Jeggings.
The very word struck fear in my heart … fear for fashion and the destruction of Western civilization as know it.
No, all civilization.
Until last Saturday.
I was seeing a lot of fuss about
Espy on my good friend, Twitter. Espy this … Espy that.
So, I did some investigating on their
website and new Twitter account and sent a direct message to their biggest champion,
Nicole Saxton: What’s Espy? Can I come do a story for fashionwest?
Nicole, who turned out to be an Espy employee, said ‘sure, come on down!’
I walked into the cute little Inglewood boutique, spied Nicole – and those boots in the picture – and dove headfirst into the Espy Experience.
You see, opening the Espy doors creates a shopping experience like no other.
You will have a stylist greet you, explain the Espy Experience to you and then select for you the clothes off the rack.
You don’t have to think, you don’t have to match, you don’t have to worry.
Just chat with your stylist about why you need the clothes and what you think your personal style is and … voila! … you have a dressing room full of clothes to keep you busy for hours, if you wish.
It doesn’t stop there.
You will emerge from the dressing room and your stylist will be standing there.
“Look at the way those jeggings hug your legs,” Nicole says. “You have awesome calves!”
Wait … what? Me? Awesome calves? You mean these stovepipes I’ve been cursing every time I try to buy knee-high boots?
Awesome calves.
And the jeggings did hug my curves. In a way that took 10 pounds off my look.
Not add 20 pounds, like I thought they would.
OK, try this shirt on, Nicole says next.
I emerge.
“Nope. Get it off. That’s not right.”
Therein lies the beauty of Espy.
Where your best girlfriend might be a little less than honest to save hurting your feelings about looking so fat in those jeans, the stylists at Espy are honest.
They know what works … and what doesn’t.
“Yes, we want to make a sale,” Nicole says. “But we want you to look good.”
Because the right Espy Experience creates word-of-mouth advertising and women like me will be out on the street encouraging their friends to try out Espy.
And not just for the experience.
Espy owner and manager Megan Szanik has two decades of experience in the fashion industry. After moving back to Calgary to open her own business, she culled the contacts she made and stocks her racks with quality clothes in a variety that will help express an individual’s side.
The majority of the clothes is priced at less than $100 and 50 per cent is Canadian designed, with 25 per cent of that Canadian made.
The important factor with the clothes, Megan says, is the fit and she looks for a variety of sizes to keep in stock.
“A size 6 isn’t the only person who can look beautiful,” she says. “We’ll find you the size that makes you look beautiful. Most people don’t even know what they really wear.”
True story, actually.
I had no idea I could wear a size 31 jean. Sure enough, Nicole handed over a pair marked with that number and they fit perfectly.
Of course, there was a mountain of shirts to try on with the jeans.
“That’s just it,” Megan says. “People don’t know how to create an outfit. They’re busy buying pieces and they don’t know how to put them together. That’s what we do.”
Espy is available for VIP parties, hosting between 10 and 20 individuals for a shopping party. Megan will provide the food and wine, five stylists and two makeup artists.
“It’s like playing in your best friend’s closet,” she says.
And learning things about your body that you didn’t know before.
Like how jeggings can make you look like a hot, curvy bombshell.
FASHION PHILANTHROPY
Oh yes, Espy has a rack of clothes for men, too.
And Megan is giving some of those clothes away in support of prostate cancer awareness.
There is a catch.
Espy will dress for free the first 30 guys who show up in their underwear at 10 a.m. on Saturday, November 6. Each guy also will be asked to donate to the Prostate Cancer Centre of Calgary.
The forecast says 9 C for Saturday afternoon so it might be a little bit nippy in skivvies but 30 guys stand the chance of getting a T-shirt, a dress shirt, a pair of jeans, a pair of dress pants and a sweater … up to $400 value.
If you don’t make the 30-guy cut, the next 30 guys will receive a 50 per cent discount.
All shoppers on Saturday will receive a 10 per cent discount with their donations to the Prostate Cancer Centre of Calgary.
And of course, everyone gets their own stylist.
Nicole, Megan, Theresa Bagan and Shelby Hirsch can’t wait to get their hands on you!
