Cheap chic

When they opened a clothing consignment store in St. Elmo last May, Sondra Aten, 25, and Travis Aten, 27, were jumping head first into untested waters.

Although neither had any experience in business or clothing retail, they’ve turned their store, Collective Clothing, into something of a neighborhood hot spot. Basing their operation on Rag-O-Rama, a similar thrift store in St. Louis, the Atens now carry a bevy of hard-to-find fashions, vintage and current, and offer up gallery and stage space for local bands and artists.

CP: When did you open Collective Clothing?

SA: May 31, 2009 was our first day open. We took about a month to get it ready. We based the idea off a similar store - there's one in Atlanta - in St. Louis called Rag-O-Rama. We really liked what they were doing and decided that Chattanooga needed something like that. We had been collecting clothes for five years and decided it was time we find a place in St. Elmo. We love the community there. We live in St. