Pins & Needles Plus Size Style
The entire fashion world is on pins and needles in anticipation of the Mercedes Fashion Week coming up in New York Sept 10th – 17th.
Its the big to do every year and i am sure this year will be no exception.
But while of course it would be fun to be in the midst of all that glamor and glitz, I don’t think most of us plus size girls will come away feeling all that eager to run to the racks.
Thankfully, the lucky plus size shopaholics in New York will get to exercise their fashion week obsession at Re/Dress New York and their Indie Designer Trunk Show.
I had a chance to chat with the founder of Re/Dress NYC, Deb Malkin to get a little more insight into Re/Dress NYC, the upcoming show and her future plans.
Re/Dress NYC: Hi.
Curvatude: Hello, how are you? Thanks for agreeing to this chat.
What was the impetus behind Re/Dress NYC and why do you think it’s so successful?
Re/Dress NYC: Well Re/Dress NYC is the kind of store I always wanted to shop in but couldn’t. We have other stores that are similar but they don’t carry plus sizes. I knew from my experience working at alight.com and creating the Fat Girl Flea Market fundraisers that our community was ready for a fashion forward resale store with a killer vintage collection.
A lot of our success is because we make our customers very happy. Our contemporary clothing selection is only the cutest styles from your favorite brands at more than 1/2 off the original retail price.
Also we have the largest selection of plus size vintage clothing in the country, it’s in close to mint condition and priced very well. Unlike shopping online women can actually try on their dream vintage dress.
And because we buy clothing from our customers, women can now empty out their closest of what they’re not wearing, turn it into store credit or cash and buy new to them clothing they will wear.
Curvatude: Which is such a great idea.
Re/Dress NYC: Having a closet full of clothing that is the wrong size or wrong style can be very emotionally taxing. At Re/Dress NYC we encourage women to dress themselves their best for today. Which doesn’t have to mean expensively, but it’s about not waiting to lose 10 pounds before treating yourself right.
Curvatude: As a plus size woman I totally appreciate what you are doing. I especially love what you have coming up, The Indie Designer Trunk show on Sept 12th.
Can you tell me a bit about how that came about?
Re/Dress NYC: Sure, I know these amazing designers. I wanted to show off the unique and one of kind fashions they create, so lucky me I have a store and can bring the designer and the customer together.
It’s a labor of love, about extending the reach for plus size women to express who they are through fashion. We have so many fewer options than our smaller counterparts.
So these indie designers are hard at work making one of a kind retro-inspired clothing which they either sell locally or on the internet. I wanted to give them a chance to shine and be seen.
We’re going to have a fashion show and then the trunk show is all day.
Curvatude: Sounds like it will be an incredible event. I hate I am all the way in Chicago and will miss it.
Speaking of which I know you mentioned how great it is to be able to come into the shop and try on the clothes as opposed to online but for those who live far away, do you have any plans to sell online?
Re/Dress NYC: Right now the only styles we sell online are our Abby Z fashions. So because most of what we sell is one of a kind we’re not going to put it online. It’s time intensive and takes it off the floor for our customers.
We were able to acquire Abby Z’s inventory when her Soho store closed and that we have more than one piece of. It’s on our ebay store.
Curvatude: Ok, one last question: What are your plans for Re/Dress NYC going forward?
Re/Dress NYC: I would like to open more Re/Dress stores in cities around the country. I’m inspired by the work that Buffalo Exchange does and think that the time is right for resale to be a viable shopping alternative for plus size women.
After I have a year of Re/Dress NYC under my belt I will start looking at other cities. Who knows, maybe Chicago will be one of them.
Curvatude: That would be great! I look forward to it and I know you are busy. Thank you so much for taking time out to chat with me.
Re/Dress NYC: You’re so welcome. Thank you for what you do. We all need to keep up the good fashion fight!
Curvatude: Yes! Good luck with the show and I can not wait to get back to NYC and check you guys out!
Re/Dress NYC: Sounds great!
Get up to date information on Re/Dress NYC and the Indie Trunk Show here.