Behind-the-Seams Showroom Tour: James Jeans

Created in Los Angeles, James Jeans is the brainchild of designer Seun Lim, who started with the goal of crafting a pair of jeans that could make her look thinner. Thus the brand James Cured by Seun was born (the 'James' is named after Seun's husband), and each pair of denims has the uncanny ability to make the tush look higher, thighs look slimmer and legs appear longer. Gotta love that!

Genevieve gave me a tour of the joint (which is like a cool industrial loft-meets apartment), and also told me a little about how things work at the company. When describing the space, Genevieve said: "This is our New York showroom, which is where our New York sales team and marketing work out of. It's like our home base. It's like a store but we don't sell anything - everything is displayed out. When buyers come into town they have a place to come and see the product and place orders." She also added that "sometimes we even have celebrities come by and try on product here!"

One cool new thing I saw in the showroom was James' organic line. Genevieve explained it like this: "The fabrics that we're using in the organic collection are cotton and linen, and the dyes that we're using are all vegetable dyes. It takes a lot of effort to get good color on natural fabrics because they take very differently than processed fabrics. So, Seun really took her time and a lot of effort into getting some good colors and to get the fabric to feel good." But Genevieve says the collection isn't just for eco-friendly types: "For people that are not really into the organic movement it still has a great appeal. It's our way of breaking the mold and getting people to think about the environment without even knowing it."

One of my favorite pieces of the spring 2008 line is this teeny miniskirt - that's actually a pair of shorts! Genevieve explained the shorts to me, saying: "Seun the designer really believes in looking cute but also being very functional. For example, when she designs her jeans she designs them a little bit higher in the back than the front so that when you sit down or bend over you're not showing people what they're not supposed to see, and with this skort you can get the look of wearing a really small mini from the front and in the back you're wearing shorts so you can be as active as you want to be. You don't have to be very self-conscious when you're getting out of a car - you don't have to be paralyzed by fashion!"