Designer Kate Coxworth of Kate Boggiano
With a confessed shopping addiction of my own, I’ve spent my time in dressing rooms, and I can’t count the number of times when from behind fitting room curtains, I hear an exasperated “Why can’t I find one good shirt that fits!”
You can tell that designer and entrepreneur Kate Coxworth has also been listening. Kate Boggiano, her young Chicago-based line, has already been dubbed the new Anne Fontaine for its thoughtfully designed and beautifully constructed shirts and blouses.
Now her exciting Create Your Own line offers women the ultimate fit of custom made.
Custom made shirts were hardly an option for women when Kate started out as a designer. Learning the retail business at Ralph Lauren’s Polo line, first as a technical designer, then in the men’s merchandising department, she was well aware of Polo’s success in niche markets.
Searching for her own niche, she reports, “I woke up one day and said I am going to do custom shirts. No one is doing custom shirts for women, just men; and women are ten times harder to fit.”
The result is Create Your Own, luxurious investment pieces designed to challenge any off-the-rack shirts.
The high quality of tailoring, materials and workmanship involved includes high thread count fabrics, French seams, bound buttonholes and virtually indestructible buttons.
With tweaks on traditional oxford and classic twill shirts, including her own “skinny” and extra-long interpretations, Kate has hit a chord with women.
Create Your Own allows clients to step into the virtual Kate Boggiano atelier and custom create their own “perfect fit” shirt. On the website (or by appointment in Kate’s atelier) clients can choose their shirt’s style, fabric, collar, cuffs, buttons, trim and hem and submit their own measurements.
Alternatively, they can send in a favorite-fitting top and Kate and her team will re-create the fit. Either way, the turn-around time is just ten business days.
Determined to play by her own rules, Kate Coxworth has chosen to be an online retailer, with no plans to open a boutique or sell to retail stores.
Online, she believes she can guard her image and her products with integrity, controlling quality without the pressures or the overhead of retail stores.
Next time I hear a woman complain about an ill-fitting shirt, I’ll tell her to Create Your Own!
Photos courtesy of Kate Boggiano.
SeeMore Shopping Contributing Writer – K. Skaflen.
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Editorial content is independent of paid advertisers. SeeMoreShopping incurs all expenses associated with reviews. Publ. 06/08.
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