Western Life & Style Trailblazers
Western Life & Style Trailblazers
Ep 12: Viral Western Designer: An Interview with Chantel Lauren
An interview with Chantel Lauren, a pioneer Western bridal and evening wear designer, who transformed the industry by confidently pairing wedding dresses with cowboy hats despite industry skepticism. Her authentic Texas roots and refusal to follow trends have positioned her as a trendsetter whose designs are now sought after by brides and celebrities alike.
Find her on instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/chantellaurenofficial/
Follow us on IG here.
DM us on IG for sponsorship info or how we can help promote your business on our wildly popular social media pages.
Welcome to the Western Life and Style Trailblazers podcast. I'm Allie D with my co-host, Nicole James, and today we have another amazing guest with us and she is one of our 30 over 30 winners. We are so excited to have her here to join us. It is Chantel Lauren Morning. How are y'all? Hello? We were just talking before we hit record about how much we loved meeting you in Texas when you came to the 30 over 30 event and how you just had that. Well, we didn't tell you this, but you just have like the best spirit and like just just this energy that was so infectious, so we are so excited to have you be a part of this. You know, amazing class of 2025 and just welcome.
Speaker 2:Yeah, thank you. Um, thanks for inviting me down to Texas. It had been since COVID. Just a little bit after COVID was the last time that I had been there, so it had been way too long. So I appreciate the invite. Also, I have not taken the belt buckle off, oh, yes, I love that.
Speaker 3:I've worn it everywhere I can.
Speaker 1:I'm like this thing is cool and I want everyone to know that I won this award, yeah, which is so well-deserved because you have such an incredible impact on the Western community and we can get into all that and how you started. If you guys don't know, she designs incredible wedding dresses, like even like going out outfits, kind of evening wear, wear really anything fabulous you design it's like, it's like my goal to have one western I'm doing it, yeah, exactly fabulous.
Speaker 1:And western you're doing a lot of fringe. So why don't you take us through how you began that journey, because you're actually like doing the full design, right the whole yeah thing.
Speaker 2:So I started Chantelle Lauren really at age six is when I started designing and sewing personally like my own clothing. And I was raised in Houston, just outside of Houston, in Katy, and so I started sewing and I've always been kind of immersed in the Texas and Western culture and so when I was an adult and I moved up to Utah for work and school, I really got involved in the wedding industry because weddings in Utah are everywhere. I don't know if we are the state with the most weddings, but it feels like we have the most weddings happening here in Utah. And so I took kind of my life growing up in Texas and all of that and I started paving a way for brides who are getting married but don't want that traditional wedding dress. I started making these wedding dresses where they almost rode the line of casual but they were still very much formal, like I was using your silks and your laces and your fancy fabrics, but then giving them that more relaxed, casual fit which started kind of bleeding into this.
Speaker 2:Chantel Lauren is doing these boho wedding dresses, because boho back in 2013, 2014, was everything. So it was almost like this hippie vibe and I'm like I'm not a hippie, I'm not boho, but I am western, and so I started pairing the dresses with cowboy hats back in 2014 and I had so many bridal stores and people telling me they're like Chantel, you have to stop putting cowboy hats on your models. Brides, don't get it Like that's. You're never going to sell a wedding dress if you're marketing it like a cowgirl or no one's going to wear a hat on their wedding day. Now it's in 2014, and here we are in 2025.
Speaker 2:Wedding day Now it's in 2014, and here we are in 2025. And I'm pretty sure even a girl who's not, who doesn't identify as a cowgirl, is still going to wear a cowboy hat at some point in her wedding, whether it's the bachelorette party and it's got feathers and sequence on it, or it's her reception and they're, you know, dancing to Texas Hold'em and she puts on a cowboy hat, you know, and so it's like it was so cool to be that person sitting here now like, hey, you might not know where the cowboy hat and the wedding dress came from, but I like to take a lot of credit personally for pioneering that aesthetic and that style of credit personally for pioneering that aesthetic and that style. I know it's happened before me, but I definitely feel like I was able to kind of stick it to all the stick it to all the people that said, hey, no one's going to do this and I'm like, well, that's fine, if nobody does it, I'm going to do it anyway.
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh, I love that. And like people don't I mean people don't understand how large the Western community is essentially, but also there's, like Allie and I have talked about this like thing that's going on which is called the Yellowstone effect, and like after that, I mean people who know nothing and who are not Western like are a part of, like they want to be in the Western community somehow, whether it's like not being a cowgirl essentially, but just like somehow ag related, some Western country, country life, you know, like anything in that realm, like it's so funny and so they are incorporating it in like their big days. I've been seeing like prom people like doing it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and like the not so not just weddings, but like you have like a huge um, you have a bigger like clientele than you probably realize.
