What a great concept!  When I think of clothing that’s made to measure I think of men’s tailored suits or women’s couture gowns.  I don’t typically think about a functional, beautiful item of clothing for my own personal use.  I do now, however. 

Last year, I was wandering around the West Hollywood/3^rd Street area and came across a beautiful boutique.  I walked in and was taken with all of the beautiful fabrics and designs hanging from the racks.  While there were many dresses, sweaters and tops to choose from, each item hung neatly from a rack and nothing was cramped or crowded.  The sales floor was open and spacious and the accessories were carefully chosen and displayed in tasteful, functional cases.  If you’ve ever studied retail merchandising, you’ll understand why I was so blown away by this store.  If not, let me summarize…the art of retailing is more like a science.  You need to know how best to display your products to their full advantage.  Your customers need to walk into your store and flow easily and naturally through the entire space.  They should be able to see your products in a logical way without having to dig through racks or piles of clothing.  And best of all, they need to be able to see themselves in your products and, if you’re selling accessories as well, how best to accessorize their outfits. 

I wandered through the store and the sales clerk let me take my time before asking me if I had ever been to this store before.  When I replied “No,” she said something like “let me explain our concept to you…” “OK,” I thought…”what’s your concept?”  She informed me that the tops and dresses were available in a variety of fabrics, so if I found one I liked but they didn’t have my size or the fabric I wanted, one could be made for me within a short period.  If you read this blog, you know me… I’m a fan of anyone who is producing locally, so of course I was excited by the idea.  Now I just had to find a dress or two.  I found several, tried them on and found one I really liked.  It was a bit too long, but the sales clerk mentioned that they would have it altered for me.  Great customer service, I thought, but actually the store is called “Masse Made to Measure” so it is actually part of their concept.  Needless to say, I bought the dress.

Here’s the thing, every time I’ve been out shopping for a dress, I always come back to Melissa Masse and Masse Made to Measure.  Why?  Because I’m not someone who can buy a dress off the rack and expect it to fit me perfectly.  I’m petite and find dresses in the Petite section don’t always fit the way they should and dresses in the Regular section are always too long.  Now I get a dress that’s custom fit to my body.  Better yet, I might find a silhouette I like but in a print or color that’s not my taste.  Now I can pick the fabric or color I want.  Yes, I know I’m going to pay a bit more, but I’m more than happy to do so.  I’m supporting a local business that is manufacturing locally and employing skilled workers in the garment industry.  It’s a win-win prospect, if you ask me.

The last time I was in the store, Melissa Masse was there as well.  I was happy to meet her and have a chance to find out more about her and how she came up with the concept for her store.  “When my friends complained that they couldn’t find anything in the stores that they liked, or more importantly, anything that fit them properly, I realized that they couldn’t be the only customers who felt that way.” I couldn’t agree with her more.  

Trying to figure out your next steps in the apparel industry?  Check out our upcoming seminars or come by during Textile Week September 27 – 29 for free seminars, networking and more.  Fashion Business, Inc. is located at the California Market Center 110 East 9^th Street, Suite C786, Los Angeles, CA 90079

Jill Mazur is an independent apparel business and technology consultant working with Fashion Business, Incorporated.  Email:  jill@fashionbizinc.org

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Kelli Nelson of FindFashionRep.com to discuss how she came up with the idea for this terrific website.  FindFashionRep.com provides designers and manufacturers with the information they need to make informed decisions when looking for sales representation.  Using the service is very simple.  Kelli has done all the work to make the process as painless as possible.  A designer or manufacturer logs into the site, answers a few questions about the type of product, the target market, price points, etc.  After selecting a territory a list of suitable reps is provided.  The designer or manufacturer can then view the other lines being offered by each rep to help determine if their products would be a good complement to the existing offering.  It may take several tries to find the right rep, but once the designer or manufacturer selects a rep they will receive contact information, price points and product descriptions of the other lines.

What Kelli has done is take the guess work and the leg work out of finding quality sales representation across the U. S.  It’s hard to imagine how much time and energy it must have taken her to develop this database, let alone the time it takes to keep it up to date.  Sales reps are encouraged to update their line lists, price points and other relevant information on a regular basis in order to make FindFashionRep.com the most comprehensive of its kind. 

