beauty addict

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The best designers you’ve never heard of.

Sartorial Subversion
Shrinkle designer and eBay impresario Amy Doan bucks mainstream trends in favor of her own chaotic girlie couture.

Name: Amy Doan
Age: 25
Business: Shrinkle (Shrinkle.net)
Location: San Jose, CA

When did you decide to become a fashion designer?
I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember, and I was making clothes for my Barbies by the age of five. I toyed with the idea of becoming a designer in high school, but my parents told me it wasn’t a practical job, so I pursued my other passion, journalism.

You graduated with a journalism degree from Cal State Hayward, but instead you decided to focus on building your design business. What led you to make that decision?
As graduation approached, I was the only student in any of my classes who wasn’t stressed about finding a writing job. All I could think about was how I couldn’t wait to have all that extra time to sew. After graduation, I made a few half-assed attempts to apply for reporting jobs, but subconsciously, I was hoping the employers wouldn’t call me because I just wanted to stay home and design. Finally, I just decided that fashion was what I was going to do.

What prompted you to start selling your designs on eBay?
While I was still in college, I opened an eBay account and started selling old store-bought clothes that I didn’t wear anymore. I couldn’t believe how much people were willing to pay for them, so when I emptied out my closet, I started making my own designs. I realized the business was a success when I was able to quit my waitressing job and support myself with the income I was making from sewing.

What are your designs selling for now?
They range from $40 to $130; my highest-selling item was a pink slip dress I made from vintage fabrics that went for $210. At Shrinkle, everything is one of a kind. I’ve tried making duplicates, but I have a short attention span.

Do you also do custom jobs?
Every once in a while, but when I sew, I make it up as I go. I rarely sketch out my ideas in advance, so the finished product is always a surprise. I’ve done custom jobs for a few performers—including Aimee from the Start and Roxy from the Epoxies—but both times I was pretty much allowed to do whatever I wanted, and I’m a huge fan of both of their bands, so there was no way I could’ve said no.

You also sell Kryolan makeup and fake eyelashes made from feathers and beads. What led you to expand into that?
I kept getting emails from people complimenting me on my makeup and asking which brand I used. When I mentioned Kryolan, no one had ever heard of it, and people started sending me money to pick it up for them. That’s when I realized it would make more sense to sell the stuff.

What sorts of pieces are you designing now, and how have your designs changed since you got started?
When I first started, all I knew how to make was arm warmers, or sometimes I’d cut stars out of felt and sew them onto T-shirts. I wish there was some way I could do a recall on everything I made before 2002 so it wouldn’t be floating around out there. I moved on to reconstructing T-shirts, but I got tired of it pretty quickly because it didn’t require much creativity. Now, most of the stuff I make is from scratch—slutty party clothes in crazy patterns, lots of faux fur, animal prints, minidresses, and short skirts.

Do you have any style icons or favorite designers?
I never go clothes shopping, so I rarely know what the mall trends are. I like to keep it that way so that I’m not too influenced by mainstream fashion. As far as what influences me, my biggest obsessions right now are ballerina costumes and old, sparkly marching-band uniforms. Last month, I also bought some hideous vintage casino cocktail-waitress getups in Reno. I like taking all this cheesy, bad fashion and turning it into something cute, adding sexy, dirty, punk twists to pieces that are supposed to be G-rated. But don't worry—I leave out the sequins and shoulder pads.

How would you describe the typical Shrinkle client?
They’re all hot chicks in their late teens to early 30s. I’m not joking—every single one of my customers who’s sent me a photo has been hot. A lot of goth chicks are into my clothes too, which is funny because most of the stuff I make is supercolorful.

What inspired the name “Shrinkle”?
When we were little, my dad wasn’t very fluent in English so he’d add an “le” to every word. He’d warn us not to put cotton clothes in the dryer, or they’d “shrinkle.” One day my sister opened an e-mail account using “krumbles” as her name, and as a joke, I changed my eBay name to “Shrinkle” to match her e-mail. It was never intended to be a business name, but it just happened to be my username when my business skyrocketed, so now I can't change it because everyone knows me by Shrinkle.

Shrinkle owner and mastermind Amy Doan.

Photo Credits: Amy Doan and Soybaby

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