I didn't come from the fashion industry. I didn't go to design school, inherit a fashion house, or begin with a team behind me.
I learned to sew as an adult.
What started as a desire to learn something new grew into years of creating handbags, studying construction, refining my craftsmanship, and discovering what was possible when I gave myself permission to keep learning.
Eventually, making bags wasn't enough.
I wanted to build something.
A brand rooted in femininity, timeless design, thoughtful craftsmanship, and pieces created to mean something to the women who carry them.
That vision became GIRLEE.
Her Name Is Rosalie.
Before GIRLEE had a collection, it had a name for its first handbag.
Rosalie.
Named after my mother, who was born in 1938, the Rosalie represents where this story begins.
My mother comes from a generation of women whose strength, femininity, faith, and resilience shaped the women who came after them. When I began creating the first GIRLEE handbag, giving it her name felt like a way to carry a piece of that legacy forward.
Her birth year became part of the story, too.
The inaugural Rosalie collection will be limited to just 38 individually numbered handbags an intentional tribute to 1938 and a permanent marker of GIRLEE's beginning.
1938. 38 handbags. The first chapter of GIRLEE.
Made Slowly. Made Intentionally.
The Rosalie wasn't created overnight.
She has been built one decision at a time, from choosing the leather and developing the construction to quilting each panel, selecting the hardware, learning new techniques, making mistakes, changing what wasn't right, and trying again.
The first Rosalies are being created in small quantities by my own hands.
There may come a day when GIRLEE grows beyond what one woman can make alone. I hope it does.
But wherever this brand goes, I never want it to lose what began here:
Care. Intention. Craftsmanship. Meaning.
The Rosalie carries my mother's name.
But part of her story belongs to my father, too.
My father loved gardening. He understood something I've come to appreciate deeply while building GIRLEE, that worthwhile things take time, attention, patience, and care to grow.
In his memory, $38 from every Rosalie sold will be donated to Green Light New Orleans, supporting work that helps create a greener and more sustainable New Orleans.
The number 38 connects it all.
The year my mother was born.
The number of handbags in the inaugural collection.
And the gift each Rosalie will make in my father's memory.
Her name carries the story forward. His memory helps something new grow.
This Is Only the Beginning.
GIRLEE is still at the beginning of its story.
And I don't want to hide that.
You're not discovering this brand after everything has already been figured out. You're here while it's being built, the first designs, the first lessons, the first collection, and the first 38 handbags.
My hope is to build GIRLEE into a lasting handbag house known for beautiful design, thoughtful craftsmanship, femininity, and pieces women treasure for years.
Maybe one day, an original numbered Rosalie will be passed from one woman to another, carrying the story of where GIRLEE began while becoming part of someone else's story along the way.
That's the kind of legacy I want to build.
The Rosalie is Chapter One.
Welcome to GIRLEE.
Watch the Story Unfold.
Most brands introduce you to the finished product.
With GIRLEE, you can see what came before it.
I’ve documented the journey of building GIRLEE and creating the Rosalie from the very beginning, the ideas, the decisions, the mistakes, the breakthroughs, and the countless hours of learning what it takes to turn an idea into a finished handbag.
This story is still being written.
Watch the GIRLEE documentary series on YouTube and come behind the scenes as I build it, one chapter at a time.
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