10 Years

ChloBo x The Dressing Room

Celebrating our ten year partnership with The Dressing Room...

This week, our Regional Sales Manager, Olivia, has been catching up with Deryane, owner of The Dressing Room, to reflect on the past decade and look forward to the future of our partnership…

What inspired you to open the store?

I started my career in fashion retail around 30 years ago and there came a natural point where it felt like the right time to start my own business. That was when The Dressing Room was born, first opening its doors on my 33rd birthday in May 2005 in a small store in St Albans. The business soon went from strength to strength, and I moved location 18 months later to a store 4 times the size on the High Street with the website launching shortly afterwards in 2008. I wanted to create a multi-brand contemporary womenswear independent, delivering an exceptional shopping experience within a friendly and laid back environment. The Dressing Room has evolved hugely over time, but my core values remain the same.

Why do you stock ChloBo - why do your customers like it?

I first added ChloBo to my brand mix many years and it brought something different and special to my jewellery edit. Like The Dressing Room, ChloBo has evolved hugely over the years and has developed a real following with my customers far and wide. I like the fact that it's collectable and buildable. People will often start with a piece as a gift and then develop an obsession with the brand and build their collection over years!

What is your favourite piece from the In Bloom collection and why?

Tricky to choose one piece, so I've chosen 2 in true ChloBo stacking style. I love the Rosebud Aventurine Bracelet and the Harmony Aventurine Set Of 2 (ok, so it's 3 but who's counting!). I love the aventurine stone used in the In Bloom collection. Back in 2012, ChloBo did a collection using aventurine and my team had a bespoke Moss Necklace made with aventurine stones and Buddhas for my 40th birthday, so I can pair the latest collection with this special piece.

Why do you believe your customers return to you?

Our customers return to us time and time again for the friendly, attentive service and styling advice we offer. They love the fact that the brand mix is always evolving, with up to 100 different brands with constant newness. Our styling content on IGTV keeps customers engaged and involved in what we are up to. Ultimately, I believe that the passion that myself and my team have for what we do is shared with our customers and it is infectious.

How do you curate your stock selection, what's the thought process?

I would say that it is instinct backed up with a complete understanding of who my customer is and what she loves. Everything I do is with the customer in mind, so whenever I am buying, I am thinking about who the end customer is and what will work in her wardrobe. I love finding new, undiscovered collections that will add something unique to my edit and sit alongside some of our established collections such as Rails, Paige, Ba&sh and Essentiel.

How has the last ten years with ChloBo been, what's been the highlight?

I feel that we have grown up together! We have done some great events with Chloe and the team in store at The Dressing Room which have always been really fun. I can't recall the year, but I remember in the early days of our partnership we accompanied the ChloBo team to the Retail Jeweller awards when the brand was up for an award. We had a really great night celebrating with Chloe and the ChloBo team with a few sore heads the following day!

A quote From Andi Lee, Managing Director at ChloBo...

“Since we first collaborated with The Dressing Room in 2014, it has been a natural fit for ChloBo. The attention to detail when it comes to the curation of products and Deryane's motivation for providing her customers, whom she knows so well, with high quality, unique and organically made pieces has always stood out to us.

We hold the same values as a brand when it comes to craftsmanship, curation and longevity of staple pieces in someone's jewellery wardrobe. We are delighted to look back on the past 10 years having been present in The Dressing Room, and still see customers love the brand just as much as they did as when we were first placed in-store.

We cannot wait to see how our latest In Bloom SS24 collection looks on display in-store, and what the much valued customers think of it."