I’m so excited about this interview spotlight with the founders of the clothing line Of Mercer, Dorie and Emelyn. I absolutely love that they created a line made specifically for women to look great in the workplace (remember this post?) These two ladies are extremely driven and I love their advice for female entrepreneurs!
p.s. you can find both of their fab dresses here and here
What made you both decide to leave your jobs and begin your own fashion line?
Both of us came from traditional business backgrounds – Emelyn was in finance and Dorie was in consulting. We met the first week of Wharton Business School, wearing the exact same dress – our one stylish yet office-appropriate piece. We couldn’t understand why there weren’t more stylish workwear options for professional women like us. So we decided to do something about it and created Of Mercer, a brand of fashionable office attire that will take you from desk-to-dinner.
What was the biggest challenge you faced?
We knew the problem we experienced needed to be solved by women like us, who knew what it was like to get dressed for work every day. But neither of us had backgrounds in fashion, so there was a steep learning curve. We talked to everyone who would meet with us and learned as much as possible about design, fabric selection, production, etc. Eventually we brought on our designer Aja Singer who had the creative and technical background we needed to complement our own skillsets.
What does a typical day look like for you?
It’s so hard to answer that question! As a very small team, we have our hands in every aspect of the company, so each day can look completely different. One day we may be doing a photoshoot for a lookbook, another day we may be in our NYC factory managing production and ensuring they are creating the highest quality products.
What is your go-to piece for the Fall collection and how are you styling it?
Dorie: I absolutely love our Fulton Dress in Bordeaux. The sleeves give a little extra coverage for the crisp weather, and the zip front gives it just the right amount of edge. I’ve been styling it with black tights and booties!
Emelyn: Definitely the Bryant dress. I love that it makes a statement with a bold, checked pattern, but the silhouette is classic and well tailored. Those two aspects together make it the perfect office-appropriate, confidence-inducing dress!
How would you describe the Of Mercer girl?
The typical Of Mercer woman is a young professional woman who cares about looking fashionable, both in and out the office. She knows when she’s shopping that she shouldn’t have to sacrifice quality for price or style for an office dress code.
Walk me through the design process that you go through for creating a new piece.
There are a lot of considerations in coming up with a new piece. We listen to our customers’ feedback to make sure we’re fulfilling their needs, and we look at the latest trends (from runway to NYC street-style). Aja will sketch a number of designs using a range of fabric choices. Once we narrow down the designs, we work with our NYC pattern and sample making team to prototype the garment. We then go through a number of iterations of fitting (with our size 6 fit-model) before going into production of the product.
What is next for Of Mercer? Where do you see if in 5 years?
Right now we are focused on building out our product offerings. In the next year we will release separates – skirts, blouses, knitwear, and pants. From there we will continue to listen to our customers and grow into new product areas based on their feedback. We also hope to open showrooms in major urban areas so that women can have personalized in-person shopping experiences. In five years, Of Mercer will be the go-to brand for all your desk-to-anything needs.
What is your advice for aspiring female entrepreneurs?
Build a support system of peers and mentors. Being an entrepreneur can be incredibly fulfilling, but you will experience many highs and lows along the way, and you will need people around to celebrate the good things and encourage you through he bad. We’ve found the start-up community very open and supportive. You should reach out to entrepreneurs or business owners in your local community, go to meet-ups, and talk to as many people as possible. Those connections will help you launch and get your business off the ground.
Shop my Of Mercer Favorites here:
