Meet Lohan Jones of The Blue Dollar
I am an only child to two artists who met at The Ensemble Theater. With a set design dad and a musical theater mom, I found myself pulled toward a stage. It isn’t the stage my mother envisioned for me but it’s the stage that calls my name.
It isn’t a surprise that I design exotic wear with the intent to open an exotic club in the future. I’d always been equally split between visual and performing arts. While art was just an elective and theater was just a summer camp to other kids, I would dream of accepting awards and seeing my work down a runway. I wanted to design and direct the show.
It has not been a smooth road. The road has been bumpy and foggy and slippery but I move forward no matter what lies at the end of this journey. There will always be a road and I don’t have the option to choose it be smooth so I fight to work through the mud I encounter.
There have been numerous attempts to taint my name and tarnish my brand but what has helped is my transparency. My initial response to plight is to pull back but sharing my issue with others opened room for others to share back. I am not the first and won’t be the last business owner to be provoked or picked upon ; it would be naive of me to believe so.
The fog on my road has recently began to clear and I’m seeing that the fights I have to endure are because I am feared. I used to sit in victimization until I realized that my presence is feared because my product is precious.
The Blue Dollar is a custom clothing line with a focus in exotic wear. We service customers from on or off of a stage. The line specializes in exotic wear but we provide cocktail-wear, dance-wear, swimwear, clubwear, drag-wear, performance-wear, and so much more. We’ve been able to design for Texas Southern University’s Prancing Tiger Dolls as well as provide custom cocktail wear for Grooves of Houston; each new client gives us a reason to expand our recipe.
Our specialty is entertainment! We seek to provide for entertainers and those with a taste for center stage. While a customer may not be a performer, our items will place you center stage no matter what you do or where you are. Our product is primarily based upon inspiration from performers and performances. We work in themes and pay homage to entertainers of all kinds with our art.
The Blue Dollar sits apart from other exotic wear lines because it is in support of its clientele. There is a part of the exotic community where retailers disrespect and look down upon the customers that the items are designed for. We are in support of our customers. We value who our customers are and the dollar they provide.
The connections I create between performance and visual art is what I’m most proud of. I pull from music videos and cover art to celebrate entertainers through my designs. A background in fashion and fine art allows me to challenge the exotic and custom industry. I provide variety that this community often lacks. I knew my work was making a difference when figures such as Akilaface and Todd White began to take note of my line. After being asked to design for artists such as Megan Thee Stallion, I’ve been crediting myself for the individuality I produce. Exotic wear becomes repetitive when retailers are in the industry for the profit and not for the production.
Success is the ability to become one with hardship. There will always be a reason to worry but success involves understanding how there will always be a reason to smile as well. I think people often become stuck on the mountain ahead of them rather than equally focusing on the climb or what could take place on the other side. I don’t mind the dilemma that comes with growing a brand because I have already accepted the dilemma in everyday life. Life will be hard no matter what so why not soar for something that makes me want to get up in the morning?
