Blogs by Allison

Hi there! Thank you for joining me on my personal journey of growth and self-discovery. I am grateful for the space to share so openly. I’m at a pivotal point where I’ve made new self-realizations and have a greater understanding of what I truly want in life, but now I’m asking, “What do I do next?” Self-realization is a beautiful and scary thing. With awareness comes the added weight of making the necessary changes and putting things into daily practice. But one of my favorite Maya Angelou quotes comes to mind and gives me all the motivation I need - “When you know better, you do better.” It’s not just about knowing that things have to change (which is the scary and HUGE first step),  it’s about actually doing the changes. For me, going through this process had me needing tools to set me up for success and give me the perspective I needed to keep me focused and grounded. Once I opened the door to awareness, I also somehow opened the door  to doubt and fear.  Through these lessons I uncovered some deeply rooted issues and emotions that were overwhelming at times. Navigating through this and understanding what it I’m I was feeling at every step of the way became daunting, and I immediately found guidance from 2 particular books. The first was “Atlas of the Heart” by Brene Brown. I love Brene and how she shares her truths and perspectives, this book was extremely impactful in helping me understand what I was feeling. It gave me the vocabulary to identify emotions, dig deep to figure out where they come from, and uncover why I react in certain ways. Most importantly, she showed me how to give myself the space, compassion, and permission to experience my emotions with a deeper level of understanding and context. The other book, “Fierce Conversations” by Susan Scott, was recently recommended to me by a close friend and I can’t put it down. My husband, my friends, and my team hear me reference this book ALL THE TIME! LOL! It’s guided me through so many intrinsic conversations with myself, and opened the door to deeper dialogue with those around me. It helps me understand how to have tough conversations with others, but mostly - it has helped me to have tough conversations with myself.  One part of the book asks, “What am I pretending not to know?” This one question has changed so much of what I pay attention to and how I interact with others. I hope these books offer help if you are navigating through this or something similar, as I have found them to be amazing resources for my own personal development. I’d love to hear your stories and learn about what you’re going through, what has worked for you, and all the knowledge you have gained through your self-realizations and growth. There is so much gratitude in my heart having shared this connection with you through this process and I look forward to hearing more from you.

When I first started designing in 2007, I wanted to create clothing that stood for something - that went against the status quo.  I had a bone to pick with the fashion industry and figured it was a good start to a business. During my time at The Fashion Institute of Technology, I realized most brands are designing for a fit model who was 5'8" and lean. Her overall measurements were similar to mine (bust, waist, hips) but the rest of her proportions were completely different.  Her thigh circumference, her inseam, her knee break - nothing came close to mine. That’s when it hit me - anyone outside of this “perfect” mold was being completely overlooked in the design process. So I set out to create a premium petite denim brand - Allison Izu.  With some investment and a little bit of pestering people, I found some success launching this brand. I was featured in national publications like Oprah Magazine, Lucky Magazine, Apparel News, Audrey, well-known blogs, and also local press outlets.  Then luck hit. Well, more like I met Brian Tatsumura, the General Manager of Nordstrom Hawaii. And I bothered him enough that he finally gave me a shot - a trunk show to sell my denim at Nordstrom Ala Moana in 2011.  It was my big break where I had the opportunity to learn from the best, absorb as much knowledge as I could, and try to kick open as many doors as possible. Through grit, determination and a little ignorance, I was fortunate enough to start in Manoa, to then open a store in Ward Warehouse.  I expanded my repertoire and became a design consultant to a few local brands. Then came the store in Kaimuki while also launching my brand in a national department store called Von Maur.  Finally, I opened my own namesake boutique in Ala Moana Center in 2018.   I jumped in full speed to all this face-paced movement and serendipitous opportunity without ever looking back.  But I began to feel like I unknowingly punched my ticket onto this roller coaster. . . a ride I didn't even ask myself if I wanted to be on.  Wholesale, Retail, Design, Development, Sourcing, Production - the ups, downs, and loops went on and on. But in this industry, it cycles over and over with every season. We learn to anticipate every twist and turn, living to meet deadlines and allowing someone else to dictate the speed, direction, and regulations of the ride - aka “The Industry.”  I didn’t even realize I was riding this “roller coaster” until recently. Some may call it my mid-life crisis, but I call it my awakening.  I can't pinpoint the exact date, but it was a slow removal of the "rose colored" glasses I was wearing on the ride.  Telling myself that I was happy, that I was successful, that I was living the dream!  As the “rose tint” lifted, I kept asking myself “Is this my dream?” And slowly, I began to realize that this wasn't my dream. But, I was afraid to tell anyone, especially myself.  It wasn’t that I was unhappy, it was just that I wasn't living my purpose. I wasn't living in my JOY. So what is my joy? Well, I’m still on that path of finding it.  But I've realized something while on this journey. It’s our duty to find what lights us up, and I don’t think it's ever too late.  I know I still want to design clothing. I still see a future for Allison Izu as a brand and company.  But there are so many other ideas swirling in my head - an endless amount of dreams and possibilities. I’m learning to admit them to myself and in turn share them with you.  This is my lesson in my 40's - to find myself again. To rediscover my “wild side.” The mixture of audaciousness from my 20's, logic of my 30's, and growth of my 40’s - I want to embrace them all and find myself again.  So the question I ask myself everyday is, "What do YOU want today Allison?"  Most times it's small things like saying what I want for dinner (even though I know my kids won’t like what I want) or going on an evening walk by myself (and trying a new, unexpected route).  Other times, it could be designing a top that I want in my closet - in a color, print or silhouette that not everyone will like.  Through this daily practice, I’m finding myself more and more. I hope this gives you some spark of inspiration to start asking yourself what it is that YOU want. Not your husband, not your kids, not society – just you. We owe it to ourselves and those around us to do these small acts of self-love. Because my friend, I think this is where we’ll find our truest JOY. 

