The Woman Behind the Dress: Meet Emily “Crack the” Code

August 24, 2016

One of MM.LaFleur’s earliest employees, Emily Code started as a temporary hire—she was only supposed to help for one week, at a pop-up store. But then everyone loved her so much that Narie and Michaella lured her into a full-time position (or, as Emily puts it, “They never let me leave.”).

In the two years and ten months since, Emily opened our first warehouse, managed its operations, and then moved the whole shebang from a 1,300-square-foot space in Queens to an 11,000-square-foot facility in Brooklyn. (She has also been known to pair our dresses with work boots and totally pull it off, in a ’90s-punk-meets-corporate-badass kind of way.)

Before she joined MM full-time, Emily was an actor and co-founder of the Survivalists, a New York-based theater company. She also moonlighted as a trivia host at bars all over the city. (Yes, her trivia host name was Emily “Crack the” Code.)

Today, Emily is our Manager of Strategic Operations Initiatives. Her translation: “If it doesn’t exist, I figure out how to make it happen.” She most recently launched same-day delivery in New York City (!), and she’s working on lots of exciting, secret things that we can’t tell you about yet. She is also the only human in the office loud enough to get everyone to be quiet.

More fun facts about Emily: She’s the person who keeps track of all staffers’ birthdays and circulates cards, the first to open wine at the office after 5:00pm (okay, sometimes earlier), and an accident waiting to happen. A shortlist of her injuries (and these are only at MM—she’s had even more outside of work):

• While building a bookshelf in the office, she tripped and fell face-first into a fire ladder, resulting in a concussion. (Our CMO, Annie, took her home in a cab.) The warehouse team subsequently bought her a helmet for everyday activities.
• While carrying boxes to Fedex, she snagged her pants on a wall and ripped them open in the middle of 7th Avenue.
• This past spring, she slammed her left ring finger in the warehouse door and fainted into Caroline Brown‘s arms. (Emily’s mom’s response: “Well, I guess you can’t get engaged this month.”)

As for her namesake dress, we’ll hand the mic over to Emily:

How did you pick your dress? “It was actually supposed to be a surprise, so I didn’t know about it until someone yelled across the office, ‘Hey, are we making that Emily dress?'”

What do you and your dress have in common? “It’s super easygoing, but keeps its shit together. It’s stretchy and can always accommodate another burrito. And we’re both big hits.”

Emily wears the Emily in deep indigo.

What color is your Emily dress? “I have it in plum, which was one of our early colors. It wasn’t supposed to be made in that color—only the Etsuko was going to be cut in plum—but I asked if they could cut one just for me, because I wanted an exclusive version. Then Miyako saw me wearing it, and she liked it so much that they decided to make it in plum after all.”

What else do you like about the Emily? “I love that it’s a bit girly, but not overly so. The neckline is powerful and frames the face, which is where I want the focus (#iusedtobeanactor). I hate shapewear, and I don’t need to wear Spanx in the Emily to feel like I look great. Most importantly, it’s machine-washable for when I inevitably spill on myself.”

If you could put one famous person in this dress, who would it be? “I can absolutely see Sonia Sotomayor rocking the Emily under her robes. She’s always favored a high neckline, and our deep indigo color would look gorgeous on her.”

Who is your dress’s alter ego? “The super star from Mario Kart. Put it on, and you’re invincible!”