Janine Milne Studio
The New MartSuite 1010(213) 488-9500jmst1006@sbcglobal.net
When Janine Milne and Stacey Tanham met an attractive stranger named Pete in a New York bar in late 2004, there was no indication that the frothy conversation would turn into business inspiration.
Showroom owner Milne and Sales Director Tanham both considered Pete handsome. Since they were in the fashion business, they wanted to know what kind of T-shirt he would like to see women wear. To their surprise, he knew exactly what he wanted. He pictured a woman’s T-shirt that was feminine, sheer and soft to the touch. Even though Milne and Tanham talked to Pete for a few hours, they said they never saw the man again. However, they remembered what he liked.
When the two women returned to Los Angeles, they developed a fashion line with the inspiration of the stranger’s recommendations. The line was called Pete. Its debut look was sheer, feminine T-shirts, some of which were lined in tulle. Business grew from 10 accounts in 2005 to more than 400 specialty boutiques in 2008.
Milne and Tanham thought the Pete business so good that they stopped representing several other fashion lines in their showroom and decided to focus on Pete. On June 1, they moved their showroom from suite 1006 to 1010 in The New Mart. At 1,100 square feet, the new showroom is a bigger space, and it provides design space in the back.
The line also offers new silhouettes such as a jacket-style sweater made out of the T-shirt material, hooded sweaters, blouses, ruched tank tops and laser-cut floral prints. Much of their fashion is made out of Modal blends with cashmere and silk. Wholesale price points range from $20 for tanks to $79 for a ruched jacket. —Andrew Asch
