After spending the morning sketching designs for vintage-inspired nightgowns, Karen Judge pauses to admire the view of the port of San Francisco and Oakland’s hills from the tall windows of her studio in San Francisco’s Dogpatch neighborhood. She also gazes south towards SoMa, where her team of expert garment makers stitch every finalized design from cotton, silk, microfleece, and satin. In addition to giving Toute la Nuit Loungewear’s founder and creative director easy access to supervising the sewing, the workshop’s location reflects her desire to pay fair labor prices and reduce the carbon footprint that often comes with fashion manufacturing.
Karen’s drive to forge her own fashionable path actually inspired her to create Toute la Nuit Loungewear. Frustrated by the pajamas she found in stores—which were either overwhelming sexy or scandalously frumpy—she began designing sleepwear that could easily transition from “bed to breakfast.” Inspired by vintage nightgowns, modern daywear, and old Hollywood style, she designed feminine, romantic, and comfortable robes, nightgowns, and separates. For their versatility and woman-friendly design, the styles have earned props from Daily Candy and California ApparelNews.net and a cease-and-desist letter from the fishnet stockings union.
