Primp

designer, Wells Butler was born in Detroit, Michigan and raised in Fairfield, Iowa. To the dismay of her parents, both doctors, Butler set her sights on being a fashion designer at an early age. In elementary school, she filled her notebooks with fashion sketches and bugged her mother to teach her how to sew. After a brief stint as a premed at the University of Iowa, Butler compromised with her parents; she would major in economics if she could pursue design after she graduated. But in between studying the law of supply and demand, Butler still found time to scour thrift shops for vintage T-shirts, which she would then customize for herself.

An unrepentant clotheshorse, Butler believes in the L.A. mantra that clothes should be both comfortable and stylish. After flipping through a magazine, Butler decided that the word ‘primp’ captured her idea for an edgy yet feminine brand. In her free time, Butler focused her energy on creating Primp’s debut collection, sewing each piece by hand and delivering them to the stores herself. Launched in Spring 2004, Primp was immediately picked up by Henri Bendel and Butler was spotlighted as one the of the store’s hot designers of 2004.