How Fitting® Podcast

The podcast for slow fashion designers who want to create clothing and grow a business that fits their customer, lifestyle, and values.

In biweekly episodes, hear how relatable fashion entrepreneurs (the kind who run their businesses from kitchen tables and cutting tables, not boardroom tables) navigate the fashion industry with integrity and define success based on their own principles.

In each conversation, host Alison Hoenes (a freelance women’s apparel patternmaker) explores the things that all slow fashion business owners experience: the vulnerability of launching something new, the deeply empathetic process of designing clothes that fit a niche market, the challenges of pursuing both financial and environmental sustainability, the late nights of reckoning with your values that make you consider shutting the whole thing down, and the rewarding moments that make it all worth it.

In addition, hear from experienced fashion industry resources that are helping indie designers make a difference and a profit – like low MOQ factories, fashion marketing and business coaches, or sustainable fabric suppliers.

How Fitting® offers validation that you are not alone in your fashion entrepreneurship experience, ideas to try on in your fashion business to create a better fit, and a curious look into how other slow fashion brands are making it work. How fitting is that?


Want to share how your brand fits your customer, lifestyle, and values on the How Fitting® podcast? I’d love to have you as a guest on an upcoming episode.


Making Slow Fashion From Recycled Flowers with Melissa Hargus Pierce of Soul Studio

How Fitting: design a slow fashion business that fits
How Fitting: design a slow fashion business that fits
Making Slow Fashion From Recycled Flowers with Melissa Hargus Pierce of Soul Studio
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You’ve heard of fashion made with recycled polyester, but have you heard of fashion made with recycled flowers? In episode 53, Melissa Hargus Pierce gives us a glimpse into the creative and scientific natural dyeing process of Soul Studio – the sustainable, slow fashion brand she started with her mom.  Soul Studio is a Natural […]

Telling an Imaginative Story Through Specialty Childrenswear with Claire Thomas-Morgan of Vivi Design Studio

How Fitting: design a slow fashion business that fits
How Fitting: design a slow fashion business that fits
Telling an Imaginative Story Through Specialty Childrenswear with Claire Thomas-Morgan of Vivi Design Studio
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In episode 52, discover how Claire Thomas-Morgan weaves exploration and imagination into her high-end childrenswear line Vivi Design Studio and how her business has grown into its unique identity over the years. Claire Thomas-Morgan started out in fashion in the early 2000s, earning her BFA in fashion design from Washington University in St. Louis and […]

Sewing Clothes to Keep Short Women From Being Overlooked with Miranda Sam of Shortlisted

How Fitting: design a slow fashion business that fits
How Fitting: design a slow fashion business that fits
Sewing Clothes to Keep Short Women From Being Overlooked with Miranda Sam of Shortlisted
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In episode 51, Miranda Sam walks us through her decision to discover a new side of fashion by learning industrial sewing before starting her fashion brand made specifically for short women –  Shortlisted. Discover how the experience is changing the way she views fashion!  “When we talk about body inclusivity these days, we’re most likely […]

Developing Fashion That Fits Your Customer, Lifestyle, and Values with Ellie Wilcox, Xochil Herrera Scheer, Connie Bourgeois, and Alison Hoenes

How Fitting: design a slow fashion business that fits
How Fitting: design a slow fashion business that fits
Developing Fashion That Fits Your Customer, Lifestyle, and Values with Ellie Wilcox, Xochil Herrera Scheer, Connie Bourgeois, and Alison Hoenes
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Join me for this special episode 50 as I chat with three of my fellow patternmaker and product developer friends about how you can develop fashion that fits your customer, lifestyle, and values. We share our best industry tips and expert advice on making clothes that really fit – and building best practices for your […]

Connecting Culture, Creativity, and Community with Erika Neumayer Ehrat of Rare Dirndl

How Fitting: design a slow fashion business that fits
How Fitting: design a slow fashion business that fits
Connecting Culture, Creativity, and Community with Erika Neumayer Ehrat of Rare Dirndl
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In episode 49, Erika Neumayer Ehrat shares how she’s built a niche business – Rare Dirndl –  creating fashion-forward styles that still honor traditions to help American women celebrate German culture. “I started Rare Dirndl in 2010 because, as an active member of the German community in Chicago, I was so disappointed to see that […]

The Power of Getting Dressed with Ashley Alt of Valt

How Fitting: design a slow fashion business that fits
How Fitting: design a slow fashion business that fits
The Power of Getting Dressed with Ashley Alt of Valt
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In episode 48, Ashley Alt shares her story of how getting dressed helped her feel more like herself after a time of difficult mental health, and how she’s now started a fashion brand, Valt, to help other women do the same and find joy in dressing up. Ashley is a writer + fashion designer based […]

Elevating Casual Classics with Morgan Shapero of Shapero

How Fitting: design a slow fashion business that fits
How Fitting: design a slow fashion business that fits
Elevating Casual Classics with Morgan Shapero of Shapero
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In episode 47, Morgan Shapero shares how after over 20 years working as a designer in NYC, she relaunched her own brand Shapero in 2021 – and how that experience provides both freedom to design and do business her own way as well as new skills that help her in her day job. Morgan Shapero […]

Designing with Compassion and Empathy with Sharae Averhart of MoraRae

How Fitting: design a slow fashion business that fits
How Fitting: design a slow fashion business that fits
Designing with Compassion and Empathy with Sharae Averhart of MoraRae
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In episode 46, Sharae Averhart, the designer and business owner behind the plus-size petite fashion brand MoraRae, shares the role fashion has played in her life and career and how through all her experience, she has learned to approach fashion design with compassion, empathy, and problem solving. Hi! I’m Sharae, the owner and designer behind […]

Connecting Women To The Tailor-Made Wardrobe of Their Dreams with Nathalie of Dressarte Paris

How Fitting: design a slow fashion business that fits
How Fitting: design a slow fashion business that fits
Connecting Women To The Tailor-Made Wardrobe of Their Dreams with Nathalie of Dressarte Paris
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In episode 45, Nathalie, the founder of Dressarte Paris, shares how a busy lifestyle and an appreciation for custom-made clothes sparked the idea for a virtual atelier built on modern technology that connects clients all over the world with quality materials and bespoke designs. Having worked as an international corporate auditor for a French company […]

After 5 Years In Business, Here’s What I’ve Learned About Working In Fashion

How Fitting: design a slow fashion business that fits
How Fitting: design a slow fashion business that fits
After 5 Years In Business, Here’s What I’ve Learned About Working In Fashion
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In this special solo episode, I (Alison Hoenes) share five things I’ve learned about running a fashion business on the 5th anniversary of Alison Hoenes Design. I’m celebrating AHD’s 5th birthday the whole month of June with some exciting updates, new products, and more to help you get your designs to production with confidence and […]