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Over the next few months, we will be featured on @QVC and @HSN’s digital platforms as they shine a light on #BlackOwnedBusinesses.
Check out details of the initiative here: https://qvc.co/QSpotlight | https://bit.ly/2X6Bf9V
#SmallBusiness #RetailTogether #LoveQVC #LoveHSN
]]>Join us this Thursday at 11:00AM EST with PFI alumna Terese Brown and learn how to pivot from wholesale selling to e-commerce.
We’re teaming up with everyday superheroes like @missnewyorkorg to launch our new collection this fall. So excited to introduce a very special partnership with Miss New York as the Program’s newest sponsor!
As a Black woman-owned business it’s important to empower the next generation of women to continue dreaming big.
If you are wanting to know how to start your business and navigate entrepreneurship, join me at the virtual Miss New York 2020 Women’s Summit, “LIVE YOUR BRAND”
Date: Tuesday 8, September 2020
Time: 7-9 pm.
Get your ticket at miss-newyork.org!
Model: @niaimanifranklin
Photo: @mack.hopper
Fit: Red Namorita Print Off The Shoulder Dress
@badubasics in the Red Namorita Print Big Pocket Kimono.
The hint of fall with cooler weather is undeniable, but our kimonos will take you through any season.
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Terese Brown is honored to be the Keynote Speaker at this year’s @missnewyorkorg Women’s Summit.
Join Terese for a live video conference with Nia Franklin, Miss America 2019, and founder of Compose Her. This virtual sit-down from 7-9 pm (EST) on September 8, 2020, is an amazing discussion between two self-made entrepreneurs and will give viewers the opportunity to ask questions about launching your brand and maintaining your own social initiatives.
Check out our amazing speakers at teresesydonna.com and composeher.org.
Click the link in @missnewyorkorg’s bio to purchase tickets.
]]>Thanks for sharing your story with us Terese. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I have wanted to be a fashion designer since I came to the U.S. at seven years old...
Thanks for sharing your story with us Terese. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I have wanted to be a fashion designer since I came to the U.S. at seven years old. Growing up in an immigrant Jamaican household in the Bronx, New York ensured that my childhood was filled with Barbie playdates, many cousins, aunts, uncles, and the promise of a better life than what we had back home. For twenty years, I dreamed of one day owning my own clothing brand that would transform the lives of women and men alike. By day I worked as a fashion designer, and by night I designed for the line that was launched in 2011, Terese Sydonna.
Inspired by my Jamaican roots, superheroes, Japanese art and the unexpected, each collection celebrates a modern landscape where art, fashion and comfort intersect. Stylish, yet maintenance-free, 95% of the collection is machine washable, quick-drying, and wrinkle-free. I want to help every individual unlock their magic so that they feel like a superhero every time they wear a piece from my collection. Terese Sydonna is proudly made in New York City’s Garment District by a team of immigrants, mostly women, living their American dream too.
With the support of my village, I was able to grow Terese Sydonna from one client to being carried in stores throughout the United States, Canada and Jamaica. This has truly been an amazing journey! Due to the pandemic, my retail partnerships were impacted, and I had to quickly pivot my business to e-commerce selling and introduce face mask product offerings. I am excited for the next chapter, re-branding and transforming my business into a true fashion tech e-commerce platform.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Absolutely not! My journey as owner and designer of Terese Sydonna has been one of sacrifice and dreaming big. My main struggle has been limited access to funding compared to my counterparts. As a Black business owner, it is a constant fight to get in front of the right stores and editors. At times, it feels like I’m working three times as hard to be SEEN. My credibility is often questioned, whether my brand is beautiful enough or why my prices are what is featured. My clientele is diverse, yet there is an expectation that somehow my brand should not be expensive or discounted simply because the owner is a Black woman. I once flew to North Carolina to meet with a store owner and was turned away as it became apparent that I was a Black woman-owned brand. For these reasons, instead of knocking at the doors that remain closed, I am creating my own opportunities, aligning myself with all like-minded individuals and companies who are about positive change.