Speaker 2:Yeah, one thing I I was actually talking to a Western shop owner in California a few weeks ago because I said, hey, how have you enjoyed or are you enjoying or what's your feelings on the fact that Western is so in right now, like it's a person who would never wear Calvary boots is walking around in Tacovas, you know, and I'm like, how do you feel about it? Like, are you fighting it, are you embracing it? And we both kind of came to the conclusion where it's like I love that there's been this Yellowstone effect and I love that Western has become more mainstream, because it's basically giving people a chance to wear something they maybe wouldn't have. But it's also giving us as like designers and store owners and brands, the opportunity to see a boost in our clientele. And I would say it's maybe, like I don't know you could say you're receiving 20% more sales because it's trending right now.
Speaker 2:But what a lot of people, like the bridal stores and other markets didn't see before the Western community always was, they're never. It wasn't like people just all of a sudden bought ranches and decided that they're going to start dressing Western. Like it's always been a thing and there's always been thousands and thousands of people buying Western wear. It just wasn't mainstream. So now you've got your always country people plus your people who want to stay on trend, all participating in this Western culture. So it's really cool to see the worlds collide. I know a lot of people they're like oh, it's cool right now, but as soon as the Western ends, like Chantel, what are you going to do when you know girls don't want to wear fringe wedding dresses and I'm like we'll have do rodeo, stop Like. There's always been rodeos, there's always been this community. It's just that right now it's being recognized.
Speaker 3:I love that. You definitely made your mark.
Speaker 1:Yes, talk to me about your design process. So where do you get your inspiration from? How do you come up with these designs? Are you doing mostly like custom or are you creating a line Like give me the full scoop on that. So fascinating.
Speaker 2:So the first thing I always will tell anyone is I cannot draw at all.
Speaker 2:And a lot of people when they think of designers, they're like, oh, they sketch me something and I'm like, yeah, I can't, I can't do that, but I have the idea in my head.
Speaker 2:And because I started sewing when I was six years old, I can see a picture of something, or I can think of an idea. Or I'll see a clothing item at the mall and I'm like, oh, I could make that, change this, do that, swap fabrics, you know, do the bow at a different angle, add fringe this, that and the other. And I see it in my head and then I can just make it. And so for my design process, I will think of the idea and I will buy the supplies to make a sample. I personally make a sample and then from there I'll have my team replicate it. It's far more expensive than being able to sketch, but I think it's cool because I will design things based on the way the materials fall and lay and I can kind of build it in steps rather than like coming to a complete design through a sketch and then going from there, if that makes sense.
Speaker 3:That is so cool, like, by the way, you're like thinking of something you're, you're just like making it, like I know everyone's like wait what yeah, that's how I can never like, I can never Allie. She has that she, I'm obviously her t-shirt t-shirts and a wedding dress.
Speaker 1:Big difference here.
Speaker 3:Okay, but it's like the artsy part of it, like there's no way. There's no way. That just seems so like a magic, honestly yeah, no, it's fun.
Speaker 2:And then from there I have my collections, so I'll make eight to 10 pieces a year. I have my bridal retailers, who are awesome supporters, and what I love about my stores is, you know, they're like a true Chantal Lauren fan if they're selling Chantal Lauren in their store, because they've been with me from the beginning and I love it, and so from there the stores will sell the dresses to brides who come in. You can view all my retailers up on my website, chantellelaurencom. You can also purchase just directly from my website, or girls also can do the option of personalizing or customizing my designs.
Speaker 1:So if they love a dress but they want to change something about it, we can do that, I feel like you've had several that I can tell like viral moments within the Western community, dressing some pretty iconic people and creating iconic designs and partnering up. I'm curious. Okay, so we could talk about the Shaley ham look of 2024, the olive green, I feel like took over the internet. Talk to me about what that process was like working with her.
Speaker 3:Her wedding dress too, didn't you? I did her wedding dress. I'm going to get there.
Speaker 2:Okay, we'll just start from the beginning. So Shaley came to me on Instagram before her wedding. I had been following her, she had been following me and she was like I have to have one of your wedding dresses and I'm like I need you to wear one of my wedding dresses, like I feel like we would be this powerhouse couple. And so she came in town. I had a bridal store at the time and the dress she wanted I didn't have in store and I felt terrible. I'm like, oh my gosh, I just loaned it out. And I felt terrible. I'm like, oh my gosh, I just loaned it out. It's not even here, but I can have you try on three or four other dresses that all have the elements of that one, and if you trust me, I will make it for you exactly how you want. And she was awesome. She tried on everything.
Speaker 2:She has been such a supporter of my brand and she trusted me to make the dress sight unseen. She'd never seen it until I made it and then I sent it to her and then from there she got married and I told her I'm like, if you ever need a dress, let me know. I would love to, um, to dress you and so every year since her wedding for NFR, and so every year since her wedding for NFR, I've made her a custom look for the back number ceremony. And last year's was so much fun because I asked her I'm like, can I just make you something totally new? I don't have a picture of it, I don't have a sketch, but it's in my head and if you just trust me, it'll be really really good. And, um, so she said yes, of course, cause we've worked together so much.
