FASHION : Back in Style : Simi Valley shop’s custom-order clothing business proves that everything old is new again.
My mother always said that if you wait long enough, everything eventually comes back into style. Some things come back because they have a kitschy appeal, others because we get nostalgic about them. And then there are those things that never should have gone away in the first place.
The retro-chic trend is prevalent in television ads. Cereal makers are now marketing unprocessed, old-fashioned whole grains, touting them as “the way breakfasts used to be.”
And sellers of decades-old, gas-guzzling cars say they are now fetching exorbitant prices for “classic” automobiles people once couldn’t wait to replace.
There is plenty retro-chic sentiment in fashion, and some of it is refreshing. A case in point is Wear To Be, a women’s clothing store in Simi Valley.
From the outside, the store looks pretty much like other small clothing businesses in strip malls throughout the county. And a quick glance at some of the store’s clothing items--predominantly coordinated two- and three-piece cotton outfits, appliqued shirts and rayon jumpsuits--may not reveal very much either. But once you step through a door at the back of the store, the difference is clear.
In the middle of the crowded back room is an oblong wooden table, covered with scissors and patterns. Against one wall are colorful reams of fabrics. In a corner are two sewing machines.
At one machine sits Michelle Lou, the store’s Taiwan-born co-owner, pushing strips of cloth under a bobbing needle. In less than 10 minutes, Lou makes a pair of expertly sewn pants.
“A customer comes in and likes a style, but maybe wants it in a different fabric. That’s no problem,” says Lou, nodding behind her to a stack of more than 200 orders for customized clothing. Each one has the customer’s measurements and a swatch of material attached. “I make up what they want,” she says.
Like dress shops of a simpler era, Wear To Be is one of a dwindling number of clothing stores that produces its own merchandise and has turned its back on mass-produced labels. Instead of trying to make the buying public want a certain color or style, the store’s owners let the buying public choose for itself.
Lou spent several years of her childhood working in her father’s clothing factory in Taiwan and later studied fashion design in Tokyo before moving to the United States in 1972. She designs all of the store’s outfits. Then, she either sews the clothes herself or subcontracts the work to seamstresses and applique artists throughout the county.
Surprisingly, even customized outfits at Wear To Be aren’t expensive. Already-made, two-piece cotton outfits cost about $37, and rayon jumpsuits-- nice enough to wear to the office--cost about $40. Custom orders, even for large-size women, generally are only about $10 more.
Co-owner Barry Bush says the store’s back-to-basics approach to clothes allows them to pass the savings on to the customer.
“It’s cheaper for us to make the clothes than to order them wholesale from a manufacturer,” he said. “We also don’t get stuck with overstock that doesn’t sell.”
In many cases, Lou said, customers can place an order and pick up the finished outfit in about half an hour. Free alterations are also available for customers who may have lost or gained weight.
This sounds like the kind of store whose time has come. Then again, I think it already did.
THE PREMISE
Ventura County is teeming with the fashionable and not so fashionable. There are trend-makers and trend-breakers. There are those with style--personal and off the rack--and those making fashion statements better left unsaid. Twice a month, we’ll be taking a look at fashion in Ventura County--trends, styles and ideas--and asking you what you think. If you have a fashion problem, sighting or suggestion; if you know a fashion success or a fashion victim, let us know. We want to hear from you.
