Beach fashion empire

At their clothing design studio in Costa Mesa, Holly Sharp and

daughter Amber Sharp chatted about fashion and prepared for their

next trip to Hawaii. There they plan to soak up sun and beachwear

inspirations.

Holly Sharp, 45, and Amber Sharp, 25, acted like best friends.

Michael Sharp, Holly Sharp’s husband, was surfing and wasn’t due in

until noon.

This laid-back family clothing headquarters looks like a beach

studio, but don’t be fooled. The Sharps rule over a beach fashion

empire, with their Lucy Love clothing line and the Holly Sharp

Boutique clothing shop.

Holly Sharp, a Newport Beach native, inherited the dress design

gene from her mother and grandmother, both seamstresses. In her

youth, she sketched silhouettes of fashionable Grace Kelly-like

dresses.

“I get the best ideas in my sleep,” Holly Sharp said. “I wake up

sketching at 6 a.m.”

Shawn Stussy, Holly Sharp’s brother, founded Stussy Surfwear in

1980. He’s an innovator in Southern California’s surf apparel, which

has evolved into a billion-dollar industry.

Male surfwear once dominated the scene, but there was little for

women.

“Girls were cheated [in the early 1980s in Orange County],” Holly

Sharp said. “There was a little street fashion scene in L.A., but the

good clothes and excitement [for women] were in New York.”

In 1983, she set up a showroom in Manhattan.

“While my roots were at the beach, I wanted to design ladylike

dresses,” Holly Sharp said.

At first she designed outfits for groupies and stage clothes for

her husband, who was a singer- songwriter. The clothing was an

international hit, selling at boutiques and high-end department

stores. She even designed a special dress for an Absolut Vodka

advertisement that appeared in Vanity Fair.

This developed into an unexpected problem: Her clothes were too

popular, and her company grew too fast. Business and travel took her

away from her children.

Finally, after 15 years of bicoastal traveling, she leaped off the

fashion treadmill. During her third pregnancy in 1993, she shut down

the U.S. label distribution. After a break, she opened the Holly

Sharp Boutique in Corona del Mar. There she could concentrate on

personal customer relationships and her three children.

“What I love about the fashion industry is consumer contact --

watching someone walk out of my boutique with a smile after buying

the same dress I designed a couple of weeks ago,” Holly Sharp said.

In the mid-1990s, Holly Sharp designed for Girl Star, a

fashion-meets-beach-girl line from Gotcha -- a hot seller in the

surfwear industry. Her contract with Girl Star ended in 1998.

Her next step, with the help of eldest daughter Amber, was the

Lucy Love clothing line, created in 1999.

“This is what I wanted to do” Amber Sharp said. “I feel so good

seeing other girls wearing Lucy Love.”

“I’ve gone full circle, coming home and watching Amber experience

the design process,” said Holly Sharp.

Amber Sharp brings fresh ideas and youthful energy, and Holly

Sharp has 23 years of fashion industry experience. Together, they

find inspiration in their travels to London, Miami and Hawaii.

“The youth market is international. What’s hot here will sell in

Japan. Teenagers are so hip,” Holly Sharp said.

Lucy Love’s latest looks include T-shirts with fascinating

details. There are Bohemian yoga styles, linen beach pants,

Caribbean-feel shirts, and tunics in shades of chocolate brown,

white, pink and turquoise.

And Lucy Love’s line is affordable. T-shirts range from $20 to

$36, dresses from $42 to $90, and pants from $48 to $60. Holly Sharp

dresses range from $150 up to $3,500 for a bridal gown.

“It’s passe to spend so much money on clothes,” Holly Sharp said.

“It’s so ‘80s.”

The Sharps agree that there’s a fine line between fashion and

fashion victim -- the latter being someone who wears $250 jeans for

one season.

The Holly Sharp Boutique also carries denim lines, T-shirt lines,

and other designers that complement their collections. The boutique

offers huge markdowns four to six times a year. Sale items include

tops at $15, dresses at $30 and bottoms at $20. Another distinction

about the Sharps’ clothes is that they’re made in America -- Orange

County and Los Angeles.

“We’re in our factories everyday, watching the products,” said

Michael Sharp.

They create local jobs and manage to keep prices low through

immediate quality control. It’s a tight family atmosphere.

“Most employees have been here 20 years,” Michael Sharp said.

“Everyone is special to us.”

* BEST BUYS appears Thursdays. Send information to Greer Wylder at

o7greerwylder@yahoo.comf7; or at 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa,

CA 92626.