Speaker 2:Uh, the trust is really strong there and I made this dress that's all of green. And it honestly was so hard because I actually dyed it that color all of green, because I couldn't find the right shade of green fabric in time, and so I dyed the fabric and it was so it was so fun, put that whole dress together, sent it off to her. She got it in the mail like the morning of the back number ceremony. So I'm like, please fit it fit. She wore it and it honestly was, I think, one of the most viral moments at NFR in 2024. I even was walking around one of the events while I was there and somebody came up to me and they were like you're, chantel, you did the green dress and I'm like, yeah, I did, and you know they loved it and it's awesome and, sneak peek, it's actually going to be a part of my 2026 bridal collection, so it is coming. I know I've had a lot of people DMing me about that dress getting it and it will be available coming in 2026.
Speaker 3:Oh, that's so exciting.
Speaker 1:I loved it. It was beautiful, beautiful. Also. The the welcome. I'm not a wedding person. Nicole was a wedding planner in her life as well, so y'all can talk, wedding talk, oh yeah another life, yeah, another life also the um was it called the well as a welcome wedding. Oh, a welcome dress, welcome dress, okay, yes, with Allison Claire.
Speaker 2:That, yes, oh my gosh, she's so cute so I uh Allison was another one came to me. I'm like, if you trust me, I have this idea and I already have a dress like it, but I want to change it, and so we kind of worked together on that design as well. And no, what I love about the welcome dress is, back in the day with weddings, there was the rehearsal dinner and then you know, the wedding day reception and so on. But now, like, we want wedding weekends and so we've changed the rehearsal dinner to just the welcome party, because most people aren't really rehearsing at the rehearsal dinner anymore. So let's just call it what it is it's just a party once all your friends get in, and it's also an excuse to add a mechanical bull to your wedding, and so what I love is just a lot of people doing fun stuff, and it's the opportunity for a girl who maybe doesn't want fringe on her ceremony dress, but she does want to have, like that fringe and that party for either the welcome or the reception.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was so beautiful. I feel like I know we just have a couple minutes left with you because you have so much going on. How do you multitask everything? Because not only are you a wedding designer, you're also a radio host, podcast host, you work with Utah Royals women's soccer. How do you fit all this in your schedule and then have time to talk to us?
Speaker 2:I know I also am a single mom of two boys, so there's just a lot going on. I, I'm a single mom of two boys, so there's just a lot going on. It's a I would say it's like good time management, but I am the biggest procrastinator you'll ever meet. It's just there's 24 hours in the day and I utilize about 23 and a half of them.
Speaker 1:I love it. Is there any like last advice you have for someone that maybe wants to? You know, start designing their own clothes or get into what you've been doing and you know, maybe they're scared or nervous or don't feel good enough. What would you say?
Speaker 2:For me, like when I first started, you just have to do it. I know a lot of people will wait until they have their business plan written up and their lending and their websites perfect and their Instagram and all this stuff, and they wait to get it all perfect and then they're going to launch it. And although, like that's a great idea, it's not always possible because by the time you get all those things ready and done, you've either exhausted yourself, you've had no income coming in and at that point maybe the idea has passed, somebody has already done it or whatever. And so my advice is just once you have like the idea or the piece, just get started. Just get going, Like you don't need to wait until you have this perfect, you know, presentable package, but just get it out into the public. Let people know what you're doing.
Speaker 2:A lot of times, like when I'm in my studio and I'm sewing, I'll make something and I'm like hey, what do you guys think about this Kind of, for example, the NFR dress?
Speaker 2:I make a dress for NFR, for Shaylee to wear. I don't have it available to sell like the next day. It would have been nice to, but that takes a lot of time and effort, and if I had waited until I was able to sell the dress for Shaley to wear it, I there would be no dress for her to wear and so, yes, it's taken a year to get like that product out, but the engagement and the excitement and you're able to build with your audience, I think is super beneficial. So I just think if you have an idea and you want to get started on something, you just have to build with your audience. I think is super beneficial. So I just think if you have an idea and you want to get started on something, you just have to do it and you can't wait until things are perfect, because a lot of times in life something will always come up and nothing is ever, always perfect.
Speaker 3:Girl, you are speaking our language. That's literally how Allie and I live our lives.
Speaker 2:Maybe that's just the chaos of my life that has taught me that. But if you wait for everything to be perfect and ready to go, it's never going to happen.
Speaker 3:Oh, I love that so much I love seeing you in your studio right now.
Speaker 1:I'm like wait, are you?
Speaker 3:in the radio station. You're in a radio station, I feel like yay, so fancy.
Speaker 1:All right. How can anybody that is interested in following you or buying from you, how can they find you and reach you?
Speaker 2:So you can go to my Instagram for wedding dresses or my Western wear. It's Chantelle Lauren official. Uh, if you want to follow my personal chaos, it's. She is Chantelle Lauren and my website is chantellelorencom.
Speaker 1:All right, Chantelle, thank you so much for joining us today. I know we had to make it quick and snappy, but again, I could talk to you forever. I wanted to really know about the tea of working with brides. That's what I want to do.
Speaker 2:We'll just do a part two. We'll do a part two. I love it. All right, thanks?
Speaker 1:so much for joining us and you all be sure you follow her, her designs and all of her amazing work on her socials. See you next time.