Lee Ladies Tops are Finally Here!!!
I am so thrilled about our release of the first Lee ladies tops collection designed and produced through KBL Group Intl. It's been over a year in the making and the collection is now available on www.lee.com! It's been a labor of love for me because I love the history associated with this iconic American brand. The collaboration with the Lee jeans team has been an amazing experience giving us guidance and insight on what makes their denim & casual bottoms business so successful and that went a long way in helping to design a carefully curated line of tops that speaks to both the true denim heads out there who love the vintage heritage vibe of the Lee brand and also the more modern feminine woman who is truly looking to make the Lee brand a part of her lifestyle dressing taking her from "wear to work" to church or temple, to weekend casual and to evenings out on the town.
Celebrating the debut of our Lee ladies top collection and showcasing our go forward Pre- Spring 2018 collection here at our KBL Group Intl. offices in NYC.
Lee gives ladies both casual off-duty looks as well as great wear to work styling.
At the beginning stages of the design process last August, I visited the Kansas City Lee headquarters where the Lee Museum and archives are located. I was able to see much of the original advertising campaigns, styles, artwork and hardware that was used in the early days of the Lee brand. These were some of the elements I tried to put into the tops collection to make it a true extension of the Lee bottoms--branding elements, patches, hardware, stitch details, stretch, and washes that mimic denim finishes just to name a few things. I was also given a lesson in the vast assortment of denim and casual bottoms that Lee carries and some of the innovations in technology, finishes, and washes that they were planning to introduce.
Some of the vintage advertising and marketing materials from the early days of the Lee brand
Being a part of the Lee team as a licensee has been a great experience from meeting the incredible team at Lee to learning about their business and having their support in getting this off the ground. It's a team that really wants to help us all succeed as we take the Lee brand into the next era of retail--keeping it true to it's roots, maintaining it's dedicated core customers, and reeling in the younger millennial customer looking for modern fits, finishes and details. The long term vision is to make the Lee brand a place where a woman can get her whole outfit simply, affordably, stylishly and feel comfortable yet pulled together. We want Lee to be her go to brand for her every day wardrobe.
My goal is to convince the Lee team to bring back this classic rainbow stitch jean. Any of you remember this iconic style?
Take a look at some of the tops that are now available....click on them to purchase!
Our boy fit heritage graphic tee. Plan on seeing new graphic tees for every Lee collection based on vintage graphics pulled from the Lee archives!
This is my absolute favorite piece in the collection riffed from a vintage international Lee plaid shirt scoured at a vintage store in Dusseldorf.
Here's the inspiration for that fun plaid top
Every woman needs an essential denim shirt in her wardrobe and ours has a beautiful wash with a little sandblasting for an aged effect as well as spandex for stretch, comfort and retention
Here's a little surprise--all business in the front and party in the back! I love this little feminine floral touch on our traditional plaid shirt.
If you don't know--there's a big trend towards lace-ups going on and that little detail along with some light sandblasting gives this denim shirt a modern twist
Hope there's something in here for each of you Lee ladies looking for comfort and style to wear with your favorite Lee jeans or chinos. And if you don't see it, let me know--I love getting feedback on what makes you want to #MoveYourLee
