Fred Segal Makes Room for Royal Plush
Royal Plush Clothing has sold in Bloomingdale’s and been featured on reality show “The Real Housewives of Orange County,” and on March 1, it opened a shop at the influential Fred Segal compound of fashion stores in Santa Monica, Calif.
The Torrance, Calif.–based line took a 300-squarefoot space at Fred Segal’s Emphatic boutique, said co-owner Michelle Waller. The shop-in-shop, with the marathon name Royal Plush at Emphatic Fred Segal, will be permanent and is the first shop-in-shop to open at Emphatic.
The boutique will sell the entire Royal Plush collection. The more than 50-style line ranges from activewear detailed with grommets to off-the-shoulder T-shirts featuring Swarovski crystals as well as handbags, denim and hats. Wholesale price points range from $24 to $80.
Emphatic has sold Royal Plush since 2006. Extra boutique space opened at Emphatic in 2010, when Emphatic owner Dee Ragano debuted Fred Segal Girl with Sharon Segal. Juniors lines moved out of Emphatic, leaving more space available for fashions for women 30 and older, which is Royal Plush’s demographic. “For Santa Monica, it’s a good line because it is casual,” Ragano said.
Waller and her husband and business-partner, Steve Waller, made their careers in retail—including at Fred Segal, where Michelle Waller worked in sales when she was 17. Royal Plush is the couple’s first wholesale venture. Michelle hopes to open more stores eventually. “We were gun shy about retail,” she said. “But we wanted a retail flagship.” —Andrew Asch
