'Queen of tween' opens shop in her hometown
Boutique will be the first for veteran fashion designer
BY JESSICA SMITH Staff Writer

CHRIS KELLY staff Fashion designer Sally Miller will open her first boutique tomorrow on North Main Street, Milltown. Miller has over the past 20 years established herself as a leader in the ever-evolving niche of tween, or size 7-14, girls clothing.

Milltown area tweens can go back to school in style, now that Sally Miller has come to town.

The six-year borough resident and award-winning fashion designer is opening her first retail shop on North Main Street in Milltown, and her trendy signature styles will be unveiled with a ribbon-cutting ceremony tomorrow.

“I couldn’t be more excited,” Miller said. “Milltown has been really generous in helping me move on this project, and just getting it done.”

Though the store is a first, it is far from Miller’s initial foray into the fashion world. The New York City transplant has spent more than 20 years establishing herself as a leader in the ever-evolving niche of tween, or size 7-14, girls clothing.

“I’ve been a pioneer in tweens before they even called it tweens,” Miller said.

While creating, designing and building brands, Miller got a finger on the fickle pulse of what tween girls want to wear. Before launching Sally Miller and Sally Miller Couture 19 months ago, she created Sally Mack, which won her the Fresh Face Award.

In November 2005, soon after being divorced, Miller woke up one morning and realized she wanted to be in business on her own, she recalled. By January, she was incorporated, and her namesake brand was born.

Since her unique line of fashion-forward clothing was released last fall, it has made its way to 375 specialty stores across the country. High-end department stores like Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Lord & Taylor, among others, quickly jumped on board, and the brand reached retail outlets as far away as Canada, Europe and Japan. In less than a year, the trailblazing designer’s wholesale volume surpassed $2 million.

“I’m really humbled by the industry and my customers really embracing the brand,” said Miller, who has been referred to as the “Queen of Tween Fashion.”

Miller’s success was far from a fluke. Her knack for fashion came at a young age, and she nurtured it over the years. A trend-spotter even as a young girl in her hometown of Philadelphia, Miller was babysitting by the age of 12 in order to earn funds for the clothes and accessories for which she pined. One purchase that stood out in Miller’s mind was a pair of tan, thigh-high boots that struck her fancy.

“It was something I always had a sense of at a very young age,” Miller said. “I knew pretty early.”

Her family provided a solid basis for Miller’s future career choice. With a mother who handmade outfits for Miller and her sister, Ellen, and a father who marched to the beat of his own style drum, it would seem only natural that the young designer-to-be would head in the direction she did.

Her grandmother, Isabelle Lazarus Miller, was a mentor for the young Miller. A fine artist and jewelry designer, her works have been exhibited in the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

“No matter when you went to visit her, she always looked like she just stepped off the pages of Vogue — all of her outfits, makeup and jewelry put together in a modern, creative way,” Miller said. “She was very influential in my life as an artist.”

Inspiration also came from another wellknown fashion maverick who stood the test of time.

“I remember watching the Sonny and Cher show when I was a kid, and just being mesmerized by Cher,” Miller said.

Seeing Cher perform her final song of each show clad in fabulous designs by Bob Mackie only served to feed Miller’s desire to create such works of artistry herself someday.

Attending the camp her family owned in the Berkshires of Massachusetts also had a hand in shaping Miller’s future. She spent the first 23 summers of her life there, eventually becoming a counselor for the girls who attended.

“My interest in helping children celebrate who they are started at Camp Danbee,” Miller said. “As a counselor, I got very involved in dance and created an annual Dance Festival that still runs today. Running that program and helping all these girls find selfexpression through movement was very important to me.”

Miller went on to attend the Rhode Island School of Design for four years, honing her skills. For her senior thesis, which involved collaborations with a number of departments throughout the school, she won the Veteran’s Textile Award.

Her first big break came in the early 1980s, when she showed up at Karl Lagerfeld’s New York City office dressed in one of her own designs, portfolio in tow. While she did not meet with Lagerfeld that day, she did make a connection that got her a job working under Dana Buchman at Liz Claiborne. There she learned all the ins and outs of a major fashion operation, skills that would prove invaluable down the line.

