SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Julia Grieve's clothes have been featured at specialty retailer For Women Only (FWO) for more than a decade, but this year she realized something about her upcoming fall/winter collection.

For Women Only's owner, Vicki Tompkins, stands with a rack of Preloved merchandise during a special event on April 11 that featured designer Julia Grieve, who was visiting Yellowknife for the first time. - Karen K. Ho/NNSL photo

"It's wasn't designed for Yellowknife," she said with a big smile, "But it's perfect for Yellowknife."

The founder and CEO of Toronto-based Preloved was here for a special in-store event this past weekend, hand-selling spring items and showing off new samples of her well-known line of clothing, made with fabric from vintage clothes selected from rag shops.

The presence of the former model and self-described "accidental environmentalist" was the result of an invitation from FWO's owner Vicki Tompkins, who had been seeing Grieve at industry shows in Las Vegas and Vancouver for years.

After 12 years of a strong business relationship in Yellowknife and 20 years since starting the company, Grieve finally booked a stop to the city during her spring tour. She said she was pleasantly surprised right away and soon realized details of her winter items, such as the use of polar fleece, no-itch sweaters and lined leggings, would be perfect for the city's notoriously cold winters.

Despite booking huge corporate clients like Roots, The Bay and Anthropologie, Grieve also said her relationship with smaller, independent stores like For Women Only remained key to the long-term success of her business. "I sell more here than in a shop in New York," she said. "It's the personal touch that you get from small retailers that really connect to the community."

"People who move here are pleasantly surprised we carry them," Tompkins added. She explained that Preloved items were always consistent sellers due to the enduring appeal of the company's story of also being Canadian-designed and Canadian-manufactured. Preloved's recent switch to a mix of old, new and deadstock fabric has also helped lower price points and ensure more consistency, helping broaden its customer base.

After a Friday night dinner at Bullock's Bistro and a morning run on the ice road, Grieve was at the Franklin Ave store on Saturday with a rack of Preloved items, including its signature Miss Elly made from the fabric of five wool sweaters.

Not everything made it to the shop on time. Despite paying extra for rush delivery, Grieve suffered the classic Yellowknife experience of a Canada Post delay. She implored store shoppers to come back to check out Preloved's spring feature item: a comfy relaxed top with shoulders accented with bright fabric cut from vintage men's Hawaiian shirts.

Grieve's many retailers, both small and large, are also realizing the true cost of offering "free shipping."

"The online shopper is very flippant," she said, citing a recent conversation with her own accounting team, resulting in a switch to small gifts with purchase instead. "Stores can't deal with all the returns and extra costs that come with sending so many things out."

Tompkins added that with this change, the prices she offers are pretty much the same as many online fashion retailers and customers are offered surprised that she carries labels like Preloved.

On Saturday, most of FWO's sales team had shown up to see the items and help customers, including Tompkin's stepdaughter, Julie Jones, and Yellowknife's deputy mayor, Linda Bussey. Orders for the new collection were quickly collected on a small index card by Tompkins, who was sporting a spring version of Preloved's Joan sweater dress. Surrounded by clients, Grieve was already imagining her return.

"I love it here," she gushed. "I'm dying to come back, especially in the summertime."

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