Meet the Designers
Every design starts right here in-house
Our talented team of designers—both staff and interns—create each new smock print, apparel style, and dog bandana design you see in our shop. Before any item makes it to our store, samples are carefully tested and refined, often through multiple rounds of tweaks until we’re confident the fit, function, and style meet our standards. Not every design makes the cut, but that’s part of our process and commitment: only the very best reach you.
We’ve reimagined how we offer apparel
Instead of carrying the same small collection year after year, we now release fresh, limited-edition designs on a rolling basis—giving groomers more variety and keeping our styles current. The response has been incredible, with most designs selling out quickly and demand growing so much that we’ve expanded our design team to keep up. It’s an exciting new era for us, and one we’re thrilled to share with you.
Meet the Design Team
Lindsay Neilson
With an MFA from SCAD and experience at Rachel Comey, Town and Country Living, and Vera Bradley, Lindsay brings a rich background in fashion to Retro Stylist Wear. Her expertise spans print and apparel design, technical design, product development, and materials, giving her a versatile edge in leading creative projects. She enjoys the process of transforming motifs into polished prints and tailoring apparel to fit the unique needs of groomers and hairstylists. Among her favorite Retro projects are the Pink Pooch Club collection and the versatile Dorian smock.
Lindsay finds inspiration in nature and in uncovering moments of whimsy and
color in everyday life. She aims to create designs that are creative, trendy,
and harmonious to the eye. She values working with a small, dedicated team
where everyone contributes across projects, and she hopes her designs give
wearers both professionalism and joy. Coffee fuels her creativity, funk and
lo-fi beats fill her playlists, and—fun fact—she’s distantly related to Groucho
Marx.
Simone Grice
Rooted in both graphic design and illustration, Simone found her niche in surface and pattern design as a way to merge a love for fashion, interiors, and visual storytelling. With a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in illustration and five years of training in graphic arts, her work spans illustration, pattern, and packaging. Her process often begins with abstract, freestyle shapes that evolve into bold new “shape languages,” giving each design a sense of movement and individuality.
Graphic, abstract, and bold at its core, Simone’s style draws inspiration from Black culture, Pan-African art, earth tones, street art, and the music she grew up with. Her favorite project so far has been creating an animal print for the Sophia smock and coordinating bandana, a design that balances playfulness with style. She hopes wearers feel both confident and comfortable in her work—embracing the character in each piece. When not designing, Simone is sipping smoothies, curating Neo Soul playlists, and surprising people with her singing talent.
Amanda Pan
Amanda has always been drawn to creating cute illustrations, a passion that led her to study at SCAD and ultimately into surface and pattern design. Though fashion is new territory for her, she’s found joy in blending her love of playful motifs with wearable design at Retro Stylist Wear. Her process is thoughtful and hands-on—starting with brainstorming and sketching, then moving into Illustrator to refine her motifs and experiment with arrangements until the perfect pattern takes shape.
Cute, playful, and whimsical, Amanda’s style shines in projects like her Purrfect Love Valentine’s Day pattern, where cats, hearts, and vibrant pinks come together in joyful harmony. She finds inspiration in holidays, seasonal themes, and the chance to add animal touches that tie designs back to the grooming industry. Amanda hopes her work helps wearers feel stylish, confident, and full of joy. Fueled by coffee and Lo-fi/Jpop playlists, she also brings a perfectionist streak to everything she does—graduating SCAD with a 4.0 and a track record of never missing a day of high school.
Emily Dye
Emily discovered her love for art at a young age, inspired by her grandfather’s architectural drawings and nurtured through years of sketching and private lessons. That passion led her to earn a BFA in Illustration with a minor in Graphic Design, blending her natural talent with formal training. Specializing in detailed illustration and pattern design, she blends a vivid, intricate style with digital tools to create work that feels alive and expressive.
Her process often begins with building mood boards and experimenting with color palettes, drawing inspiration from aesthetics and sometimes nature itself. One of her favorite Retro Stylist Wear projects, “Bee Lovely,” holds a special place in her heart as both a reflection of her growth and a celebration of hard work. For Emily, designing apparel that helps groomers feel confident, comfortable, and uniquely themselves is the most rewarding part of the job.
AC Frye
AC discovered her passion for surface design as a student at SCAD, where she earned a BFA in Illustration for Surface Design with minors in Scientific Illustration and Painting. Blending traditional and digital methods, her process moves from research and sketching to refining motifs and finalizing patterns in Photoshop or Illustrator. She’s especially drawn to creating bold, detailed repeats that tell a story, whether inspired by nature or everyday art and design.
Playful, bold, and narrative, AC’s style thrives on the creative freedom Retro Stylist Wear provides, encouraging her to explore fresh themes and aesthetics. With a personal connection to grooming through her own pup, Gideon, she understands how meaningful stylish, high-quality designs can be for the industry. She hopes her work makes people feel expressive and joyful. Coffee is her creative fuel, and when she’s not designing, she often channels her artistic eye into floral arranging.
Amanda Zvolensky
Amanda’s love for fashion began in childhood, sewing alongside her mom and eventually creating her own clothes. That early passion led her to study textile and fashion design, where she developed a specialty in fiber arts and inclusive fashion. Her process always begins with color, whether she’s pulling from trend forecasting, experimenting with custom digital brushes, or borrowing inspiration from traditional quilting patterns.
Bold, expressive, and a little chaotic, Amanda’s design style is all about self-expression. She loves creating prints that carry through to finished garments, giving wearers the chance to feel confident, unique, and seen—even in the messiest grooming environments. Outside the studio, she’s a Coca-Cola girlie (never coffee or tea), speaks Japanese, and curates playlists as eclectic and unpredictable as her design process.
Think You've Got the Creative Spark?
Our design team is always buzzing with new ideas—and as we grow, we’re open to welcoming fresh talent into the mix. Internships are the most common way to get involved, but we love seeing what new talent can bring to the table. If you’d like to throw your hat in the ring, send a letter of intent or portfolio to hello@retrostylistwear.com. Who knows—you might inspire our next big design.