New FBI member Kelli Nelson got her start in the fashion industry in 1988, while still in college.  Working as an assistant sales rep to the West Coast sales manager of Z. Cavaricci, Kelli learned the ins and outs of representing a major brand to retailers of all sizes.  She quickly moved up the ranks at Z. Cavaricci, acquiring more responsibility and more skills.  Kelli started her own company, In Harmony, in 1995.  Using the knowledge she acquired at Z. Cavaricci, she built In Harmony into a multi-million dollar business.  The one issue that always nagged at her was how to find the right sales representation for her brand.  “It’s not enough to know a few good sales reps,” Kelli said in our interview “it’s about finding the right rep for your product.”  The trick to finding a great rep is understanding the labels or products they carry and who they are able to sell to.  Unless she flew to a specific sales territory she would spend countless hours on the phone trying to locate good reps through recommendations and referrals that were already closely aligned with her target stores. 

 In 2006, Kelli decided to start compiling an extensive database of independent sales reps in the 12 major U. S. fashion markets.  Her goal was to cover all categories of mens, womens and childrens clothing and accessories across all major U. S. markets. Many hours of work went into developing what is now known as www.FindFashionRep.com

We’re excited to have Kelli on board as a new FBI member.  I encourage you to check out her site and services.  It’s a great idea and long overdue.

Jill Mazur is an independent apparel business and technology consultant working with Fashion Business, Incorporated.  Email:  jill@fashionbizinc.org

Well, actually, October was National Cyber Security Awareness Month, so it’s a little late to post this, but it’s never too late to be aware of your cyber and network security. National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM), sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security, has been conducted every October since 2001, and is a national public awareness campaign to encourage everyone to protect their computers and our nation’s critical cyber infrastructure.

What does this have to do with YOU? Everything. If you’re reading this blog you must be using a computer or some type of tool that allows you to access the internet. If you can access the internet, it’s possible that someone or something can access your data or network. Identity theft is on the rise. Malicious viruses and network hackers always seem to be looming close by. What can you do to protect yourself and your business?

1: Be smart about your computer, your network and especially your passwords. Computers and networks should be running up to date security software which scans for viruses, spyware and more on a daily basis. If you work in an open or public location, log off of your computer when you step away from your desk. Yes, it’s irritating to have to log back in, but better safe than sorry. Don’t share your passwords, ever. And don’t use the same password for all of your email, online accounts, banking and more. See below for some hints on how to create strong passwords. What should you do if you find your computer is the recipient of a virus? See #3 on the list.

2: Any information, data, files, pictures, etc. that has any importance to you or your business should ALWAYS be backed up to a separate, secure location. And I don’t just mean a little USB drive which can easily be lost. It’s worth the investment for yourself or your business to have secure, offsite storage of your files with a reputable company. You can usually backup your files on a daily, weekly and monthly basis to your server or to an online, internet data storage which should be accessible to you any place you can get an internet connection. If you’re like me and everything you have is on your laptop, what do you do if the darn thing crashes or gets stolen? It would take me a while to get a new laptop, but only a few minutes to get to all of my files. Backing up to a separate hard drive is also a good idea, but if you keep your hard drive in the same place where you keep your computer, it’s not a very good disaster recovery plan. Oh, and always, always, ALWAYS check your back up to make sure your data is actually there!

3: Know when to ask for help. Professional help, that is. Sole proprietors and small business owners are notorious for knowing “someone” who can help them with their computer or network. That “someone” usually turns out to be the next door neighbor’s 15 year old kid who’s a computer genius. Yes, he may be a genius but does he know what to do when your network is infected with a virus or your server is out of commission? Probably not. So what should you do? Well, I recommend establishing a relationship with an IT service provider who will help manage your network, servers, computers and more. Fees for these types of services can be very affordable depending on the service and support you need. Knowing that someone is keeping your network running smoothly, monitoring your system backups and keeping your security software up-to-date provides piece of mind to many businesses. Heck, you can even outsource your IT help desk to some of these service providers. In this case, what you don’t know about computer and network security can really hurt you or your business.

Some top tips from www.staysafeonline.org:

• Keep your web browsers and operating systems up-to-date. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and software companies regularly update their browsers and operating systems not to annoy you (yes, I know it feels like this), but to fix security issues and bugs which may allow unintentional access to your systems. By keeping up-to-date on the latest releases you help close these security gaps.
• Back up important files – see #2 above. I would recommend you back up all files, because you never know what’s important until you can’t find it.
• Use caution with email attachments – many email programs have an automatic virus scan for all email attachments, make sure you use it. If something looks or seems suspicious, DON’T OPEN THE ATTACHMENT! Call or email the person who sent it to you and ask them to tell you what was in the attachment. If they don’t know or say they never sent you an attachment, it’s probably a virus and should not be opened anyway.
• Create strong passwords:
  • Don’t use passwords that are based on personal information that can be easily accessed or guessed.
  • Don’t use words that can be found in any dictionary of any language.
  • Use both lowercase and capital letters and/or a combination of letters, numbers, and special characters.
  • Use different passwords on different systems.
• Use security software tools as your first line of offense – there is no reason not to have up-to-date security software running on your computer and network. It may cost a monthly or yearly fee, but I can guarantee that fee is a lot less than the cost of having a professional come out and try to recover lost data from an infected system.

