What led you to opening Obviously Chic?
I did journalism school and then I finished that. Then I went into marketing and public relations, actually. I'm always going to write. Marketing and public relations is obviously a lot better paying than journalism and I just kind of fell into that, and I was like "Wow!" So then I actually freelanced for years 'cause I made so much money freelancing. Then I quit. I realized I was in love with fashion and even though I had all this marketing and PR, I quit my job and moved to Vancouver and went to fashion school. When I was in fashion school, I was like, "OK, I want to do marketing and PR in fashion." The day after school I got my dream job at a company called Wear Else and so I became their marketing and PR manager. They're a high end store and they have four locations. So I did all of their fashion shows, all of their branding, all that stuff. And then after that, I was like "You know what? I'm not in love with this, so I'm going to go home and open up a store." So I quit my job and spent the summer getting ready to open up this store. It was only going to be a pop-up store, open for eight weeks, twice a year. And then I came here and opened it up and the response was unreal and I bought the building, and now we're almost two years old.
Is Obviously Chic a unique store in Canada?
I have no competition online. There's one website in Ontario called Dress911, but they basically just sell dresses and they don't have their company branded like me. My website is absolutely beautiful, it's completely branded like my store. I have no competition. So my goal is to be Canada's top online boutique in five years and to open up a warehouse here and do all that.
What effect has Obviously Chic had on Estevan?
I'm really putting Estevan on the map. So many people on Facebook will be like, "Where are you located?" and I'll be like, "Estevan" and they're like "Where?!" It's funny 'cause all of us drive to Regina to shop, but now I'm having so many people driving down from Regina, asking if they can have a shopping party. So I'll put together shopping parties for groups of women just so they can come and shop. I've had people come from Yorkton on their way to Minot, people from Swift Current. People from Vancouver who are visiting relatives will be like "Oh, I've heard about your store," and it's all Estevan. I'm really, really proud to bring people here and now they're kind of being like "Estevan Obviously Chic." They ask me, "Where do I go eat? What can I do here?" So it's kind of fun to bring everybody here.
Why choose Estevan for the location of your store?
It's my hometown. I was born and raised in Lampman. Obviously it means a lot to me to come back here. I've been gone and have done my thing, and coming back has been a great experience because every time I came home, people would be like "I love your style," or "Where did you get this?" and I'd be like "Oh, I got it for $20." So then I kind of just sat and realized that this is a good market to come into and bring my fashion expertise and unique styles and people are kind of hungry for that. Again, it was never supposed to be more than a pop-up. And then, once I started going, I realized that "Wow, this is a great opportunity for me to launch a national website." Because nowhere else in Canada could I do it at the cost I'm doing here. And I'm right at the border. It's a great opportunity for me to give back to my community where I grew up.
Has your goal of keeping your items affordable changed since opening as a full-time store?
It's still the same thing. The bulk of my store, nothing is over $100. As I've grown, I find things that are maybe a little bit over. Like my wrap watches are $100-$125. That type of stuff. I bring in unique things, but the bulk of who I am is all under $150.
How did journalism lead you to fashion?
I grew up here, so I had no concept that fashion was even a job. When I first left here, the Internet was just starting to come out. So growing up in Lampman was like "Oh, wow, fashion?" So I'd always been the girl growing up that was really into style and stuff, but had no idea. Then, in my second year of journalism school, I was like "I'm in love with fashion, what am I doing?" You know, having a meltdown about being in journalism school. So then I decided to finish journalism school and then I went and applied for Ryerson, actually, to go to fashion school there. I didn't get in, but it ended up OK 'cause then I had an amazing career. I was the marketing and media manager for six years for a high-end resort company.
I realizing that, travelling and stuff, I was more concerned about what city I was going to to shop at, rather than the hotels that I was trying to get people to stay at. So I was like, "That's it, I'm going to go," and I researched a fashion school and quit my career.
How has Estevan received your store?
Estevan has been phenomenal. The only reason I did stay was because of Estevan in general. The response has been overwhelming. I think I'm kind of on my own, I have my own thing, just as Jenny Jones is name brands and they have their own thing. I don't really think I'm competition with many people. I just think that I'm my own kind of thing.
The surrounding area has been phenomenal. As you know, we're rural, so southeast Saskatchewan is very supportive and just women from all over flocking to me.
When is your website launching?
We're aiming for Wednesday, July 13.
What demographic of women do you find shop at your store?
Actually, my demographic is really well spread out. It can go anywhere from the young girls, like 15, all the way up to 60-year-old women coming in and getting these wraps, getting jewelery, getting scarves. There's really something for everyone. Obviously the demographic is more 20 to 35, maybe, but I'm still getting everybody of all ages. I don't really have a set demographic. It's just if you're fashionable, and you like different things, it doesn't matter what age you are, it seems.
How do you get in touch with the designers you're buying clothes from?
Well, my whole world is fashion. All my girlfriends either own stores or are fashion stylists, or something in the fashion industry. I'm just immersed in it. When I went and worked at Wear Else I made so many connections, people who'd been in the industry. I worked right alongside the buyer for that store, so I learned the industry insiders and where to go and where to get things.
The very first time I went and bought, it was intense. I had no idea where I was going or what I was doing - it's 90 blocks in L.A., so you have to really know what you're doing. And obviously I had no idea what Estevan was like; I hadn't been here in over 10 years, so I bought blind. Now I've really catered in on the market and know what they want.
Also, I do a lot of research. I sit online all the time. I read other websites, see what brands they're carrying. If they have a cool jewelery line that I like, I contact that jewelery line, I find it, I search it out. So I do a lot of legwork myself. And I'm very protective of those brands, because I have a lot of people that want to copy.
What do you enjoy the most about your job?
I really, really love that almost all of my customers have become friends. Everybody comes in and I know them by name now. And I know everything they've ever boughten. Somebody will update me on their life and will come back in two weeks later, and I'll be like, "Oh, did so-and-so have their baby?" It's kind of nice coming back and I never really knew anybody and now I know they whole town, and everybody kind of knows me.
I love when people feel good in my clothes. I love when people post pictures on the fan page, or they come and tell me "Oh, I wore this dress in Vegas and 10 people stopped me. I couldn't believe it" or "I can't believe I bought this in Estevan. I'm in Vegas and people are like 'Wow, you're on trend.'" That makes me feel really good.
I love dressing women. There are a lot of women who come in and be like "I can't wear that" and I'm like, "if I can wear it, you can wear it." So I love dressing them and they come out and they're like "Wow, I never knew I could wear this." That is really rewarding for me and I just really, really love seeing people feel good about themselves in my clothes.
And I really love the buying, and travelling and stuff too.
