Steering Towards Spring at Steven Alan

For the second installment of Behind the Buying, let’s see how the professionals do it. During fashion week I had the privilege of tagging along with Arlene and Brandon of Twenty Thirty Forty on a buying trip at the Steven Alan showroom. As I watched them select what they wanted for spring, I discovered that shopping for your boutique is not unlike shopping for yourself!

First, you have to take it all in. Look around, hold up a piece or two. Get a feel for what’s there to get the ideas flowing…

“Are these functional zippers, or detail zippers?”

“Does [our customer] want this? Can she get it anywhere else?”

“We already had an  ___.”

“This is keeping with Rachel Comey, but prettier, in a way.”

You might try on some shoes, poke around the purses, reach out and touch the tactile jewelry…

“The placement of the strap is really convenient”

“This is the fashion version, this is the everyday [version].”

“This reminds me of the ___ that didn’t sell.”

You probably take photos, whether you send them to a friend or just use them to help you make a decision later…

There are however, a few key differences…

Brandon explained the process to me:

“We look at prices, take photos. We don’t place orders during fashion week, we evaluate everything and then place an order. [In fact,] most showrooms don’t open until after fashion week. Rachel Comey always shows at the beginning of fashion week and we love her so we come for that. And then we’re coming back in a couple of weeks.”

To help them remember all of the options the showroom provides look-books and line-sheets that show all the pieces in a collection, color and fabric options, and prices. I might be overwhelmed if I had all of that information at my disposal, but that’s the beauty of shopping – the boutique has already done all the hard work for you!

Special thanks to Arlene Matthews and Brandon Frein of Twenty Thirty Forty and Emily Basenberg at the Steven Alan showroom.

*

Check out part I of Behind the Buying, and check back next Tuesday for the third and final installment.