Lipgloss and Black
A McMaster Success Story
By Danielle Lorenz
Just because you’re an engineering student doesn’t mean you can’t have a creative side. Chemical Engineering student Sylvia Wong and her sister Samantha are the owners of the clothing company, Lipgloss and Black. Starting the company in 2004, the siblings have had recent growth in sales over the past few summers.
With the help of the popular websites Myspace and Livejournal, the girls have developed a successful, independent online business. Starting first with friends’ Myspace accounts, and slowly branching out as popularity grew, the number of Myspace friends the company has is high. You can examine their profile here (and become their friend too!):
http://www.myspace.com/lipglossblack. It is the only way to access the girls’ products, as well as see a catalogue of archived clothing and purses. The company is slated to stay online, with no plans to open up a boutique in the future.
Due to the popularity of their Myspace page, the pair is being featured in September’s issue of CosmoGirl. Congratulations!
What I find most interesting about the company is that all of their items are unique. No two articles are the same. Although they may be the same style, there is a different composition, fabric, color and stitching for each garment. Various elements of design are present in the purses the girls create. Additionally, their accessories often include exclusive designs, of which I have never seen similar items to date. Their creations are definitely emblematic of DIY couture.
Now what is DIY couture you ask? As an acronym for Do-It-Yourself; DIY is used to explain people making things without the help of professionals. Once common in past decades, DIY has been lost in this era of needless consumerism. Recently, DIY has made a comeback in the alternative and punk rock music scenes, as well as being present in the late 1970’s when punk was first born. Members of these two subcultures have the intention to blur the lines between those who consume and those who create by fusing the two together.
Please check out the creations of the two sisters, and you too can receive lots of comments on your new and unique items (I always do).
