Although Lafayette is a bustling city we like to believe we’re a small town where, if we don’t all know each other, we know of each other. Jezebel Lobelia may be the exception that proves the rule.

Acadiana Queen of Fascination, Jezebel Lobelia

Although Jezebel is known nationwide, it’s possible you’ve never even heard of her. From her home studio here in Lafayette, Jezebel Lobelia is the creator of fashionwear that she sells under the label Jezebel’s Fascination. Jezebel sells on average, across the country, one piece a day. In the world of hand-crafted designer fashion, that is significantly successful.

Jezebel’s company is called Jezebel’s Fascination because the fashion items she’s making are called fascinators – creations of fabric and feathers worn on your head, kind of like the exuberant decoration you might see on a woman’s hat at the Kentucky Derby, without the hat.

Karen Thibodeaux – making fashion unique to Acadiana that’s only worn one day a year

Karen Thibodeaux also makes fashion items. Karen’s business, Sew What, designs and manufactures women’s clothing. Karen is the creator of a line of Cajun-inspired clothing called VaCajun. Karen’s company is headquartered in Branch, Louisiana, where the company is  a big deal – it is the town’s single biggest private sector employer.

Peter Ricchiuti, Karen Thibodeaux, Jezebel Lobelia

In this conversation Peter Ricchiuti gets to meet the biggest deal in Branch Louisiana and the most fascinating woman in Lafayette.

Photos at Cafe Vermilionville by Gwen Aucoin.