Who Wouldn't Like Something Plush?
July 6, 2007
Marie Green is a fashion stylist and writer from San Diego California. She is the Fashion Editor of FINE Homes and Living Magazine and her column, “Fashion Focus” has appeared in FINE Magazine as well as LaJolla Light, The Del Mar Times, Del Mar Ink, The Carmel Valley Leader, Rancho Santa Fe Record, and The Solana Beach Sun. Marie is also the co-founder of SheWants.com.
Sometimes a name can be so unique and inviting you just want know more about it. Such is the case with Royal Plush Clothing. Who doesn't want to feel like royalty? Who wouldn't love something plush? This is exactly what Michelle Waller was thinking when she created her beautiful yet comfortable clothing line, Royal Plush.
Michelle, who has an extensive background in retail, thought a niche was missing in the world of clothing. She envisioned a knitwear clothing line that is comfortable enough to wear all day, but pretty and polished enough to look stylish. After Michelle's youngest daughter started kindergarten, filling this niche became her primary focus. A year's worth of research and thirty designs later, her first collection of hoodies, pants, t-shirts, tanks, sweaters, and jackets made from a variety of fabrics, was launched at a Los Angeles trade show in March of 2005. She had no idea she'd walk away from that trade show with over 300 orders to fill by August! The buyers were very impressed with the line's embellishments, which are like a little bit of jewelry adorning each item. This and the fact that every piece is beautifully wearable, made a great impression. Randi Cohen, owner of the Randi Cohen showroom at the California Market Center recognized the uniqueness of this line and offered to represent it and then things really took off. Immediately, Michelle hired enough people to help her fill the orders and rented a storage unit close to her Minneapolis home/office to serve as the Royal Plush warehouse.
The next collection, spring of 2006, did even better. While working a trade show, Michelle wore a plain belt she had customized with Royal Plush logo hardware, the fleur de lis, and many of the buyers went crazy for it and wanted to order it. Thus, her accessories line was born. The accessories are designed to go with each seasonal clothing collection, and now includes handbags, hats, jewelry, small leather goods and flip flops. In fact, Royal Plush flip flops, which are embellished with stones and hardware, are about the cutest I've ever seen.
With the success of Royal Plush, Michelle found herself traveling much more than she expected, so her family decided to leave Minneapolis and move to Los Angeles. Her husband, Steve, a former vice president at Wilsons Leather, joined the company and made it a family business. His contribution has been incredibly valuable, as he specializes in global production and is now managing every aspect of manufacturing. They now have their own warehouse, which is where their office is headquartered.
I recently met with Michelle, who I've known since my days in Minnesota, at their showroom in Los Angeles. I was fortunate enough to preview her gorgeous fall and holiday collections. I already own many Royal Plush pieces, but I am really excited about the upcoming fall and holiday lines. The fall collection has a tribal theme with beautiful, rich colors and lots of thermal and cashmere. The holiday collection has an Asian theme featuring velour and other lovely fabrics with shiny tonal embroidery. I will definitely be putting several of the pieces on my wish list, as will the many celebrities, such as Teri Hatcher, Hilary Duff, and Eva Mendez who already wear Royal Plush.
The inspiration for Michelle's designs comes from European fashion magazines. European fashion is usually a year ahead of United States fashion, so it makes Royal Plush ahead of the fashion curve. She is adamant about going the extra mile to make her designs fabulous by using the finest fabrics and special treatments.
There are over 500 stores in the United States carrying Royal Plush, but buyers from Japan, England, Canada, Israel and Germany are ordering her line for their stores, so Royal Plush is going global. However, we local style mavens are fortunate that many stores in the area carry Royal Plush. You can find this cute yet sophisticated clothing line at The Rare Earth, Peaches En Regalia, Sundancer, Ooh La La, and Madison in Del Mar, in Rancho Santa Fe at the Bridges Sports Center and Spa Boutique, as well as Camilla's on Highway 101 in Solana Beach. Also, you can check out the entire collection at www.royalplushclothing.com.
