Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sarah Dawson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Sarah, thanks for joining us today. Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?

Sada by Sarah’s brand emergence story is also mine. When going through my middle school and high school years I was the world sometimes refer to as a late bloomer. All of the girls in school were growing breast, hips and were very tall; I had none of the above. Comparing myself to all those around me, I felt like I was never going to hit puberty and that the body I had was going to be the one I would have forever and I decided that I could be fine with that it I learned to boost my own confidence, love myself and truly see the beauty I already had. If I set the tone of a confident woman people would see just that, and that’s exactly what I did. I carried myself tall and entered rooms with confidence. I called myself sexy and beautiful constantly and didn’t wait for the approvals of others. Realistically, this didn’t happen over night and it took a lot of practice and affirmations for me to get here. Once I started studying lingerie in college I found a way that I could give this same confidence boost to women everywhere. Lingerie is for you first always. It’s to boost your confidence whether you’re showing it to someone or not. If you do not feel comfortable in it, it would be insane to think you would feel comfortable in front of someone else in it. I realized that there were many women like myself that struggled with finding lingerie that they truly wanted or lingerie that fit them how they wanted it to. I started off my brand making custom lingerie pieces for women, mostly locally in Brooklyn. I would have what I call a “Meet & Measure” with them to discuss the piece they want made, go through fabrics and sketches and get down their measurements. I noticed that the first thing a lot of my clients would do tell me what part of their body they want to hide or cover because they dislike it. I found that always started the conversation in a dim light so I would try to beat them to the punch and ask questions like “what’s your favorite feature on yourself?” “what is an outfit you have worn that made you feel very sexy and confident?”. It would immediately make them light up and enter the conversation on a high note. I love having an influence on building up someone’s confidence as I have done for myself and loved ones. Tapping into that part of yourself is a superpower that you can continue to evolve for your entire life. As the brand grew and I started the site with ready-made sized pieces I had to learn ways to give those customers that same confidence boost. I give style breakdowns so that they can know how great the piece makes you feel, I show they ways that they can mix it with their ready to wear clothes so it can be worn out and about, I shoot my pieces on a variety of body types, and I encourage them to share photos or testimonies as well. This brand was built on me helping each woman shine in their custom made confidence.

Sarah, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY in a very creative household. Pretty much everyone in my family has some sort of creative skill. I watched my brother design for DKNY when I was in elementary school and was obsessed. My calling truly didn’t happen until my older sister passed my some croquis (fashion figures) she didn’t want after attending the fashion club in her high school on once. I was in about 7th grade at the time and immediately became intrigued with the idea of becoming a fashion designer because of how much I loved it. My mother also taught me how to sew while I was in middle school. I auditioned and got into the high school of Fashion Industries where I learned to refine my given talent and learn an array of new skills that made my audition/interview for The Fashion Institute of Technology something I went into with confidence. I studied as a Fashion design major there and during my last two years I specialized in Intimate Apparel. I had learned to design for so many different categories when attending FIT, but intimate apparel just felt right and natural for the first day it was introduced to me; I fell in love with it. I really started getting recognized for my pieces because I honestly wore them everywhere because I always mixed them into my everyday clothes and people would just ask where I got it from or say things like “I wish I could get away with wearing something like that” , which I would always say “you can!”. I get excited whenever of my clients and customers share how much they loved their piece or how amazing they feel in it. I feel very proud to have an input in the world making people feel better about themselves.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

The greater success I see in the near future for my brand would help me open some doors up for other small lingerie brands that may not be as accessible. I would love to open up a few boutiques in major cities and have inventory from these smaller brands. Lingerie is pretty online but is so gorgeous in person and can be purchased in proper sizing in person. Fit is the bread and butter of the lingerie industry and once you know the fit of each of these brands you love you will be less hesitant to buy on line.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

During quarantine I started to do virtual “Meet and Measure” appointments with clients which was very challenging and a little awkward at first but luckily all of my clients were very proactive and patient with the process. I didn’t have as much access to fabrics and trims and became very dependent on trust myself, the fabric and trim suppliers and my virtual eye when making purchases for custom orders.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sadabysarah.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sadabysarah/

Image Credits
Brand Photography by Sequoyah Daniel