Attire Accessories - Nov/Dec 2019 (Issue 79)

84 Tell us a bit about The Dressing Room and how you came to open the business. The Dressing Room is an independent boutique and website with a unique edit of up to 100 brands. My career was built in shopfloor retail, working for high street chains as a sales assistant through to store management and then on to operations and buying. I then decided it was time to do it for myself and, at the age of 32, took the decision to set up on my own. That was 14 years ago, and the business has gone from strength to strength through lots of hard work and a passion for the industry. What challenges were overcome when the company was starting out? Securing a bank loan and a property were the biggest challenges. Despite a career background in retail, I soon found that being a relatively young woman endeavouring to start a new business venture was incredibly difficult to get banks and landlords to take me seriously. I was declined many times but kept going and eventually secured the funding and a small unit in St Albans in a secondary location. That was when The Dressing Room was born: May 2005. Once the business was up and running, cashflow would be the next biggest challenge. I was always up front and honest if I was struggling to pay bills and found that suppliers were more than happy to set up payment plans if I asked. My biggest piece of advice for any new business would always be to be honest with your suppliers and look after your cashflow. What is your customer base? The Dressing Room customer is anyone who loves a fantastic and uplifting shopping experience. Our brand mix is contemporary to premium fashion, trend-led and with a feminine edge. We encourage people to step out of their comfort zone with styling and having fun with the collections. What’s your USP? I would say that The Dressing Room’s USP is our personality and passion for what we do. As a team, we live and breathe our work. I train all of the team to be able to style a customer from head to toe, from day to evening, for their specific lifestyles. Our Independent Edit is translated on our website and through our social media channels, and this encourages people to travel hours to visit the store once they have shopped online. We are an independent retailer with a desire to create the very best shopping experience for our customers, both in store and online, and this ensures that the business continues to grow even in challenging times. What is about St Albans that makes for a good setting for a fashion store? St Albans is the perfect location for The Dressing Room, as it is an affluent commuter belt town with a great mix of independent and high street stores. I am not from the area originally but moved to St Albans two years after starting the business, and it is a beautiful city that is only 20 minutes from central London, so it has the perfect mix. What are your current bestselling accessories? At the moment, it has to be hair accessories – people cannot get enough of this trend! Other than that, we have some beautiful jewellery