California Apparel News

Brooke Taylor Corcia isn’t a Southern California native, but when she was working for Los Angeles–based C magazine, she had a front-row seat to the region’s unique style mix.

When the Michigan native decamped for Montreal to take a job as senior women’s buyer at Ssense, she saw a distinct difference in the way fashion was presented and merchandized.

“I noticed that there are a lot of really strong retailers with a great point of view, but they were really catering to a specific aesthetic that I felt was more representative of the East Coast,” Corcia said. “[When] we were getting into this market and considering making a move to New York or California, I felt like there was such a significant and interesting way that women here put themselves together. There is this elevated fashion element and exciting street style that I didn’t feel was being represented within the world of the Internet.”

In June, Corcia launched her e-tail site, The Dreslyn, from the company’s headquarters in downtown Los Angeles with a team of 11.

Although The Dreslyn carried an international mix of brands—including APC, Helmut Lang, Rag & Bone, Compagnie de Provence, Band of Outsiders, Carven, 6397 and Giada Forte—the merchandising is done with a West Coast eye.

“A lot of people, when they think of Los Angeles, they think it’s red carpet or they think it’s really beachy, Coachella style,” Corcia said. “It was a nice place for me to come into the market with a voice that was just representing something a little different and really indicative of California. Definitely not being native to the West Coast, I definitely have my own point of view and interpretation of what that is.”

Corcia said she’s influenced by California women’s seasonless dressing and knack for layering pieces to create their own style.

“Being a Web-based enterprise, we’re catering to women all over the world,” Corcia said. “It’s nice to be able to offer a mix of brands. We have brands from Paris, the U.S., Australia—really, all over. What ties our direction and our buy together is more about the fit and the texture and the cut of the garments and how people are wearing these items and how they’re being paired together.”

Plus, Corcia looks to California’s street style for cues.

“The street-style girls from California that are on my mind, they do such an interesting mix of making pink look boyish,” she said. “They can wear a pale pink blazer with jeans and boots in a way that it’s not overly feminine, yet it’s still beautiful.”

The site is merchandised to look like a curated boutique with products featured in editorial-style photos. A “Diary” section includes profiles and trend features. In addition to apparel, The Dreslyn carries accessories, footwear, and beauty and home items. The site allows shoppers to use its “massive zoom” feature to take a closer look at the garments. To satisfy the need for instant gratification, The Dreslyn offers same-day delivery to several cities and neighborhoods in Southern California within a 25-mile radius of downtown LA, including Pasadena, Burbank, Santa Monica, Pacific Palisades, Sherman Oaks, Mar Vista and Inglewood.

“The reason people shop online is for the efficiency, the convenience,” Corcia said. “It’s nice for us to be able to offer our clients every possible service. That’s why they come to us. They’re looking for something they need, something they want. They don’t want to wait for it.”