Design Thinking: Carly Jean Los Angeles

(Image courtesy of Carly Jean Los Angeles. Image depict Stew Hayes Pants, Deep Charcoal. These pants are described as, " The Hayes Pants are a CJLA Girls fave! These wide leg pants have a slightly cropped hemline and a relaxed fit. Designed with comfort and versatility in mind, there really isn't any type of top, tee or tank that doesn't look great with the Hayes. Keep your look casual and rock the Hayes with a Basic tank and some flip flops or dress up and pair the Hayes with a chic blouse and some heels or wedges. The crazy comfy fit and cut of these pants paired with the unique, beautiful fabric that they're made of make them one of our forever capsule faves." Price=$68. You can order these pants at https://www.carlyjeanlosangeles.com/collections/new-to-the-shop/products/hayes-pants-deep-charcoal )

In Graduate School, one of the buzzwords professors love to discuss is "Design Thinking." Design Thinking is an iterative process in which we seek to understand the user, challenge assumptions, and redefine problems to identify alternative strategies and solutions that might not be instantly apparent with our initial level of understanding (Dam and Siang). Design Thinking enables a company to understand consumer needs to serve their audience better. For this project, I contacted different companies to learn how the organizations apply Design Thinking into their market offerings. I had the opportunity to talk with Carly Jean Los Angeles to learn more about their organization.

(Image courtesy of Carly Jean Los Angeles. Image depicts the Nell Dress. The Dress is characterized by its," We just can't get enough of this fun gingham print! The Nell Dress is truly as sweet, comfy and cool as can be. With a relaxed fit, adjustable shoulder straps, functional pockets and a tiered skirt the attention to details and unique touches on this dress are what make it so special. Headed out for a beach day or brunch with friends? The Nell Dress can easily be styled with any simple sun hat and some fun sandals. Need to layer up on a slightly cooler day? Throw on some sneakers and a cozy jean jacket or cardigan!" Price= $78. You can order this dress at https://www.carlyjeanlosangeles.com/collections/the-capri-collection/products/nell-dress-gingham )

1. What makes Carly Jean different from other fashion brands?

At CJLA, our mission is to help women feel as beautiful as they already are, with clothing that makes them feel comfortable and confident while being super effortless! Carly Jean Los Angeles is an LA based capsule clothing brand that provides pieces that will work with you during your many seasons of life. Getting dressed shouldn’t ever be a struggle, and with CJLA we have done the hunting for you—we have found the best pieces that you will want to wear over and over again! We are totally fine with being outfit repeaters! On top of offering high quality, comfortable, and classy clothing, we aim to be a resource to our community through our app and various social media platforms. We have multiple try-ons every week so that our customer knows every detail of the piece before purchasing it, as well as inspiration on how to style the piece and mix and match with other CJLA pieces! We also are on direct messages to personally help out each customer with styling questions, how to build a capsule, questions about certain pieces, etc. We exist with YOU in mind and will do everything we can to serve our tight-knit community, which I think is one thing that really sets us apart!

(Image courtesy of Carly Jean Los Angeles. Image depicts the Hunter Jean Jacket. The jacket is described as, " With more 5 star reviews that we can count... the Hunter Jean Jacket is a CJLA best seller! This classic jean jacket is a versatile capsule staple that you'll be able to wear and style year after years and in all seasons. With an ultra cool relaxed oversized fit and a cool vintage charcoal wash, the Hunter is the perfect layering piece to pair with your favorite tops, tanks, dresses and jumpsuits. Trust us, the Hunter will quickly become one of your favorite most frequently worn capsule pieces." Price= $68. You can order this jacket at https://www.carlyjeanlosangeles.com/collections/ultimate-capsule/products/hunter-vintage-jean-jacket-charcoal-wash )

2. How does Carly Jean stay ahead of its upcoming fashion trends?

We have a production team that works with top manufacturers that always keep current on trends to make pieces that will fit for the season, but will also last 5 years from now! We are all about pieces that are timeless and will not just last for that particular trend. CJLA is not fast fashion, but encourages investing in high quality pieces that you will wear for years!

(Image courtesy of Carly Jean Los Angeles. This image depicts the Myra Bag, Natural. This bag is charaterized by its, "simple, classic and elegant. What more could you want from a purse!? The woven texture and spacious interior pouch combine to make this the ultimate bag to hold all of your every day items." Price= $58. You can order this bag at https://www.carlyjeanlosangeles.com/collections/bags/products/myra-bag-natural )

3. How does Carly Jean incorporate its mission and vision into its product offerings? Our vision and values drives everything that CJLA does, whether that is making a decision about a sale, or what to launch for the upcoming collection. Carly Jean Los Angeles started with a simple goal of helping women to feel comfortable in their own skin with clothing that compliments the beauty that is already there. All of the clothing passes the “Is it comfy enough to sleep in?” test and the “will it be cool in ten years?” and “can it easily mix and match easily with the rest of your closet?” tests. All of the collections are curated with our customer at top of mind and we desire to see that they are completely blown away in experiencing CJLA and that they were able to simplify the getting ready process, feel confident in their own skin, and improve their life overall! We accomplish this by being a team that is made up of members who are skilled, knowledgeable, dedicated, servant-hearted, great communicators, and completely focused on kindness, the success of the brand and their own personal growth! We are ambitious and we believe we can do big things with strong, clear goals and an amazing team to help all of these things come to fruition!

(Image courtesy of CJLA. Image depicts the Rosie Bandana in Ivory Floral. This bandana is described as, "The Rosie Bandana is the perfect chic accessory to add to your capsule. Whether you're tying the Rosie around your neck, adding it into your favorite hairstyle or pairing it with your favorite purse or handbag, we know that this simple yet chic accessory will add a fun new element to all of your outfits. With the Rosie Bandana accessorizing is fun, fast and easy." Price=$16. You can order this bandana at https://www.carlyjeanlosangeles.com/collections/new-to-the-shop/products/rosie-bandana-ivory-floral )

4. What is the future of the company? CJLA will continue to be driven to pursue our vision and values in every area of what we do, and continually make our company better in order to serve our customers in a way that blows them away with care! We also are continuing to work towards expanding our home and kids collections as well as hosting many events for our CJLA community throughout the year! This is what we have done in the past and cannot wait to be with our community in person again!

(logo courtesy of CJLA)e