Amidst the sunny sidewalks and warm reflective buildings of inner Southeast Portland, I made my way to Lindsey Reif’s loft studio. The space is bright and cheery and reminds of something I’d see on Apartment Therapy.
Lindsey is friendly, well-spoken and sharply dressed. I’d like her entire outfit please. Lindsey is the designer and creator behind Reifhaus: “Timeless. Simple but definitely not basic. Modern and Comfortable.” These are the words Lindsey uses to describe her clothing line and I don’t disagree.
ANDREA: How long have you been designing clothes for Reifhaus?
LINDSEY: I’ve been doing this for a long, long time, but it was mostly a part-time hobby thing and I worked at various full time jobs until about two and a half years ago.
A: How did you get your start?
L: I started it out of experimenting really. I’m self- taught, so I’d just mess around. I bought a sewing machine when I first moved here and I would re-purpose things I’d find at thrift stores, make all kinds of weird things. But I learned how to follow patterns, commercial store patterns, and put things together. I learned the order of operations in how you build a garment, and then, slowly, I taught myself skills over time.
A: Obviously you wear your own designs, it [the Lou Jumpsuit] looks so good on you!
L: I’m so excited to be able to finally wear it! This is the Lou Jumpsuit from the spring collection, it’s nice because you can wear it with shirts under it too. I actually carried this over for fall in heavier-weight fabric as well. You can wear it almost like overalls.
A: Which pieces from the spring line are your favorites?
L: I would say this jumpsuit, it’s the one I probably promote online the most because I love it so much.
A: Tell me about how you select your fabrics.
L: I’m usually drawn to texture. I like things to be comfortable and feel good. Though, this season I do have a stripe, I’ve shied away from using most prints because I feel like they date a garment. I’ve stuck mostly with solids and a lot of neutrals. I try to incorporate color but I try to choose colors that are not too trendy. Most of the people, I think, that are buying my line probably wear mostly neutrals, or they like things to be versatile.
A: When you imagine someone wearing your pieces, what do you picture them doing?
L: Anything really. They are such everyday pieces. There are certain pieces that are little bit more standout like the striped pants that I feel like are not something you’d wear every single day, but I feel it’s one of those things that you’d wear and feel super good and cute. The same with the jumpsuit. It’s one of those things you put on and it makes your day better and you probably get a ton of compliments on it.
A: When we were setting up this interview you mentioned over email, the importance of emphasizing the value of clothing and the story behind it. How do you think we can best do that?
L: Clothing has lost value I think because of the whole fast fashion movement. People have no problem spending money on a nice bag or a piece of jewelry, you know because that’s more luxury and more special. But I think if you can make clothing special again, that’s when it’ll give the value back.
People don’t really understand all that goes into the creation of one garment, and all the time and energy and skill that it actually takes to make a piece of clothing. Otherwise, we’d all make clothing. Clothing is such a functional, important part of our daily lives and we should be putting more value on it.
A: If you could give one piece of advice to readers on how to start shopping small, what would you say?
L: Look at your wardrobe and see what you feel like is missing. What is that one piece of clothing you feel like would tie everything together, or something that makes you feel really good. If you’re at a shop and you try something on and you just feel super cute and pretty in it, that’s a really good way to do it too.
A: What’s your favorite part of the process when creating a line?
L: Probably seeing everything at the photo shoot, when you get to photograph it and see it on the model and see it as a cohesive collection. It’s really fun.
A: Who are some of your favorite designers?
L: I love what Samantha Pleet does, I think it’s so fun and whimsical. I really love Building Block. They do those really beautiful leather bags.
A: Where do you find inspiration in your everyday life?
L: So many different places. I love texture. I love subtle color palettes, like when you see a wall and it’s been painted over but it doesn’t match quite the same shade as the original paint color, stuff like that. And I’ve been really inspired by vintage clothing as well. I used to be a pretty big vintage collector. I just love those little details that have been lost in fast fashion. I’m also inspired a lot by Oregon and the landscape and nature and things feeling harmonious.
A: What’s currently on your playlist?
L: I love kind of, old hippie music. I love old soul music. Bob Dylan, stuff like that. I don’t listen to a lot of current stuff, except I really like hip hop, like Drake.
Wow. Beautiful work. I would never in a thousand years have considered a jumpsuit…until this very moment! She looks terrific in it!
Me too Heather!! I want that Lou Jumpsuit bad! It looked even better in person.
Me too Heather!! I want that Lou Jumpsuit bad! It looked even better in person.
Gorgeous photos, fabrics, and great interview! What a nice brand to spotlight.
Thanks Ariana! I thoroughly enjoyed the whole process! It’s so fun to peek behind the curtain on the process of garment designing and making.