I like to joke that "change" is my middle name. I've become so accustomed to change, that it can sometimes feel like I don't put roots down as deep as I'd like to. But in reality, I think I'm in a floaty on the ocean, moving with the tides and waves. I don't seek out change, but I have accepted that it is part of my growth, necessary for my evolution... These last couple of years has taught all of us how to shift, change and evolve into a new version of ourselves. Aside from the pandemic, I felt like I was inundated with barriers, closures and "problems" that forced me to zig and then zag. And when I finally felt like we made it through one thing, another issue was knocking at my door. Through it all, I had to remind myself to be like a buoy. Instead of stumbling through these "problems," pushing and forcing my way through, I could be pulled by something greater. I just had to remind myself to float once again. So here I am, floating towards the next chapter of my life, the next evolution of my business and myself. It's hard to let go of what you know, the comfort and safety of it all. It's scary to step out in the unknown, everything seems so unclear. So, I reminded myself that I have been here before, when I moved into Manoa, when I moved into Ward Warehouse, when I loved into Kaimuki and when I moved into Ala Moana. When I do that, it loses some of it's fear, because what seems like the unknown, is just a step towards something familiar. . . change. Oh yes - thats familiar - its my middle name LOL. I'm accustomed to change. I can lean into it, feel stronger and safer. I'm supported by my family, by this spectacular team of creatives, and by YOU. I'm grateful for you, for your continued support and love, for how you continually show up for me, this brand and my team. I could not do it without you and I hope you realize you are an integral part of this business. And as we move into this next chapter, I know that when I look over my shoulder, you will be there cheering me on. In those moments, that's when I realize, that I did put down roots - - my roots were to you, to my all of friends and customers, to my team, to my family, to my greater purpose . . . . I look forward to sharing more about this journey with you!

