Dorothy Herrera is a  fashion designer, technical designer and a freelance virtual pattern maker.
Current Profession and Accomplishments
Dorothy has her own brand and trademark, Pa-lea Style. She has successfully worked with many startups as well as established designers from all over the world. Her clients have made the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimwear Edition, been best sellers at Free People - Women’s Boho Clothing & Bohemian Fashion, and been featured in editorials for Elle and Mademoiselle magazines. Her business is set up for sample making and small production orders.
Education and Experience
Dorothy completed an Associate’s Degree in Fashion Merchandising from 1985-87 at FIDM (Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising). She studied Fashion/Apparel Design Pattern Making from 1987–89 at LATTC (Los Angeles Trade Technical College). She was licensed as a Certified CAD Technician in May 1996 by AI (The Art Institutes). Dorothy completed a Bachelor's degree in General Studies, Physiology, and Psychology from 2009-13 at Western New Mexico University.
After completing the LATTC course, Dorothy worked at the fashion office of Broadway Stores in LA.
Dorothy worked at Oxford Industries where she learned mass production and ran a 25-person crew while attending school to learn the new CAD/CAM systems to bring technology into the production workplace.
In the mid-1990s, Dorothy graduated as a certified software specialist for Lectra Systems and started teaching pattern makers to use digital pattern making systems. Joyce Baron, former executive of Warnaco Group and VP of Straus Adler Intimates, and her production team bought the Lectra system with the aim of becoming the first intimate apparel company to be 100% digital in CAD/CAM. They insisted on Dorothy being part of the package! Ms. Baron taught Dorothy how to fit a garment and fashion sensibilities.Â
After several years of practical experience in designing intimate apparel, Dorothy transitioned to working virtually in 2012 with her own freelance pattern making service out of her home studio using Tukatech Design Software.
Fun Fact
As a little girl, Dorothy had aunts who were seamstresses and taught her every stitch imaginable to construct any garment from bras to suits to wedding dresses. At the age of nine, her grandmother taught her how to look at a picture and make a pattern in quarter scale. By age twelve, Dorothy knew she wanted to be a fashion designer - her room was filled with fabrics, forms, as well as posters of French designers Coco Chanel, Jean Paul Gaultier, Christian Dior, Christian Lacroix and her idol, Madeleine Vionnet. She dreamed of tulle, lace and silk. Dorothy was born into the garment construction business!
Contact Information
Dorothy’s email: paleadirector@gmail.com
Website:Â www.paleastyle.com
Â
