Trish James sprints into a downtown Squamish coffee shop early Friday morning looking as if she just stepped out of a fashion catalogue: Every hair in place, her black sweater and pants paired with a grey jacket and accessorized perfectly with a long gold necklace.
James, the owner of Stylezone Fashions in the Chieftain Mall, knows what looks good and what doesn’t. She has had her successful woman’s clothing store for 28 years.
The Squamish Chief sat down with James and chatted over coffee about launching her clothing line, business in Squamish and staying current in changing times. What follows is an edited version of that conversation.
Q: You recently launched your own clothing line, Modern Revival. Tell me about that.
A: About two years ago I was at a trade show and I happened to be standing beside this young lady. She was a fashion designer. As the conversation carried on I asked her how I could do my own private label and if she would she be my designer. From there we built a relationship. She comes up with the designs, I tweak it for my clientele and I get to pick out the fabric, prints and colour. Her name is Grace and her factory is in California. I went out on a limb for fall of 2016 and I am not looking back now. Every season I feel is going to grow bigger and bigger and Modern Revival will have an even bigger presence in Stylezone.
Q: Describe the line for people who may not have seen it in your store.
A: Modern Revival is an on-trend clothing line and we deliver it at a reasonable price. We try to design pieces that will work in your closet for more than one season. For fall we focused on trendy colours like rust, burgundy and olive and of course we cover all the basic colours.
Q: What have you learned about designing a line that surprised you?
A: Fabric is a huge thing. I love the feel of cozy fabric and that is probably the biggest comment we get: “Your fabrics feel so nice.” What I am really trying to concentrate on more and more every season is that my clientele is growing older with me and there’s certain lumps and bumps we want to hide and so I am focusing on that. Those are key things I am thinking about.
Q: How did it feel the first time you showed off pieces of Modern Revival?
A: There were 120 women at the launch party, I was dumbstruck. I was so taken aback by how all the ladies reacted. I got a standing ovation! I was on a high for a month. I couldn’t believe it. I am having the most fun I have had in years.
Q: Let’s go back in time a bit and talk about what it was like in Squamish when you first opened Stylezone.
A: Such a huge change. I used to make a joke that you could drive down Main Street in a minute and have seen everything. The population has changed and retail has changed. I think the new entrepreneurs who have opened are taking retail a little more seriously than they did before.
Q: You sold men’s clothes across from Stylezone for about two years. What happened with that?
A: That was a disaster. I had the right lines. I didn’t go too young, we went after the street wear. I think it was a matter of the location. It was a tough go. It almost bankrupted Stylezone. We lost a huge amount. I learned a big lesson: I will do one thing and do one thing right.
Q: You have seen a lot of ups and downs in Squamish in the 28 years you have been here.
A: For me, just before the Olympic Games, a year or two before, were the best years I ever had in all that time. That was the construction of the highway and all that. After the Olympics, that was the worst four years I ever had in the business. That was the worst.
Q: What do you think of all the development happening right now in Squamish?
A: I see a significant difference in my own business. Sales are definitely better and I don’t know everyone anymore. I always knew everyone that walked in my front door. I don’t anymore. We always said Squamish was going to boom – I have heard that for the 30 years I have lived here – and I believe that is happening now. I believe the Sea to Sky Gondola really put us on the map. People go up and then research the community and go “Wow, I can run here and I can bike here, swim here, camp here.”
