Lifestyle

Brands to watch 2022!!! Meet Ladaire! The Designer Brand for The Modern Woman

Published

4 years ago

January 8, 2022

Meet Lilit Madanyan, founder and CEO of the California-bred luxury brand, Ladaire. A few years ago, after life appeared to turn upside down for the company owner leaving her jobless and defeated, she took the reigns and decided to create the next industry-changing wardrobe for the modern woman.

Madanyan had earned her years’ worth of extensive experience in fashion as a fabric specialist for several high-end brands such as BCBG and Juicy Couture. Eventually, she ended up working for a smaller luxury brand that allowed her to expand her horizons and get her feet wet in product development. But after the company suffered grave losses and closed its doors, the now-CEO was left in the dark.

After a few words of encouragement from her husband, Madanyan decided she would try her hand at creating a fresh approach to the classy woman’s closet. She dedicated herself to doing what she never in a million years believed she would do; she created her own line. And in 2017, Ladaire opened its virtual doors. Early on, she decided that the brand would offer sophisticated styles designed with exceptional quality, but that her customers would not be paying an arm and a leg for them. “It was really important to me to keep the brand price conscious,” the founder said. “We wanted to offer women a way to one-up their wardrobes without completely emptying their bank accounts. And we really pride ourselves on providing high quality products while keeping affordable price tags.” Initially, the brand was notorious for their silk dresses, eveningwear, and powersuits. But as of late, the collections have been expanding into providing an entire essentials closet, including loungewear and intimates.

Needless to say, the company owner says the brand has been seeing “tremendous growth”. Customers have adored the pieces and their high-quality fabrics, but more importantly, they’ve stood by the brand while it has released new pieces unlike those from their typical collections. Thanks to their loyalty to the brand, the company was able to open its first Brick and Mortar location in The Americana at Brand shopping mall located in Glendale, California. The direct-to-consumer brand has slowly been expanding nationwide, while also designing entirely new and innovative pieces for the seasons to come.

But it wasn’t always the up-and-up for Ladaire. Madanyan tells us that creating and managing the brand has been a roller coaster since day one, but that she’s learned several essential lessons along the way that has led her to reach pivotal success. “When we had just started creating pieces for the collections a few years back, we were still doing our wear tests on fit models,” she explained. “The fit process is extensive– there’s a wear test, there’s the judging of the functionality of the garment, and there’s also making sure that the pieces fit on a body to the company’s standards. But for some reason, although the pieces looked great on the models, they weren’t fitting the customers as great as I would’ve liked them to. So, I started implementing self-fitting in order to expand our sizes to fit more proportionately to the average body. So far, it’s been the most effective change we’ve ever made.”

Since customer feedback has become crucial for Madanyan and the future of her brand, she likes to visit the store twice a week to get to know her customers and their desires. The more hands-on she’s become, the more she’s been able to provide her customer base with what they’re missing in their closet. So far, it’s been a successful business tactic.

And when she’s not busy running a fashion company, the CEO is usually taking care of her household and her three children. When we ask her how she keeps up with the chaos, she replies: “there’s no other way to get through than to keep going.”

So, what’s next for Ladaire? Well, according to the lady boss, a lot is currently in the works. For one, the CEO plans to invade Beverley Hills by opening another storefront. There is likely to be a few more free-standing Ladaire stores coming nationwide in the next few years. And, of course, more collections are coming. The CEO hinted at potentially expanding the brand into mens’ and children’s wear, but that won’t be for another few years. In the meantime, the lux line will be introducing two new categories: sweaters and shoes. We promised not to give too many details away, but rumor has it that the pieces will be created using the finest essentials imported straight from Italy. So, you definitely won’t want to miss out.

To shop some of the classic pieces from Ladaire, and to stay up-to-date on their upcoming collections, visit https://www.ladaire.com/ or follow the brand at @ladaireofficial on Instagram.

Lifestyle

When Seasons Shift: Dr. Leeshe Grimes on Grief, Loneliness, and Finding Light Again

Published

3 days ago

February 22, 2026

Michelle Langton

Some emotional storms arrive without warning. A sudden change in weather, a holiday approaching, or even a bright sunny day can stir feelings that don’t match the world outside. For many people, the hardest seasons are not defined by temperature; they are defined by what’s happening inside, where grief and loneliness often move quietly.

This is the emotional terrain where Dr. Leeshe Grimes has spent her career doing some of her most meaningful work. As a psychotherapist, registered play therapist, retired U.S. Army combat veteran, and founder of Elevated Minds in the DMV area, she understands how deeply seasonal shifts and unresolved grief can affect people. Her upcoming books explore this very space, guiding readers through the emotional weight that can appear during different times of the year.

What sets Dr. Grimes apart is her ability to see clearly what many people overlook. Seasonal depression, for example, is usually tied to winter months. But she often sees it appear during warm, bright seasons, the times when the world seems happiest. For someone already grieving or feeling disconnected, watching others travel, celebrate, or gather can create its own kind of heaviness. Sunshine doesn’t always lift the mood; sometimes it highlights what feels missing.

The same misunderstanding surrounds grief. Society often treats it as a short-term experience with predictable phases and a clean ending. But in her practice, Dr. Grimes sees how grief keeps evolving. It doesn’t disappear on a timeline. It weaves itself into routines, memories, and milestones. People learn to carry it differently, but they rarely leave it behind completely. And that’s not failure, it’s human.

Her approach to mental health centers on truth rather than pressure. She encourages clients to acknowledge the emotions they try to hide: sadness that lingers longer than expected, moments of joy that feel out of place, and the waves of loneliness that return even when life seems stable. Instead of pushing for quick recovery, she focuses on helping people understand how emotions shift and how to care for themselves through those changes.

Much of her insight comes from her military years, where she witnessed the emotional toll of loss, transition, and constant survival. She saw how people continued functioning while carrying pain that had nowhere to go. That experience shaped her belief that healing requires space, space to feel, to speak, and to move through emotions without judgment.

In her clinical work today at Elevated Minds, she encourages people to build small, steady habits that anchor them during difficult seasons. Journaling helps them recognize patterns and name what feels heavy. Community support breaks the cycle of isolation. Therapy creates a place where emotions don’t have to be minimized or explained away. And intentional routines, daily sunlight, mindful breaks, and calm evenings help rebuild emotional balance.

Her upcoming books expand on these ideas, offering practical guidance for navigating both grief and seasonal depression. She focuses on helping readers understand that healing is not about escaping pain. It’s about learning how to live with it in a healthier way, honoring memories, acknowledging loneliness, and still allowing room for moments of light.

What makes Dr. Leeshe Grimes a compelling voice in mental health is her ability to bring language to experiences that many struggle to explain. She reminds people that emotional seasons don’t always match the weather and that there is no single path through grief. But within those shifts, she believes there is always a way forward.

The seasons will continue to change. And with the right tools, compassion, and support, people can change with them, finding steadiness, softness, and light again, one step at a time.