How it Began
Ghost Party Rags, a local clothing business in Santa Clarita, is consecutively rising to fame every month. Lily Christiansen, the owner and creator of the business, has always been mainly focused on music. She contributes the majority of her time into music school and plays the bass in an awesome local band. However, when Lily was in 5th grade, a new endeavor sparked her interest: Fashion design. When I asked what her ultimate dream life would be, she laughed and responded with, “I’d be a famous fuckin’ rockstar and fashion designer. I just love that combination.” It seems that she is already doing whatever she can to achieve this goal. The majority of individuals wait until their older to work towards their dreams, yet Lily, being the hard-working businesswoman she is, is already doing what she can to mold her future into a successful path.
Photo by Nate @photosbynate8p
In November of 2020, she created one of her first pieces, but just for her own casual use. However, when she walked out in public, almost immediately people were drawn to her jacket like bees to a flower. “In the very beginning,” she said, “I got a surprising amount of compliments and, you know, my ego boosted of course. It felt amazing.” It was as if people were so excited to see an amazingly creative piece of fashion bloom in the city of Santa Clarita after all of the bland and sad fashion choices people were making. Since her artistically genius jacket was so beloved, she began to make some for her close friends. As her clothes became more widespread and the request for them were at a constant incline, she finally decided, “All right, I’ll have a little hussle,” which was definitely the right choice.
With the assistance of her so-called, “helper,” Lily’s mom, she kickstarted her very own high-demand clothing line. As for the name of her brand, Ghost Party Rags, it originated from an idea her aunt had to call it Medusa Dance Party. Lily then remembered that she had always loved ghosts ever since she was young, and decided to incorporate them into the name since they resonated with her so profoundly. So, after some well-thought-out adjustments, Medusa Dance Party became the infamous Ghost Party Rags. As for her cute logo, she quote on quote, “Made it in 5 minutes.” Not only does she show obvious signs of naturally artistic gifts, yet she can also activate these gifts quickly and make anything look seriously awesome, with what seems like no effort at all. She very thoughtfully informed me, “I’ve always loved fashion design. I have this opportunity and I’ll do it to the best of my ability and see what comes out of it.”
What Is Ghost Party Rags?
You throw on a pair of baggy jeans and maybe a boring white tank top, and you glance over into the mirror and realize that something seems missing. Maybe you could add a cool pair of sneakers, or accessorize with a couple of statement rings… Yet what you desperately need is a piece from Ghost Party Rags. Like any normal person, Lily mentioned that her personal style, “Changes every 4 hours.” She is aware of the struggle of turning your room into a monstrous tornado just to find a decent outfit. That is what makes Ghost Party Rags different. It is that one glorious piece in your closet–amongst the piles of sad clothes– that doesn’t make you look like a boring bitch, in fact, it does the exact opposite and attracts a number of compliments. Not to mention that you’ll feel and look like the shit because you can’t get the clothes anywhere else.
Photo by Lily Christiansen
Lily’s selection of clothing is uniquely creative and captivating. She said, “I’ve always loved a grunge-y, punk rock style, not something that you wear every day, but I think that it is very interesting and fun.” Ghost Party Rags represents a punk aesthetic, with images such as spiders and skeletons. She even jokingly described her clothes as, “Emo af.” Her pieces aren’t for every day, but when you’re in the mood for a taste of the genre, her brand is the perfect direction to go in. Her designs aren’t aggressively punk rock that it hurts your eyes, yet they are a subtle, almost beautiful taste of punk without receiving the full-blown meal. Just a taste will keep you satisfied.
Lily mentioned, “My staple piece is my guitar necklace from my really good friend, Nate, and I haven’t taken it off since.” Not only is she artistically inclined, yet she has profound sentimental values. These values reflect off of her intricate work, for each piece takes endless amounts of time and heart, and it for sure isn’t easy. Rather than sending her clothes to someone else to print a custom design, instead, she takes the time to tediously paint every single detail using bleach. This combination of bleach on a black t-shirt results in an epic hue of orange, and her shading techniques make it all the more mesmerizing to look at. Furthermore, each piece is different in the slightest of details because they are hand-painted. So, if you buy a piece, it will be exclusively yours.
She supplies all of her blank canvas tees and sweatshirts from Hanes, a sustainable and environmentally conscious clothing brand. To read more about Hane’s commitment to the planet’s health, click the link down below. Overall, Ghost Party Rags are, “handmade af,” and eco-friendly. So you LOOK great, you FEEL great, AND you’re saving the environment? Yes please.
Sales
At Ghost Party Rags, the prices are as cheap as they come, yet enough so that Lily can make a reasonable and well-deserved profit. She puts immeasurable amounts of effort into her business by using her own money, buying decorations for vending so that it looks presentable, a lot of time, etc. “But it’s all worth it,” she began, “I love the shows that I vend at. It is such an embraceful and fun environment that it makes me so happy that I do what I do. I love seeing how people get when they buy my shit. It’s the most rewarding part ‘cause I worked so hard.” So, even though a business is very challenging to manage, at the end of the day Lily is doing what she ultimately loves. She is on the road to success, there is no doubt about that. I expect Ghost Party Rags to become a Santa Clarita staple. Her talent is unlike any other and she is truly an inspiration to all.
To conclude, her advice to any aspiring fashion designers or business managers would be, “You are going to be in debt when you first start out. Get with it, which I know is cliche, but I mean it. Get a good grip on marketing because it is more important than the fashion to a certain point. And, overall, make sure that you love it.” Keep an eye out for Lily at future shows, for not only are her clothes worth seeing, but she is definitely worth meeting with how cool and fun-loving her personality is.
LINKS!!
lily’s instagram - dm her for clothes!