Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Derrick Perkins. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Derrick, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.
Usually when I tell someone I’m a Tailor, the first thing they think is I just make suits. Little that they know, I’m a Fashion Designer and Image Consultant as well.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers?
It all started in the mud of Greenville, Mississippi. It’s not really easy growing up where I’m from. Being surrounded by so much violence in such a small town, one could only imagine how much a young child could be introduced to. I mean school wasn’t even that “safe place”, home was my safe place. Learning to stick tight to your family and how to weave out a hand full of solid friends was definitely key to surviving and “making it out”. Mother and father worked hard everyday to provide and make ends meet why’ll I was always at some type of sports practice or at home doing some type of chore my dad or mom would have me doing. I didn’t really have the easiest childhood though.
Growing up, I wasn’t like your class favorite or most athletic. I was short, still trying to grow into my shoes, super quiet unless spoken to first. I can remember one time having a pair of silver high-top shows that looked like they were from space lol. Clothes that weren’t the trend for our generation (in my hometown) at the moment was my style, so I stuck out like a soar thumb. So of course I was joked on… HARD, but honestly I just laughed and talked noise because thats just how things worked in the “Ville”. You always had to be tough no matter who you were. A huge problem that I had was the access of dope garments and on top of that nothing fitted me right. From placing rubber bands around my ankles (pre jogger era) to safety pins on my shirts, I tried it all but it was only a temporary fix that I was really getting tired of it. God works in mysterious ways though because in 2013 right before I graduated high school, I stumbled upon my moms super small hand needle and thread set and let’s just say that was the start of me becoming the Private Luxury Tailor/ Designer I am today and creating the Luxury Men & Women Lifestyle brand DorettaLang®️ that is now located in Dallas Texas.
We provide clients with over nine years of fashion and style experience. Wether it’s providing a full skin tone analysis to determine the best garment colors or a full custom bespoke suit made with over 20 hours of handwork. Everything in between we cover. Couture/Bespoke Garments, Custom Italian Bespoke Footwear, Custom Bespoke Suits and Custom Bespoke Denim Jeans.
The things that set DorettaLang®️ apart is Quality, Customer Service and Image Consulting. We take our time with clients and listen. Actually understanding how garments and accessories relate to the human lifestyle is the key knowledge that we strive to perfect everyday.
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
Being a freshman in college, I definitely couldn’t use my meal plan to fund my business so I ended up getting 2 security jobs, a tailoring job at a local alteration shop I also became a photographer and drone videographer. I honestly never slept. It wasn’t until my junior year when I started getting more clients to produce enough income to run the business.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
I wish I knew about personal and business credit. It wasn’t until late in my junior year in college when I found out how valuable credit was. This whole time I thought that you always had to put your money in the front of your business.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.dorettalang.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/dorettalang_co?igshid=NDA1YzNhOGU=
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/DorettaLangCo/