‘Queen Of Tween’ Opens Shop In Her Hometown

Sentinel:

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

The six-year borough resident and awardwinning fashion designer is opening her first retail shop on North Main Street in Milltown, and her trendy signature styles will be unveiledwith 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.

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.