I was destined to be short . . . thats what I tell myself. My sister is 5'6" and I am barely 5'2". My whole life I wore 4" heels, was ashamed when I was standing next to a taller girl, and still (oddly) hunched over to prevent from being noticed. You would think a short girl would stand up straight. I tried everything to make myself appear taller (and thinner) my whole life. And now, in my 40's - I'm trying to rewrite my mind chatter and find all the reasons why I LOVE being short. That's what our #LiveYourLetter campaign is all about - to love your shape, your height, so much that you OWN IT and LIVE IT unapologetically! I think about the time and energy I could have saved if I didn't obsess over my body shape, my height, or my aging body. It would be years added to my life! This is what I want my brand to stand for... Creating clothing that is beautiful, fashionable, and comfortable. I want my clothing to be EMPOWERING. I want whoever wears an Allison Izu piece to feel confident in yourself, in your body - to not only accept it, but to love it! I want everyone to experience that feeling when you put on the right top or pant and it makes you stand a little straighter, taller and you notice yourself in the mirror and can't help but say DAMN - I look good! LOL! I don't want someone to feel ashamed to make an empowering statement about themselves. I'm working to leave all of the insecurity, all of the self doubt behind me. I've wasted too many of my years obsessing over it all. I'm stepping into my 40's with unabashed freedom, to say - "this is me world, my curvy hips, my soft mom belly, and my short daikon legs" (that'a turnip for those of you who don't know, its not usually a compliment to have "daikon" legs). I hope that in some small way, this will encourage you to look at yourself in the mirror today and find those parts of you that you love (or at least like) and start telling yourself, how amazing they are. I started with something small, like my eyes (no pun intended). Every morning, I would look in the mirror and say, 'Hey Al, you have some really nice eyes." And I did it until I started to actually believe it, until I stopped rolling my eyes afterwards at myself LOL. Then I moved onto the next part. My only advice - keep it positive and say it often. Because, my dear, you have wasted too many minutes cutting yourself down, why not use those minutes to lift yourself up!

September is the month we celebrate "Alliversary" aka the anniversary of the brand. I think of it more of a birthday because I think of this business as a child of mine. When I look back at the 13+ years of my journey, I see the ebb and flow of "good" and "bad" experiences. And as I reflect, I can now see that the "bad" experiences that gave me the biggest gifts. When I attended Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, I had my "a-ha" moment . . . The industry standard of clothing design was for 5'8" fit models.  We were all trained using the same patterns and the same model forms to create our designs.  When I would take my projects home to sew, I would fit them on my short 5'2" frame - and everything would look wrong! That's when I realized that no one in the fashion industry was designing clothing for shorter women like me. So I decided it was my mission to start a brand for short/petite women. Soon after I graduated in the early 2000's, I began designing a Premium Denim collection. I made my own fit patterns to match my own shorter proportions. I used men's jean sizing (they shop by waist x inseam) as inspiration. I decided to make 3 different inseams -  27", 29" and 31". I worked for over 2 years perfecting my patterns, sourcing fabric and finding a reputable small manufacturer who would be willing to work with me. Just when it seemed like things were going smoothly, a few set backs appeared.  I experience manufacturing errors, first overseas, then in California. Over the course of 3 years, I would work with 5 different manufacturers losing time and money.   At the time, I was devastated. I felt like giving up and was very discouraged by all the debt I was in.  But I continued and slowly but surely found small successes. I got my name out there - a feature in Oprah Magazine, being carried by Nordstrom and Von Maur, and so many more "wins."  And while I had found a good flow of things, I also couldn't take the brand to the next level. I felt stuck and stagnant. I was burnt out and not able to juggle my home life with my 2 small babies. It took me years to understand what finding balance meant. To realized that most of my "bad" came about because I wasn't living my truth. I was trying to live up to someone else's standards or expectations. I lived most of my life comparing myself to others, and never finding the moments to celebrate me. So on this Alliversary, I ask that we all take more time out of our days, out of our lives - to celebrate ourselves. To find those small moments to look yourself in the eyes, and say - "You are a BADASS and I love YOU!" Through it all, I look back with a heart full of gratitude for all of my experiences. And I am mostly grateful for YOU. All of my friends and customers who have supported me, whether it was from day 1, to right now. I could not and would not have made it this far without you! So for year 13, I wanted to take the time to send a big "THANK YOU" for all of your love and all of your support. I hope you will live into your authentic purpose too! With love + light,  Al 