Terese Sydonna – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Terese Sydonna is based in the Bronx, New York and manufactured in New York City’s Garment District. I design women’s apparel, men’s accessories and unisex face masks for the superhero in all of us. Original prints are inspired by my Jamaican roots and Japanese art as can be seen with the usage of the ocean and cherry blossoms. The collection is known for unexpected details such as asymmetry and tuxedo hemlines. Wherever my clients go they are often complimented, and a conversation ensues about what the print they are wearing signifies. Most importantly, the collection aims to make the lives of those with busy lifestyles easier by using fabrications that are lightweight, travel well and do not require dry cleaning. 95% of the collection is machine washable, quick-drying, and wrinkle-free. I am most proud when I see my creations come to life and those who wear Terese Sydonna feel empowered to then transform into superheroes. My heart, my call for positive change, the craftsmanship and thoughtfulness that is put into each piece separates Terese Sydonna from the crowd. I’ve actually spent years studying fashion design and business, working in the industry developing collections for larger brands, mastering my craft understanding what customers want, so that I can whole-heartedly offer something valuable to the lives of my clients.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
The proudest moment of my career came when I opened my first design studio in the South Bronx in 2016. For so many years, it was just an idea, a dream, but then for this dream to actually come true was pure magic. I will never forget the love I felt that day surrounded by my family, friends, and business partner on opening day. To see an entire studio filled with Terese Sydonna clothing from floor to ceiling was very emotional. So, I’ll never stop dreaming big regardless of where my story takes me because dreams do come true.
Pricing:
1 Skirt 3 Looks!
Wow! Superheroes we’re wild about animal print. Thank you for adding to the cart the animal print face mask and ivory waterfall skirt this week. 🙏🏽
Take your styling game to the next level. Watch how @glitzandglambytiff created three looks that can transition into any season.
Skirt also available in black.
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Find out how I established my brand, got into stores, built a business as a relative unknown, and overcame so many obstacles.
Thank you to everyone who joined us LIVE. Let’s continue the conversation and amplify our voices in the fashion industry for real change.
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Always keep sketching your dreams.
Superheroes, we recently released an original sketch by Terese from the collection on our website to help with stress relief.
Click here to download and render as you choose.
Won’t you start living your dream too?
Stylist @jadeb_ford
Hair & Makeup @nickiawilliamsartistry
A Short film by @sight.beyond.sound
Model @luizaskapare
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Outerwear is reclaiming its role as cold weather's chicest statement piece with cozy capes, edgy leathers, and colorful furs dressing up the season's trendy yet plain silhouettes.
"The novelty is in the coat this fall," said Susan Ahn of Eaves, a women's boutique in Wayne. "There are a lot of luxurious combinations, mixed media and textures . . . there is so much texture."
Well before the end of August, coats dominated front-of-store displays at apparel retailers from J.C. Penney to Saks. The reasons are bountiful:
For one, technology has made once-heavy wool and down coats lighter and less cumbersome for climate-controlled, coat-wearing activities like driving and mall shopping.
Luxe furs and shearlings - perfect for staying comfy in subzero temperatures - are in the middle of a high-style comeback. Vintage inspiration on Instagram and Pinterest are fueling the rediscovery of long-forbidden furs and their faux cousins.
Plus, in a desperate attempt to get us more fancy (think Iggy Azalea's chart-topping hit), designers from Isabel Marant to Norma Kamali are sprucing up athletic wear with silky, dinner-appropriate racerback dresses, and suede, holiday party-chic sweatpants. A snazzy piece of outerwear - whether a cocoon-shaped coat or a fringed, herringbone wrap - adds a layer of class to those once-cazh pieces.
"A great coat translates to a great sporty-luxe look," said Noelle Sciacca, associate market editor at Lucky magazine.
However, at the center of this fall's coat revival is surely the cold weather. Coats were ubiquitous at February's designer presentations, held during a spate of bone-chilling polar vortexes.
Even as the who's who of style watched Tory Burch's tapestried swing jackets, Michael Kors' double-breasted coats, and Elie Tahari's leather bombers make their way down the New York Fashion Week runways, stores already were running out of cold-weather apparel.
"Last year we sold through all of our outerwear, from Canada gooses to our fur vests," said Kate Stuhl, assistant store manager at Intermix on Walnut Street. "This year we are trying to keep the coats and jackets and cozy sweaters in the stores well into January."
There was a time when coats were hard-to-come-by essentials. Most people had one everyday coat - the most expensive item in their closet - and function trumped fashion.
