California Apparel News

Designers and start-ups looking for an online venue to sell their creations now have another choice in MyGirlfriendsCloset.com.

Los Angeles–area entrepreneur Nichole Addario Di Modica launched the multifaceted Web venture in May as a way to offer a lower-cost alternative to e-commerce. The site offers a sales avenue for consumers as well as wholesalers through its consignment area, which offers vintage, new and used clothing, footwear and accessories.

The idea came to Addario Di Modica while she was clearing out her own closet and deciding what would go to the Goodwill and what would stay in the closet.

“I thought that there’s a lot of great stuff here that others could use,” she said. “Then I thought, ’I wonder what is in other women’s closets.’ There are those wedding dresses that you wore just once.”

With that, she went to work and launched the site after several months of market research and putting together a business plan. Addario Di Modica is not entirely fresh to the apparel trade. She worked on Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen’s apparel venture.

The design boutiques are offered at $50 per month. The focus is on fresh, emerging talent from the West Coast and beyond. The designers and consignors can maintain their micro-sites themselves, uploading images and controlling pricing. MyGirlfriendsCloset.com conducts all the transactions through a secure payment engine and supports the designers through marketing and other services. It gets a 20 percent cut of transactions, which holds true for the consignments as well. The percentage is structured to be reduced for large-volume sellers.

“This relieves a lot of the financial burden that smaller designers and companies face. You can open a virtual storefront without the heavy maintenance costs that others charge,” she said.

The consignment area is also a bargain, she added. “It’s much better than the 50 to 70 percent rates that regular consignment stores charge.”

Addario Di Modica says her site has a more-specialized focus than online auction site eBay.

“EBay is more of a mass merchant. We are aiming to be more of a specialty destination. It’s like shopping at Wal-Mart against shopping at Bloomingdale’s.”

Addario Di Modica sees the site becoming a destination for fashionistas looking for affordable fashion. Recently featured items included pieces from Prada, Stella McCartney and BCBG Max Azria. Vintage apparel is also expected to be big on the site. Consignment items are featured in four categories: new with tags, new without tags, not so new (worn a few times) and not new.

“We see a lot of interest coming with denim because so many people like those worn-out Levi’s,” she said.

Addario Di Modica is active in business and charity circles around Los Angeles. Her husband owns Sebastian’s, a popular restaurant and lounge in Toluca Lake, Calif., that has been a venue for a number of company events. She is also the chairperson of the Young Executives for Success arm of the nonprofit agency Dress for Success.

With that group, she is organizing a number of networking and philanthropic events for Southern California professionals. Among them are house parties to introduce women to the site.

For more information, e-mail info@mygirlfriendscloset.com. —Robert McAllister