Broads Apparel
Broads Apparel
California Market Center, A283
(323) 761-9683
deenagregory.ent@gmail.com
The moniker Broads Apparel was meant to evoke the glamorous, independent and full-bodied Hollywood stars of the 1930s and 1940s. The new brand was created to cater to an underserved market—women built like screen legends Jane Russell and Joan Crawford, said Megan M. Bouvért, the Los Angeles–based label’s creative director. Think of it as a niche market for broad-shouldered women and bigger busts.
“It’s a middle market that no one pays attention to,” said Bouvért, who opened the headquarters for Broads Apparel at the California Market Center. The label is financed by a new small-business development company, Deena Gregory Enterprises L.L.C.
Because most ready-to-wear is not made with their body shape in mind, these women only have a couple of options for clothes, Bouvért explained. Either they shop for plus-size fashion—which may fit their shoulders and bust but awkwardly billows out around the waist—or they have their clothes fashioned by a tailor.
Bouvért hopes Broads Apparel will offer a new option for these women. For its debut season, Broads Apparel will offer a capsule collection of 10 tops, ranging from silk blouses to jersey knit shirts. The first collection of tops will be offered in slate blue, black, khaki and a light rose. Wholesale price points run from $30 for a jersey shirt to $90 for a silk blouse. Bouvért hopes to place this line in better department stores and mass retailers. She also plans to open showrooms in Atlanta and Dallas.
For Fall II 2012, Broads Apparel will launch a line of blazers for big-shouldered women. In 2013, the label will launch a collection of golf and tennis wear, called Broads Sport, for women who not only have a similar body type to a Hollywood legend such as Russell but also more-contemporary style icons such as tennis superstar Serena Williams.—Andrew Asch