But coats achieved statement-piece status for the first time in the 1920s, when designers Coco Chanel and Jean Patou paired pleated skirts and sweaters with matching coats, explained Clare Sauro, curator of Drexel University's Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection. Still, accumulating multiple coats was for the wealthy only.
Each decade since has featured a signature coat style, said Kristina Haugland, associate curator of costumes and textiles with the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
The slimmer-cut, full-length wool coat with dramatic collar was the 1930s coat in vogue, followed by the tapered-at-the-waist, full-skirted silhouettes of the 1940s, and swing coats of the 1950s.
In the 1960s, coats got shorter to complement mini skirts, and '70s outerwear was both sharp-edged - as in, Shaft-inspired leather trenches - and soft and flowing like a Mary Tyler Moore cloak. In the 1980s, puffy jackets ruled alongside dramatic coats with shoulder pads. And minimalist three-quarter-length coats were key pieces in the '90s with pant and skirt suits.
By the early 2000s, we had settled into business casual style and entered an era when coats were more hassle than haute couture. Certainly compared to this past year, winters were a little warmer, too, so we peeled off our overcoats in early spring - as higher temperatures came on quickly.
Tighter budgets also kept us out of coat-buying moods. Who needed cashmere when North Face took us from year to year in toasty style?
Then three years ago, designers like Rick Owens and Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen kicked off a layering trend. Chunky sweaters gave way to patchwork blazers that morphed into last fall's fitted moto jacket.
Now you'll see in stores nearly every coat style represented, from the 1920s mid-calf-length coat to the World War II bomber jacket. So in which coat should you invest?
Splurge on a statement piece. A burgundy or navy mink - real or faux - or a dramatic wrap in tartan plaid or herringbone.
And if your budget allows, treat yourself to a staple in a wool, cashmere or wool/cashmere blend. Although it's impossible to go wrong with the classic button-down, a shorter coat with a rounded bottom and slightly belled sleeves is trés trendy. Or try a cape over your favorite jeans or new jumpsuit.
While you may be tempted to go with the standard black, opt for heather gray, camel or a winter pastel hue - the lighter shade will brighten the classic navy blue sweater (or sweater dress) you're itching to buy.
Elegant, yet edgy, creations by Terese Brown ’07 are drawing national attention. Owner and creative director of Philadelphia-based Terese Sydonna Contemporary Women’s Design, Brown was a finalist for Project Runway seasons 10 and 11, a semi-finalist for NBC’s Fashion Starseason two, and was recently included in the Philadelphia Magazine “Fashion Project.”
“The greatest reward is starting this business from scratch, creating something with my own two hands,” says Brown, an economics & business and honors art graduate.
Her contemporary special-occasion clothing line is marketed to women of all ages.
“My dream is having the Terese Sydonna name become a lifestyle brand, carried in boutiques and specialty department stores throughout the world,” she says.
While Brown was attending Fashion Institute of Technology, where she earned an associate of applied science degree in 2010, a friend commissioned her to design an ensemble, which she wore to an awards show.
“Women saw the pieces and began asking who Terese Sydonna was,” Brown recalls. “Suddenly I was designing for five women, and before long I had a regular network of women who supported my business.”
In 2011, Brown launched her first Terese Sydonna collection featuring couture and ready-to-wear pieces.
Brown manages an online retail operation and receives orders for custom pieces through social media. She plans to place her ready-to-wear line in selected boutiques this fall.
“It’s not always the most creative company that’s the most successful,” she says. “It’s about being the smartest, recognizing trends, knowing when to roll out items, and when to scale back.”
Brown had interned at Lehman Brothers and Goldman Sachs with a goal to work on Wall Street.
“It was not for me,” she says. “I wasn’t passionate enough about it to go through all that stress and pressure. If I’m going to work 15 hours a day, never seeing the sun, I better make sure I’m passionate about what I’m doing.”
She credits Gladstone Hutchinson, associate professor of economics, for recommending a semester abroad that changed her career goal. She interned in London in the merchandising department of global retailer French Connection.
“The experience really solidified my interest in working with fashion,” she says.
She also values the mentorship of Rose Marie Bukics, Jones Professor of Economics, with whom she stays in touch.
In turn, Brown mentors students through her work with Lafayette’s McDonogh Network as well as High School of Fashion Industries and recently included Lafayette students in a fashion show for a video about her.
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