You probably know Kim Crow as the friendly and knowledgeable voice of The Plain Dealer's Style section. These days she's busy filling the racks at Evie Lou, a Tremont shop offering "cozy chic for all shapes and sizes." Evie Lou is now open and is located at 2153 Professor Avenue in Tremont. For more information, call 216-696-6675.
OhioAuthority: Please tell us how Evie Lou got its name.
Kim Crow: Evie Lou is named for my four-year-old niece. I adore her beyond anything, of course, but we share a very similar fashion philosophy. She and I were shopping together this spring, and I offered her her choice of two different dresses at Gap Kids. One choice was poplin, in her favorite shade of hot pink, and the other was a dark purple, in a knit jersey. She chose the jersey one, to my surprise, so I asked what swayed her. "Me just wanna be comfy!" she said, and then added, "But still look nice!" I was like, "Me too, Evie!" She's got it all figured out already.
OA: What can shoppers expect to find in terms of selection - clothing, accessories? What labels/brands do you carry?
KC: Cozy chic is what the store is all about - there's no need to be sloppy to be comfortable. The clothes here don't sacrifice comfort for style, or style for comfort. We (I say we like there's an actual 'we!' - for now, there's just me!) carry a range of brands across the price points and sizes. At the higher end is Inhabit, Nicholas K, and Twinkle by Wenlan. In the middle is Improvd, a good-looking line that pretty much knocks off Rick Owens in a delicious way, plus Pete & Greta, Cutloose, Clary Sage Organics and T Los Angeles. A lot of the lines I have are made in the USA of eco-friendly materials and/or manufacturing processes. But to be able to offer things across the price spectrum, I also have some grab-and-don't-feel-guilty lines such as Luii, Bluebird, Freeway and Ya Los Angeles. Accessories are primarily artisan-driven - none local, unfortunately; Banyan Tree pretty much has that market sewn up and we're so close that I don't want to step on any toes.
OA: In editing Evie Lou's offerings, what guided you?
KC: Fit and fabric - a garment has to feel amazing, and look good on the body. I also gravitated toward a soothing color palette, clothes that offer comfort both physically and psychologically.
OA: How did your time at the Plain Dealer inform your choices about what to carry? Did reader questions/comments give you a good idea about what was missing here, a void you could fill?
KC: I don't think shopping in Cleveland is lacking at all, in all honesty - you just have to shop a little more strategically than you do in larger cities. I don't see myself as filling a void so much as adding another perspective.
Readers have definitely given me ideas, but I would say that doing reader makeovers helped more than any direct comments. I have styled dozens of different ages and body types during the past six years - we never had very much time to do them, so I had to learn to assess body types very quickly and immediately steer people in the right direction before they got frustrated. But there were common themes - everyone wants to lose 20 pounds, everyone thinks they have the most challenging figure of all time, everyone gets overwhelmed with too many choices. So I'm hoping my first edit will take some of the frustration out of shopping for folks.
One thing I'm doing, though, is based on reader comments - offering sizes up to a 2X in some styles. If the demand is there, I'm happy to seek out more cool clothes in those sizes.
OA: What is the one fashion guideline/tip you always find yourself sharing?
KC: "Just try it on."
