Kate Boggiano

We have nothing but great things to say about the state of affairs for independent designers in Chicago, the home base for Kate Boggiano, a women’s clothing line that specializes in women’s blouses and tops created by Kate Coxworth. All the manufacturing for this line is right here in the U.S. Through her use of the best materials, the highest quality construction and fitting techniques, she is able to provide customers with a lasting garment – timeless in quality, style, and fit. In the very words of one smashing customer: I am getting compliments every time I wear this shirt! It has beautiful details and the fabric is gorgeous.

Darlings: How did you first get involved in fashion, and at what age?
Kate: That is a tricky question for me as I always remember being involved in fashion!  From choosing crazy outfits as a kid to taking sewing lessons from my grandmother at a young age, I have always been really interested in fashion.  I guess the first real experience I had (mostly from my parents perspective that is) was in 8th grade.  I went to a Catholic school and it was around graduation time and we had all these ceremonies that we needed to attend and have dresses for.  It was always a HUGE deal when you were able to wear your own clothes to event since the lovely plaid uniform was the usual norm.  My mom refused to buy me 3 new dresses for 3 different events and capped the buying frenzy at 2.  Well, I really wanted that 3rd dress so when she went out for the afternoon the day before the event, I drafted a pattern, cut, sewed, and fit my 3rd dress.  I’ll never forget it!  It was for an awards ceremony and I had to stand in front of the whole school.  To this day I can’t believe the dress didn’t fall apart that day, it was constructed so poorly.  I remember that I had to keep pulling on this one thread all day because the side seams were starting to come undone.  It was fine, as long as I kept this string really tight!  Crazy!

Darlings: What made you decide to make the move to leave your position at Ralph Lauren and leave NYC?
Kate: I come from a long line of entrepreneurs and have always known that I wanted to own my own company. I’m from Chicago and my family is still in Chicago.  In 2006, Mayor Daley of Chicago announced that he was going to really promote fashion in Chicago and put it on the map as a place not to be missed, and to be synonymous with fashion.  That summer he appointed Melissa Gamble (then Turner) to head up the newly appointed Fashion office funded by the city.  It seemed like a great opportunity to move back to a smaller city where there was a lot of support both financially and culturally for the development of a fashion industry.  I just knew it was the perfect time.

Darlings: Tell us about the Chicago Fashion Incubator and your experience with it.
Kate: I’ll forever be grateful to the Chicago Fashion Incubator.  I was fortunate to be in the inaugural class and received a ton of press, contacts, and hype because of it.  The Chicago Fashion Incubator is a non-profit organization aimed at helping 6 local emerging designers establish their business.  The program includes space in downtown Chicago for VERY minimal rent, press, access to the top industry experts, and a mentoring program designed to help creative minded people develop their business and business plans so that they may have a successful career and clothing line.

Darlings: What made you start the Create Your Own (CYO) line? How has CYO affected the production of your line?
Kate: Living in NYC and watching some of my closest friends go out on their own and be out of business in a few seasons, it became very clear to me that cash flow is an issue in this business and niches are the way to go if you can find them!  When I began thinking about the possibility of starting a company, I knew that finding something that few people were doing would be crucial.  I focused a lot of denim, bottoms, and roughwear at Polo.  I was kind of tired of those product categories and had a feeling that the denim boom was soon to be over saturated and wanted to stay away from that.  Woven shirts seemed like a great area to me because the LA revolution was starting and knits had been so much in the foreground that I foresaw a lack of great fitting woven shirts in the marketplace.  It then occurred to me that difficulty with fit was precisely the reason that knits are now king.  To combat that, I wanted to come up with a program that allowed the customer to decide exactly how they wanted their shirt to look and we would in turn provide them with a fully custom shirt complete with custom measurements and thus overtaking the fit issue.

Darlings: How do you see your company in the future?
Kate: After about a year now with CYO, it has become clear that women don’t necessarily want to choose all the details, but they do want to see a great looking shirt and have it made to fit them.  This Spring, we introduced Tailor It!.  Tailor it allows our customers to order a shirt that we provide in normal sizing but with their measurements instead.  In other words, they can receive our great off the rack pieces in their size without the hassle of designing their own shirt that they have never seen and are unsure if they will like once they receive it.  I am hoping that this will be a big deal and if last Christmas was any indication, it should go pretty well.  In December alone, we customized 50 Isadora’s (pictured above) from our customers alone.  That doesn’t include the orders from our stores.  I’m hoping that by making Tailor It! official now, this trend will continue.

Darlings: Do you have any events you are getting ready for in the near future?
Kate: We have some events coming up.  Shop CHICago through Gen Art is next weekend.  I also moved the business into a new location so we are planning on having a great opening party some time in May or June.

Darlings: Tell us about something you LOVE that you want others to know about.
Kate: I LOVE manufacturing in the USA.  I love going to my factory in the mornings 3 days a week and knowing that my hardwork is benefiting the women who sew our shirts day in and day out.  I love helping to create a successful and thriving community and I am so proud that we have found some of the best customers who share this excitement about USA manufacturing and are committed to buying American.  Our products may cost a little more up front, but I can tell you, our shirts will outlast any other made outside of this country.  I am such a patriot and I love that I am able to follow my dreams and make this country a more industrious nation simply by doing what I love.

{ 0 comments }