Empowerment is such a big word, those 11 letters can appear daunting when you stare at them. Empowerment is the process of becoming stronger and more confident, especially in controlling one’s life and claiming one’s rights.  As you can tell, empowerment has been on my mind lately because of my own internal rumblings with vulnerability. I work really closely with my team and recently I noticed they were not feeling empowered in what they were doing. I had to take a long, hard look at my own inner demons to figure out what I was doing to  contribute to this lack of power amongst my team. Am I not owning my own power? Maybe I’m not giving my team firm ground to stand on? Are my own insecurities holding me back somehow? As a designer, I went to school to learn how to design clothing. Through the work of being a designer I learned how to operate a business. Unfortunately, being a leader was never on the syllabus. I came to realize that empowerment was also missing from my life and that I needed to shore up my confidence before I could ask for my team to feel empowered.    I focused on one seemingly small change, simply the way I interact with my team. I used to be very passive when assigning tasks, thinking I was being considerate. “When you get a sec?” “Would you do me a favor?” “When you have time?” But this left my team feeling confused, like I was unsure. So I changed the way I was “asking” them to do work.  Now, I use  apps like Asana and Slack to set up “the ask” and my team organized and connected.  And this system allows them to put a clear “ask” out there for me, too, so the road goes both ways. With a clear ask there comes a clear outcome and even clearer milestones along the way, which allows for communication and growth to happen together. So now, empowerment happens organically for myself and in essence, my team. It hasn’t been an easy road and there is no magic wand of empowerment, but if we take the step to recognize where we are not owning our power, we can start to see where we can make the shifts, so we can start to own it. And then we take those small micro movements towards it.  For me, I own my power when I feel good, and I feel good when I essentially “look good” - that means keeping myself active and healthy but also it means looking good. Accepting that we can be beautiful and powerful at the same time . . . putting on a beautiful colored lipstick and then wearing your favorite “power suit” - so you can conquer your day with empowerment and to empower others. Our newest collection called IZU-sentials was created to give women the basic building blocks to create your own “power suit”. For me, its always about a great fitting pant like the Cooke or Coral and a cute comfy top.  Need a little more “structure” throw on one of our collared Sarah tops, or try our beloved Jane top (that we brought back by customer demand!) Let’s share and support each other through this journey of empowerment. Please check out our IZU Facebook Community, where I’ll be leading discussions and making connections to make us all better people. I would love to hear from you. Join the community and tell us your story. 

Be Grateful and Ambitious. This simple sentiment from Abby Wambach has been living in my mind ever since I read it the very first time. As we step into another month dedicated to the history of women, I can’t help but think about the lessons that I want Olive (and Owen) to understand about the journey women have walked throughout history.  Everytime I read these words from Abby’s book, Wolfpack, I can’t help but linger on the idea and ponder the meanings of and connections between ambition and gratitude in my life and for women around the world. In the book, Abbey is referring to the fact that, as women, we are taught to be GRATEFUL. Society has taught us to be grateful for the opportunities “given” to us (perhaps by a man) and not to speak up or rock the boat. But this idea of being both GRATEFUL AND AMBITIOUS is so new to me that I am literally shocked. Right now you’re probably wondering, why is this shocking to Allison? My shock is there because initially it feels selfish and boastful to be ambitious when we should just be grateful Who am I to ask for more when the women who came before me had so little in the way of opportunities. I am so lucky that as a woman in today’s society I am able to own my own business and live my dream.  But then I think about this way of thinking for a moment and realize, WHY NOT? Who am I to shrink away from these opportunities? If these historical women were here with us right now, what would they say? They would tell us that they didn't break down walls and glass ceilings so we can play small. They would say to fight, to speak out, and to STAND IN OUR LIGHT! That is the meaning of “Be Grateful and Ambitious.” Yes, we must look to our past and pay our respect to the greats of history who blazed this path for us, but we must also be ambitious, pick up the torch and lead our own way. While we walk on the path that has been laid for us, we must also be the ones that continue to pave new paths for our daughter, so that one day the paths are further, wider and many. We do this not just for ourselves, but for all women, all girls. And it is our duty to continue the ambitions of our “fore-mothers.” So I am teaching myself to be ambitious, to ask for a place at the table and to use that place to create more seats for more women. And as a mother, I will work to teach my Olive that she has a right to EVERY opportunity her brother has, that she has a right to use her voice and her power to get it for herself.  But, like everything else, this has to start with me.  I need to stop playing small, so I can appear grateful. I need to deeply understand that I worked hard to be where I am. And while this is due in part to so many struggles that came before me, I have also endured a lot to be where I am today. It was both my gratefulness and my ambition that supported me and I will continue to stand in the light, for myself, for my Olive and for all women and girls!