like The Velveteria often serve as “inspo” to get those creative juices flowing. Ultimately, the ideas that she’s channeling each season make it on to moodboards that later drive our entire creative process from dress design, to fabric design, to photo shoots.
SKETCHING AND SAMPLING
Meghan still sketches all her designs by hand. It’s not unusual to see her go through dozens of sketches a day when she’s designing a new collection. Only after she’s happy with a sketch, does the final tangible product begin to take physical form. When this is happening, she can be found at the cutting table with fabrics flying, scissors snapping and music cranking - and everyone knows to stay out of the way because something amazing is coming together!
FITTING
After patterns are made and the first fit sample is produced, it’s time to put the dress on a real live woman! We’ve been working with the same fit model for years and she knows Meghan and understands her mission. Her feedback about the fit, comfort, and wearability of a new design is critical to ensuring you end up with a dress that is just as effortless to wear as it is beautiful. Are the sleeves too tight? Neckline too revealing? Hem unbalanced? Waistline not quite comfortable or flattering? This is the stage where all those issues will be caught and fixed - before we go one step further.
THE PHOTOSHOOT!!!
Meghan’s happy with the samples? Great! Time for the photoshoot, which is probably the most fun part of our job. Meghan personally styles every shoot down to the most minute detail (yes, she really is only one person). Look through the images in our advertising and lookbooks, and not one single thing in those images happens by accident. From selecting the right model to picking the location and the accessories, a successful shoot requires weeks of planning and preparation for an event that will be over in a single day.
DIVERSITY - NOTHING NEW TO US....
And we’re proud to say the models we’ve worked with have been broadly diverse since the earliest days of the brand, over 15 years ago. Through her eyes, Meghan sees beauty in its most pure form and to her, skin tone is simply a palette with which she has the opportunity to paint. And the same goes for our customers, who come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and backgrounds. Our entire mission is about making all women feel beautiful and energized.
PRODUCTION
Once we go to production, the garments are cut, sewn, finished, labeled and packaged with love and great care. Most of our production is done right here in Los Angeles, and we’re proud to support the local economy and create American jobs. Depending on the details, some of our production is done in India or China. India is well known for their intricate and colorful embroidery, so our embroidered goods are often made there. If it’s made of silk or includes hand-beading or complex fabric printing, it will usually be made by our partners in China.
ON THE WAY TO YOUR CLOSET
The final step is to deliver to our retail partners, or directly to you from our website! Most of our garments are sold through specialty boutiques and department stores, but eCommerce is our fastest growing business line by far. Women really enjoy the personal engagement with our brand and with Meghan on our website, Instagram, Pinterest or other social media - and we are absolutely thrilled to have you as a customer! We hope you’ll post photos of yourself in your head-turning Meghan designs and be sure to tag us! Believe it or not, Meghan still responds personally to many of the people that share their pictures!
Thank you so much for your business and for the love. We love you right back. Stay fabulous!