Image by Maria DeForrest
Cashmere Gardens, a new(ish) luxury boutique in Lodge Rehoboth, is all about sustainability, with a concentration on capsule manner pieces.
When Justin Brown escaped to Lewes throughout the pandemic, he had no intention of forever leaving New York Town. His account executive situation at Eileen Fisher had concurrently turned worldwide and distant, allowing for him to deal with the manner brand’s luxurious sector abroad from the comfort of Delaware’s coastline. “I saw it as prospect to preserve money,” says Brown, “and to be near my sister for a whilst.”
Even though his sibling would quickly relocate to Florida, a fortuitous outing in downtown Rehoboth Seaside would give Brown purpose to place down roots on new soil.
1 working day although eating out with a buddy, Brown recognized the ground-floor space of Resort Rehoboth that had previously housed Cleo’s Boutique was vacant. “It was an OMG second,” he says. “Since my early days at Calvin Klein [Collection], I had usually required to have my possess store.”
It took only a little bit of cajoling to influence Brown to tactic the entrance desk with his plans. But to his reduction and dismay, the area experienced now been rented out. “I hadn’t even begun a business enterprise program and didn’t have financing,” he explains, “but it was a pivotal second.” The seed experienced been planted, and Brown commenced seeking in other places for retail room when putting his vision to paper. When he was ready, the “for rent” indication abruptly reemerged at the hotel. (The other arrangement had fallen by means of.) “It felt like destiny,” says Brown, who last September opened Cashmere Gardens, a “conscious luxurious boutique” specializing in timeless classics for females of all ages.
At Rehoboth Avenue’s Cashmere Gardens, owner Justin Brown thoughtfully curates items that are ethically developed and appeal to trendy girls of all ages./Picture by Maria DeForrest
The name is apropos of Brown’s cashmere obsession. (“I’m a little bit of a cashmere junkie,” he notes, even coining the time period “glounge wear” even though at Eileen Fisher.) The Gardens component pays homage to his late grandfather, a gardener, and how the fruits of his labor came in the sort of a present from Brown’s grandmother to aid him open the store. It also alludes to the business’s earthier facets, some thing Brown arrived to have an understanding of and prioritize in excess of the far better section of a decade with Fisher.
“Quality is normally at the forefront,” he asserts, “but sustainability is ideal driving it.”
For Brown, concentrating on capsule items that girls will dress in permanently (i.e., not toss immediately after a person time and then change with something new) is a form of sustainability alone. It also means partnering with factories that give a seem workplace and pay a livable wage, as very well as people that are mindful of chemical waste and the communities they impact.
He remembers a “joke” in China that a person can always predict the color of the season by looking at the colour of the river. “The fashion industry is the 3rd-most pollutive in the entire world,” Brown points out.
For the much more vogue-ahead, Cashmere Gardens also functions advanced “of the moment” types from both established and emerging brands you won’t locate wherever else, and its particularly keen on inventive collaborations. (See Australian manufacturer Alémais’ fourth assortment.) Supporting transform that stitches chic type with environmental responsibility is critical to Brown personally, and, as his boutique demonstrates with a superbly curated selection of apparel and add-ons, “It’s significantly less complicated to do when they are now so numerous high-stop makes that are ethically manufactured,” he claims.
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