After gleaning five years of experience there, Miller spent five months in Greece, exploring her love for dance as a performer and instructor, then returned to the U.S. to forge on in the fashion world. She was offered a job with a company specializing in the girls’ 7-14 niche, and she never turned back.

A single mother of two tweens of her own, Miller has a good handle on addressing the wants and needs of the age group. Of course, it does not hurt that she gets the inside scoop from Katie, 10, and Lilly, 9, along with that of their friends.

“When [Katie] was 8 years old, she designed her own outfit for her birthday party,” Miller said.

Though Lilly is more of a sporty type, Miller said she has been getting more involved recently, giving her feedback about her designs.

Miller uses her daughters and their friends as fit models and informal focus group participants, bartering their willing services for clothes and accessories from her line. A group of them marched in the Milltown Fourth of July parade wearing Sally Miller designs to introduce residents to the brand.

“My clothes are really age-appropriate, they’re really comfortable, they’re trendy and they’re hip,” Miller said.

Beyond looking good, Miller’s creations have a deeper philosophy behind them. She stresses the importance of giving the youngsters looks that will empower them by fostering attributes like self-confidence and positive decision-making.

“It’s really about nurturing their spirit, the tween spirit,” Miller said. “I actually had a mother say, ‘I feel so safe with your clothes.’ The girl has to want to wear it, but it has to be parent or guardian approved.”

In a world where high-profile tween idols are being marketed as sex symbols and engaging in risqué behavior, it is likely a breath of fresh air for parents to find clothing both they and their daughters can feel good about.

It seems no wonder that the demand for Miller to expand her collections to fit fashionable females of all ages grew enough to warrant the creation of Sally M, a brand for size 14 and up. The new line, which will hit her store and others Aug. 30, will include similar hip looks to fit a larger population.

“I don’t put an age range [on it],” Miller said. “It’s all about spirit.”

For Miller, her work is also about the spirit of giving. She became involved in the George and Ann Lopez-Richie Alarcon CARE Foundation and the National Kidney Foundation when she found out about the comedian’s wife giving her kidney to come to her husband’s aid. She also supports KIDS (Kids in Distressed Situations), which gives new clothing to kids who need it.

“We gave $125,000 of brand-new clothes to Katrina victims,” Miller said.

The group also helps children of troops at war by providing them with new clothing.

In order to support the town she has come to love, Miller is planning a fundraiser for arts and education in Milltown’s schools, and plans to become involved with the town’s revitalization committee, she said.

“You’re never too young of a company to give back,” Miller said. “It’s a great thing to teach my children.”

Amidst her whirlwind of success in the high-profile world of fashion, Miller keeps her family as No. 1 in her life.

“My children are a huge priority for me,” she said. “I’ve always been a believer: You don’t find time, you have to make time.”

Not only does Miller make time for her daughters, she also manages to eke out some savored moments for herself. Each morning, she spends time meditating to start her day off on the right foot, and she makes it to the gym as often as possible, she said.

During a television appearance on “The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch” Aug. 4, Miller spoke about trying to regain some romance in her life between being a single mom and running a large-scale business. Panelists including Liz Lange of Liz Lange Maternity offered her advice on how to balance the various aspects of her life to make room for romance.

“I hired a babysitter and I went out last night, so I took the good advice,” Miller said.

Considering the success she has enjoyed in other endeavors, finding happiness in the dating realm should prove effortless for Miller.

In the meantime, she is simply enjoying her latest accomplishment. The Sally Miller Store, at 30 North Main St., is housed within a 100-year-old building, complete with stylish tin ceilings. Miller said she loves the space.

“It’s an uptown girl with a downtown spirit,” Miller said. “And that’s really who I am.” MayorGloriaBradfordwill attend the ribbon cutting ceremony, set for tomorrow at 2 p.m. From there, the store will be open Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and closed Sundays until September. For more information, visit the Web site at www.sallymiller.biz, or call the store at 732-729-4840.