Jill Mazur is an independent apparel business and technology consultant working with Fashion Business, Incorporated. Email: jill@fashionbizinc.org

I recently conducted a “Networking 101″ seminar here at FBI. The idea of the seminar was to teach people why networking is so important and to give them the basic tools to start networking on their own. Networking is a skill and an art form. It’s relatively easy to explain the skill of networking – the tools you need, the types of questions to ask, how to introduce yourself and more. Explaining how networking is an art form is much more difficult. You really need to see good networkers in action in order to understand.

Technology is a great way to stay in touch with your personal and professional networks. On-line professional networks such as LinkedIn or social networks like Facebook or Twitter are a great way to connect with people from your past, present and possible future. I’m a big proponent of networking in person, too. For me, I like making a personal connection to someone else. I like being able to interact with someone in a professional or social setting. I get a sense of the other person’s personality, likes, dislikes, maybe even their favorite sports team. I make sure to follow up our conversation with an email or phone call and a reminder of where or how we met and what we might have discussed. If the situation is appropriate, I may add them to my LinkedIn network.

Networking in person or online is crucial to almost everyone. You never know who you’ll meet. You never know who you may be able to help and you never know who may be able to help you. By establishing connections throughout your personal and professional life, you build an organic network of people. Through those people, you continue to grow your network. Perhaps you’ve seen a job posting at a specific company. You’ve emailed your resume, but haven’t heard back. Using LinkedIn you search for people who work at that company. Just your luck, someone in your network worked there recently. You contact them directly and ask them to put you in touch with the HR person in charge of hiring for this position. The rest is up to you, but the fact that you have a network of people to connect you to that HR person gives you an advantage few other people may have.

So let’s get back to why networking is so important and what tools do you need to be successful at it. On-line networking is a very important component to building your network. I check my LinkedIn account every day. I participate in a number of discussions, am active in a number of LinkedIn groups and I post updates to my profile whenever there’s something interesting to post – FBI activities, tradeshows I’m attending, etc. because I know my network will see my latest updates. I also have a link to the FBI Blog so anyone visiting my profile can see what I’m blogging about. Friends, colleagues, former co-workers can see what I’m doing career-wise and, through my LinkedIn connections, can also expand their networks.

As far as networking tools: I never leave home without a pen, a small notepad, business cards and, hopefully, a good attitude. Whenever I’m interacting with someone socially or professionally, I want to be able to write down something they may have brought up in conversation. I may want to exchange business cards. Sometimes I may just want to write something down for the other person. I just take one of my cards and write down whatever book title, article, author, etc. and hand it to the other person. What I don’t want to do is hand them a scrap of paper from my purse, an old grocery list or bank receipt. As I said previously, you never know who you’ll meet, so be prepared!

Jill Mazur is an independent apparel business and technology consultant working with Fashion Business, Incorporated. Email: jill@fashionbizinc.org

I had the pleasure of speaking with Rachel Yeomans, author of The Working Wardrobe blog, today.  What a great person and what a great idea.  Her blogs focus on one of the most basic questions we ask ourselves almost daily:  “What should I wear today?”  There’s no simple answer to the question, hence the inspiration for her blog.  There are articles for high-powered attorneys who don’t want to look like they’ve just rolled off the law school assembly line.  There are articles for those who are just starting out in the workplace or looking to get back into it.  There are tips for students, day-to-evening or office party looks, even entries about dressing for job interviews. 

Rachel posts a lot of great looks from magazines, on-line retailers and even just great photos.  I found myself drooling over a grey ensemble the other day, and I’m not a drooler by any stretch of the imagination.

If you haven’t checked out her site, click on the link to take a look.  You’ll definitely want to bookmark it; there are new articles almost daily.  Simply put, Rachel is a thoughtful and dilligent blogger who focuses on fashion and style in the workplace.  Alongside her blog, there are some great links, coupons, pictures and even videos from some of the top fashion sites.  There’s usually even a great deal of the week.  I’m looking forward to see how her site evolves from here. 

Jill Mazur is an independent apparel business and technology consultant working with Fashion Business, Incorporated.  Email:  jill@fashionbizinc.org