At The Table With is a monthly interview series that explores the ideas of creativity and personal taste through the eyes of my friends (or people I would like to be friends with). This month’s guest is expert accessories designer and creative director Joyce Lee!
No one has a better accessory game than Joyce Lee. One scroll through her Instagram and you’ll see what I mean—her feed is a menagerie of customized totes, fun little bags, and shoes. (So many shoes.) Joyce is, actually, an icon—she’s put impressive mileage on a career as an accessories designer, including a 15-year stint at Madewell, where she worked as Head of Design. (The Transport Tote we’ve all owned at some point? That was Joyce. I mean, the cultural impact!)
I think this story sums up what I appreciate about her perspective: 20 years ago, back when she started working at Michael Kors, Joyce bought herself a celebratory Louis Vuitton duffle, brought it home, and promptly painted polka dots all over it. That instinct—the belief that we should actually wear and enjoy our stuff without considering it too precious to use—is present in a lot of what Joyce shares online. I love how Joyce styles a party clutch with flip flops or rhinestone mary janes with socks on a freezing cold day—there’s an element of practicality balanced with a sense of play that I find really inspiring in everything she does.
In her Substack,
, Joyce curates assortments of items that display her encyclopedic knowledge of what’s out there. You want to know what ballet flats will get you through a 20k step day? She’s on it. You want a suede bag for fall, but don’t know where to start? Joyce got you started on your search. You’re a mom sick of schlepping stuff in an ugly bag? Joyce asked her mom friends, and they have recs. If I had to narrow down the list of fashion Substacks I read to just a few favorites, Time Less would definitely make the cut.Joyce recently joined Parker Thatch as the brand’s first creative director, and I’m so excited to see how this next phase of her career unfolds. I’d put money on the fact that we’ll all be toting around something Joyce has come up with this time next year—you’ll see!
I asked Joyce a few questions…
Ali LaBelle: Tell me a little about yourself!
Joyce Lee: I grew up in a small town in Northern California (technically part of Silicon Valley, though I’ve never loved that name). I was obsessed with clothing and accessories from an early age, especially shoes and bags. One of my earliest “design” moments was crafting a pair of jelly shoes from six-pack rings after my mom said no to buying them.
Eventually, I moved to New York to attend FIT, where I landed an internship at Marc Jacobs in both the bag and footwear departments—my dream come true. From there, I designed accessories for Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, and Gryson before joining Madewell to lead the Accessories division. I later became Head of Design for the brand, overseeing apparel, accessories, and collaborations. I’m now the Creative Director at Parker Thatch, where I’m designing new products and preparing to shoot our Fall 2025 collection. It feels great to be back in the world of accessories, shaping not only the product but every aspect of how our customer experiences the brand.
AL: What did the time between your run at Madewell and your new role at Parker Thatch look like? Did you work on any personal projects or discover anything new about your creative process during this time?
JL: It was the first real pause I’d taken since moving to New York over 20 years ago, and I loved it. I explored the city like a tourist—long lunches with friends, gallery visits, discovering new shops and restaurants. I spent more time with my kids (now 10 and 6), taking them to the playground, doing summer camp pickups, and making memories.
I traveled as much as I could! Our family stayed in a seashell-shaped house in Mexico, visited friends in Spain, met others in Aruba. Creatively, I took on select design projects, collaborated on a capsule of block-printed pieces for women and children, and pushed myself out of my comfort zone by starting a Substack newsletter.
AL: In your newsletter, Time Less, you’ve been doing these deep dives into the “best of” something, like the best city sandals and ballet flats you can actually walk in all day. I always know I can trust your recs because it feels like you really consider the livability of a piece. How important is practicality to you, and how does it influence your design process?
JL: At heart, I’m a practical person who loves beautifully made things. I’m drawn to pieces that solve a problem or truly function, but also have strong, distinctive design. That balance is the lens I bring to my own work. As a consumer, I hunt for items that check all those boxes, and sharing those discoveries has been incredibly rewarding.
AL: What are some things that you’re finding especially inspiring right now?
JL: I’ve been updating our apartment—new textiles for our couch, rethinking our living room, and designing a shared bedroom for our kids that gives them each a bit of their own space. I’ve been working with a friend on the room’s layout and materials. That deep dive into interiors—textiles, furniture, architecture—has been feeding my inspiration for bag design, too.
AL: Looking back, what are the things that have shaped your design perspective the most? Are there any formative moments or memories that influenced your creative point of view today?
JL: From a young age, I loved adding a personal twist to the things I owned, like painting something a new color, adding patterns to sneakers, or hunting down the perfect fabric for a project I couldn’t stop thinking about. It always came back to problem-solving: making something work better, feel more personal, or last longer.
AL: What are you most excited about in this next phase with Parker Thatch?
JL: I’m excited for the opportunity to expand and evolve the product while staying true to the brand’s DNA. I love drawing inspiration from everywhere—travel, interiors, everyday life—and translating it into fresh bag concepts that resonate with a broader audience. I’m excited to connect all the dots through product, imagery, and marketing, so every touchpoint feels intentional and cohesive.
AL: Let’s do a little visualization exercise! Imagine your dream dinner party. You can invite anyone (living or not, famous or not), serve anything, and host it anywhere. Where’s the party?
JL: My imaginary beach house in Kauai.
AL: What are we having?
JL: Fresh sushi, lots of uni, cold soba noodles, and yuzu spritzes.
AL: What’s on the table? How are you decorating?
JL: Lots of handmade pottery, super delicate glassware, and hand-poured candles.
AL: Who’s invited?
JL: A handful of girlfriends.
AL: What’s the dress code? What are you wearing?
JL: Anything that makes them happy, but it would be casual for sure! I’ll be in a fun fringe skirt, a cotton tank, and flip flops.
AL: What music is playing?
JL: A mix of upbeat, happy, danceable genres.
[Editor’s note: this playlist by artist Camilla Meng Engström is one of my favorites for lively dinner parties.]
AL: Quick-fire round. What’s your favorite scent or smell?
JL: Bergamot, pepper, yuzu, grass.
AL: Favorite artist?
JL: So many, but I adore the work of Isamu Noguchi, James Turrell, and Cy Twombly.
AL: Last thing you read?
JL: Next up is The Guide to Being Alive—I can’t wait to dig in.
AL: Comfort food?
JL: I love instant noodles and anything savory (though I’ll make an exception for BonBon candy).
AL: Something you bought recently?
JL: My dream pants—peachy satin perfection.
Thank you for chatting with me, Joyce! I am obsessed with those pants, and I’m willing to guess there’s a fair number of À La Carte readers who are very into them, too.
For more from Joyce, follow her on Instagram and subscribe to her Substack,
. And to keep an eye on what she’s up to at Parker Thatch, keep an eye on the brand’s Instagram, too!x
Ali
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