California Apparel News

Even though the Seaton label had been shelved for one year, its creator, Jill Roberts-Freeman, kept seeing the brand popping up during her family’s Hawaiian vacation in December.

“I saw a woman on the beach with a [Seaton] sweat shirt with the seahorses on the back,” said Roberts-Freeman, as she showed a vacation photo. “And then I saw this little girl wearing a Seaton T-shirt with the seahorse. I saw this other woman wearing the [Seaton] striped shirt.”

Those images were a confidence boost for Roberts-Freeman, who relaunched Seaton for Spring 2010 after the economy prompted her to take a break from wholesale production.

This time, she has pared down the offerings to the brand’s greatest hits: easy cashmere knit cardigans and wraps, coverup tunic dresses, and classic nautical-striped tees with a twist.

“I’m still a fashion girl. I love fashion and I’m in this business, but this line is not a fashion line. They are forever clothes,” said Roberts-Freeman, who owns two Jill Roberts contemporary clothing boutiques in West Los Angeles.

Her boutiques carry trendy brands such as Gryphon, Current/Elliott, J Brand, Goldsign, James Perse, Nation Ltd. tees and T by Alexander Wang.

She also owns a Seaton lifestyle store in West Hollywood, Calif., that she opened three years ago to support the wholesale line as well as sell other labels. “I call it surf luxury. It’s almost like the Roxy girl that grew up. That’s kind of who I am. I grew up on the beach in Santa Monica surfing [and playing] tennis,” Roberts-Freeman said.

With three retail stores as test labs for her customers in their 30s and 40s, Roberts-#8203;Freeman has learned that Seaton’s California lifestyle basics make cash registers ring. “In my stores, I know what sells. I have firsthand proof saying, ’You buy this [Seaton item], it’s going to sell,’” Roberts-Freeman said.

Wholesale price points range from $68 for terry or cotton gauze tunics to $143 for fine-gauge cashmere wraps.

For more information, call (310) 231-6000.—Rhea Cortado