Notes on our 3rd birthday
First, the biggest, most heartfelt thank you to everyone who came, shopped, brought gifts, said “hi”, dm’d, shared, posted, commented… You get the picture. If you have shopped with me EVER, I thank you.
Owning a small business is to be extremely vulnerable. Both emotionally and financially. You are revealing a part of yourself to your customers- will they like what I like, which feels a lot like "Will they like me?”
After 40 years selling clothes to women, I still love it. I love helping women feel beautiful, better, happier, more confident. I love solving a problem with clothes - Feel Fat? Hate your arms? Fashion emergency? Whatever you are feeling (and as we age, those feelings can get a lot more complicated) I hope that I can help make that better.
Yes, I know the fashion industry isn’t rocket science, it’s not feeding the hungry and it’s not curing cancer, but it is a means of bringing happiness, confidence and even joy. Joy in appreciating beautiful things, and joy in being able to express yourself.
When I started in retail, I was 23, everything fit well and pretty much everything looked good. It was easy to find clothes. I couldn’t understand the frustration of older women - why was it so hard? Then time passed, a lot changed - pregnancy, post pregnancy, age, and the death nail in every woman’s coffin: menopause.
What is happening here???
I also saw that with the advent of the internet, social media,and online shopping, it was harder and harder to be original and look unique. I was a buyer before cell phones, computers, emails and alas, even faxes…
Yes, we hand wrote orders, put them in an envelope, stamped them and mailed them to their destination. Then we waited for their mailed confirmation. I can barely remember it. A pay phone on the street was how you called the office. There was a phone in the old ladies room at Bergdorf Goodman. It sat on a windowsill overlooking the Plaza Hotel. You could sit there, and using your long distance calling code, make all kinds of calls in comfort while watching the comings and goings below.
Excuse my digression, but I miss those times intensely because it was a period when you could truly discover new talent, find the niche designers and pieces that would set you apart from everyone else. Your customers relied on you to help them navigate the fashion scene. See something in a magazine you loved? You couldn’t just go online and find it. It was a hunt, and I loved to hunt.
I still do, which is why I started Alice. I want to bring you the most beautiful (yes, according to me) clothing, the most unique and the most special, so that you feel special. Not part of an assembly line where everyone looks the same.
There has been a massive decline in the quality of almost everything (and that includes clothes) both in fabrication and construction. Lots of clothes look and feel cheaper and skimpier, and yet they are still expensive. At Alice you probably won’t see a name or brand that’s trendy. You can already find that everywhere else. You don’t need us for that - that’s what the internet is for. We are here for quality, beauty and style.
We want to get to know you and your style, so we can continue to work with you as long as you’ll let us. So let’s get started on year 4!
With love and heartfelt thanks,
Betsy
