Long before the Los Angeles native became the designer and creative director behind Ella Moss, Pamella was cultivating her own unique sense of style. It didn't take long for her closet to become a makeshift atelier where friends would come to peruse Pamella's array of vintage, handmade and contemporary clothes.

After high school, Pamella studied graphic design and realized her true calling. Trading printmaking for patternmaking, she enrolled at The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in downtown LA, and in 2001 she co-founded Ella Moss.

"People often want to know who Ella Moss is," Pamella says. The simple answer is that the name comes from a combination of her nickname (ELLA) and the nickname of her co-creator Moise Emquies (Moss).

While Ella Moss may not be one specific person, she is the muse, and a large part of Pamella's vision for the collection.

"She's a modern bohemian with a west coast sensibility. She travels the world and falls in love easily. She listens to feel-good music and drives with the windows down. She shops at flea markets and thinks a beach vacation is the best kind of vacation. She smiles easily and laughs a lot; she doesn't take herself too seriously."

And she is, of course the girl who knows how to dress up a tee and dress down a dress.