Today we’d like to introduce you to Lynna Scott-Diggs.
Hi Lynna, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
When I was 12 years old, I got bitten by what I call “the fashion bug.” I was obsessed with high fashion and subscribed to all of the top industry magazines from age-appropriate “Seventeen” all the way to my favorite “Elle” and “Vogue”. I had learned to sew at a very young age (4 years old) and switched from sewing cute little clothes for my dolls to designing and creating quite unique pieces for myself, my sister, and a couple of my “very supportive” friends lol. Every designer has to start somewhere, right???
Fast forward a few years to high school, I was a full-fledged designer with orders from almost every one of my friends and even some of their friends who went to other schools in the city. From custom jeans to casual outfits and flirty dresses, no ask was out of reach for me. By senior year, I was the go-to for designing custom prom gowns for my closest friends. So, when college came along, it was a no-brainer, I was headed to F.I.T. in NYC, right?! Wrong, I ended up at a state school with a business major instead of fashion. By the end of college, I was headed as far away from a fashion career as you could get and ended up going to Dental School and am now a practicing General Dentist in Allen, TX. I do love dentistry and creating gorgeous smiles, but I did not let my dream of fashion design die just because of a major career change.
About 5 years into my dental career, some of my old clients began to reach out to see if I was still designing and creating. I wasn’t at the time but decided to go ahead and fulfill some of their design requests. This led to me setting up my LLC and starting feisty.L in 2012. A lot of the business development was due in huge part to my wonderful sister who is an attorney and well-versed at business law. She knew all of the forms and paperwork I would need to make the business legit and really helped me get the ball rolling. For several years after, I enjoyed creating custom pieces and fabulous collections for my line. We hosted fashion shows and even did a feature here and there on television!
Things were going great! I was enjoying being a full-time dentist during the day and a fashion designer on weekends and nights. I even got married to my amazing and superfine husband, gave birth to my awesome babies, and moved from Indiana to Maryland to Texas all within an 8-year span. Then the not-so-wonderful pandemic hit, and fabric warehouses, pattern makers, distributors, and manufacturers alike just shut down. Like poof, they were just gone with the wind. What was I going to do? I considered folding the business. We had a great ride, and it was fun. However, quitting is something I have NEVER done. I played around with a few ideas for how to restructure the business and ultimately ended up acquiring my resellers’ license and turning feisty.L into a ready-to-wear online boutique. There are 1-2 custom pieces still available on the website now, but most of the pieces are ready to wear. I do have plans to bring the custom feisty.L collection back, but for now, I am enjoying all of the doors being an online boutique owner has opened, including the opportunity to do this article.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not at all. Every part of the journey has been valuable, however.
As stated before, I did not end up studying fashion as I had planned at the prestigious Fashion Institute of New York in Manhattan. I ended up becoming a full-time practicing General Dentist, which for many would have derailed from pursuing an old dream. But not me…
As for the pandemic, EVERY industry, business, and human has been affected by this awful situation. Rather than shut down the business for good, however, I restructured and now have an online ready-to-wear boutique.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about feisty.L LLC?
feisty.L LLC was birthed in 2012 after a strong push from my attorney sister who saw the growth in requests for my custom designs and clothing and high-end clientele. I have moved from customized pieces due to the pandemic and opened up a ready-to-wear online boutique. However, my eye for unique, high-quality fashion allows me a special opportunity to bring fashion-forward, one-of-a-kind styles to my high-end, elite clientele.
Although I am currently a web-based business, I do participate in pop-up shops throughout Texas and other major cities in the country every 2-3 months. Clients can come see the pieces in person in any city we “pop up” feel the rich fabrics, peruse the gorgeous collection and even try on pieces prior to purchasing. We’re not just your typical online boutique. We’ll come to you in person!
Finally, if you didn’t guess it, the L in feisty.L comes from my first name, Lynna 🙂
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
My biggest supporter has been my sister, who I lovingly call my twin, Melanie Scott-Bennett. She was my first client as mentioned in the first question. She then went on to become my attorney and help set up my entire business. She also created my logo (she does graphic design on the side), and is still one of my main clients to date.
My Aunt Ruth is a big part of the reason I was exposed to the vast world of fashion at such a young age. She had been a big executive in publishing in New York City for most of my life and exposed me to high fashion, designers, textiles, marketing, publishing, and so many of the great gems you are taught in a top-notch fashion design program. She single-handedly financed many of my amateur fashion shows as a teenager as well.
Her brother, Uncle Bobby was a thriving fashion designer in New York City and taught me so many great techniques for sewing. He also really cheered me on with all of my fashion shows and endeavors.
My oldest brother dabbled in modeling when I was a child, and many of his supermodel girlfriends really left an impression on me growing up. From their beauty to the way they were always so impeccably dressed, I knew fashion was a career I wanted to pursue.
Crystal Black-Davis is a sorority sister of mine who became my biggest mentor in the industry. She had a local fashion company that would put on fabulous fashion shows and industry events. While I was in college, even though I was on the pre-dental track, she made sure I was always cast as a model in all of the shows that came to town or got the chance to show my own pieces in a show here there. Talk about a huge opportunity for a young feisty.L!!!
I have to give a huge shout-out to my husband. He is a superstar himself, but always pushes me to be my best and is in no way intimidated by my success. I think he is actually enthralled by it! Any time I have an idea for business, be it fashion or dental, he is ALWAYS behind me with encouragement as well as words of wisdom. I get to talk through all of my ideas with him first and get sound counsel prior to blindly putting myself out there. He is an attorney as well and has a wealth of business knowledge. He’s also the most stylish man I know, so I really value his eye for fashion.
I’ve had so much support throughout the decades since the beginning of my love of fashion, and so many more people to mention on my journey to success. I’ve had some haters too, but I look at them as part of the process that kept me going rather than made me quit.
Contact Info:
- Email: feisty.l.llc@gmail.com
- Website: www.feistyL.bigcartel.com
- Instagram: @feistyL
- Facebook: @feistyL
- Twitter: @feisty_L
Image Credits
Charles Preston
Mike McCoy
