Today we’d like to introduce you to Chelita McDuffie.
Hi Chelita, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
My name is Chelita McDuffie and I am a self-taught designer and seamstress. I was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia and moved to TX around 2004 with my immediate family. I relocated to Dallas in 2009 for college and eventually graduated from UNT Denton with a Bachelors of Applied Arts and Science with a concentrtion in Fashion Merchandising and a business minor. I learned the craft of sewing by trial and error, studying others, videos, and books. I began sewing doll clothes as a child. My grandparents purchased me my first mini sewing machine in middle school where I would sew minor projects like pillows and learn small tailoring tasks like hemming pants and mending holes. In high school my mother puchased me a full-size sewing machine where I would began to challenge myself to create clothing and patterns. In college I decided to step out and begin to cretae clothes for friends and family.
I did my first show at Raw Dallas in 2013 and took off from there. Since then, I have been a part of many shows in the Dallas area as well as Louisiana, Houston, Little Rock, and Atlanta. I mainly do women’s custom clothing from ready-to-wear to special occasion wear. My designs consist of bold colors, textures, and my aesthetic is typically centered around what I would consider structured femininity. I love big accents like ruffles, flowy designs, layers, and soft features that accentuates the female form but with an edge. I also love to mix categories to keep things intersting. Currently, I am releasing a full ready-to-wear line this spring and having a fashion show April 11th at the DEC on Dragon. The idea of the show is to showcase Dallas creatives for a night of safe networking, fun, fashion, and art. More information on the show can be found at www.chelitalenice.com/spring21 I am working with organizations to teach the younger generation skill sets in design and take on mentorship opportunities when I can. My passion is to help someone see that they are greater than what they can imagine and helping others grow and reach their full potential. In the future, it is my goal to open a Makerspace in the Dallas area, cultivating new talents and offering creatives a place to learn, grow, and offer resources that may have not been readily available normally.
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?
I am naturally introverted, a challenge for me has always been to push myself outside of my comfort zone. I have been able to do this by learning to network and just allowing people to see my genuine self. Social media is a great tool as well. It has allowed me to grow my following and promote who I am. 2020 was a difficult time for many but for me, while being furloughed from my 9-5 for a month and withstanding a small medical procedure that had me in bed for a few weeks, it allowed me to take the time to focus on what I wanted. I transitioned my mind and I focused on my vision and I have been working on it every since despite covid and circumstances.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a freelance Fashion Designer and Seamstress in the Dallas TX area and love to collab with other creatives. For potential customers, I will be accepting custom jobs after April 2021. Some of my work can be found on my website as well as social media pages.
How do you define success?
Success to me is when you know that you have pushed yourself to reach your vision. It is overcoming all obstacles for what you want. It is important to me to always continue to grow and be better than I was the last time. Success should always be defined by you and not by other standards or comparison.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@chelitalenice.com
- Website: www.chelitalenice.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/chelitalenice
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/chelitalenice
Image Credits
Red dress – Model – Tiffany Dawn – Photographer Bens Lens
Blue dress – Model – Tiffany Dawn – Sequin Romper
Model Sydney Chanel
