Hey ladies! We are excited to introduce you to Andrea, the product development director for DownEast Basics! Did you know they now have a blog? I know, pretty sweet! We hope you enjoy the interview! (By the way, we are very proud to bring you the first look into DownEast Basics late fall line!!!)

1. Hi Andrea!  We are crazy about DownEast Basics over here at Sensibly Styled!  So many of your pieces are definitely basics, but I love seeing all the fun new blouses, dresses, skirts, and now jeans!  What piece from the new fall line was your favorite to develop?
Tough choice, but I will go with the Short Story Cardigan and all the cardigans for that matter!  It has been exciting to add new categories to our product offering.  We really try to make shopping for and wearing a modern, stylish wardrobe easy for the customer and their budget, so these categories create more complete outfits in the process.

2. How do you determine the colors for each season’s line?  What colors are in for the upcoming fall season?
I follow all trend reports from runway shows and Pantone (universal color method used in the fashion industry) to determine color stories for our product lines.  The prominent colors for Fall 2009 are Rapture Rose, Warm Olive, and Majolica Blue.  I can’t seem to get enough of the Rose and Olive combinations so they are prominent in the Early and Late Fall line.
SENSIBLY STYLED EXCLUSIVE! HERE ARE SOME NEVER BEFORE SEEN SHOTS OF DOWNEAST BASICS LATE FALL LINE!

3. I love that you have a maternity line, a plus line, a girl’s line and a men’s line.  Will we see more items in those lines in the future?
Right now all these categories do not carry the same demand as our women’s line so we continue to evaluate them every season.  We have grown the fashion styles in our Girls line in the Early Fall and Late Fall seasons, which I am very excited about, so I hope it is well received so we can continue to grow and develop that category.
4. When designing your pieces, what are the modesty standards that you have set for yourselves?  How do you find the balance between staying current to trends and staying true to those standards?
I will typically not design something that I would not wear or would not feel comfortable wearing.  I think we can all relate to a time when we try and wear clothing that may not be modest and we end up not even enjoying the event or situation at all because we are constantly tugging at the clothing or looking down to see what others may be able to see.  My goal is to create pieces that will rid women of this worry so they can spend more time enjoying life and those around them.  I want all women that wear DownEast Basics to feel comfortable, confident, and beautiful.  It has become very easy for me to design trendy, modern, and stylish clothes that are still modest and flattering!  I am confident that this is a large part of the success of DownEast Basics.
5. I loved looking through the fall catalog online!  Tell us about the on location photo shoot.
The Early Fall 2009 photo shoot was one of my favorites so far.  We actually shot in British Columbia and surrounding islands in the Pacific Northwest.  The models were so beautiful and extremely talented along with our photographer Gabor Jurina.  I am so lucky to work with such amazing people who work so hard to make DownEast Basics extraordinary so women can really enjoy their shopping experience whether they are in our stores or shopping our catalog & online.
6. Could you give us a brief history lesson on DownEast Basics? How, and why did you guys come about?
DownEast was founded in 1991 as a retailer of off-price clothing (e.g., buying and reselling customer returns/liquidation clothing from top retail brands).  In 2005 we added our own private label brand, DownEast Basics.  The line has become incredibly popular with our customer base, which is growing quickly. Since the inception of the line, our top priorities have been to provide stylish, high-quality clothing at very affordable prices – a mission we remain true to today. We also just covered this in a recent blog post on DownEast by Design – you can get additional details here
7. Are we going to see more stores in the future? I know I would sure love one here in CO… and Emily in CA… and Ashley in WA… (So… there will be at least 3 new stores… right?)
You will see more DownEast Basics stores opening!  DownEast Basics is growing faster than we can keep up!  I always encourage people to stay connected to store openings through our Facebook page and we will also highlight them on the blog as well.  The owners all stay closely tuned into the Facebook page and all store location requests, so let us know what city and mall you think would be a good fit and you never know!
8. Andrea, we would love to hear how you got into fashion, and why DownEast became the perfect fit for you.
I have always had a passion for fashion so to say.  I started working at Maurice’s while I was in high school and ever since I have loved the retail apparel world.  I started working for DownEast as an employee in their Laramie, Wyoming store while I was going to school there.  After being manager there for a couple years and receiving a bachelors degree in Fashion Merchandising/Clothing & Textiles, my family was moving back to the Salt Lake area where DownEast is based and they offered me a corporate position there.  As their longest employee I can say first hand that DownEast and the owners are amazing people to work for.  It is a great company with a fun and unique company culture.  I have been given wonderful career opportunities with DownEast as a woman & mother.  It has been extremely rewarding to work in so many different areas of DownEast over the last 12 ½ years.  When the whole modest/long t-shirt craze erupted 3-4 years ago I wanted to get DownEast involved.  We looked into buying some off-price goods that would work with our product mix in our DownEast Outfitters stores.  The pricing just did not make sense, so we set out to make our own.  I worked closely with Jonathan Freedman (DownEast founder) and from there the Basics line started and has grown to what it is today.

9. What is something that sets DownEast Basics apart from other retailers?
I think our combination of modern, trendy style, high quality, and amazing prices sets us apart from our competitors.  It has been said that DownEast Basics is like Anthropologie at Target prices.  I spend countless hours on fabric choice and construction approvals to make sure all items meet our quality standards.  In most cases we have been able to match the exact fabric weight of high end/boutique styles, but our price to the customer is far less than what they expect to pay.  I love when a customer tells me something they love from the Basics line looks like it should be so much more expensive than it is.  I want women to feel like they are getting a huge value when they shop our product line while at the same time enjoying fresh new silhouettes and trendy fashion.
10. Last but not least… could you share with us some of the things that you use for inspiration when coming up with a new line?
I find myself inspired by all the amazing women in my life from all around the world and of all ages when I choose my designs.  Certain women come to mind when I think about designs I think they would wear or absolutely love!  I think this is why the Basics line always ends up so well rounded.  I really try and offer something for everyone.  It is so fun to hear everyone’s favorite pieces from the collection because I feel gratification when the answer is different from everyone.  That is the fun thing about fashion and how it allows us to express our uniqueness.  So-thank you to all the women in my life and for your inspiration and joy that you bring me as I continue to live my dream job!

Wow guys, isn’t Andrea amazing? So take a minute and go on over to their blog and check it out!

Related posts:

1. Interview with Andrea of DownEast Basics!
2. DownEast Basics Haul Video/Sneak Peek!
3. DownEast Basics Connect The Dots Dress Giveaway!!!

This entry was posted on Monday, July 27th, 2009 at 9:13 am and is filed under Downeast Basics, Interviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.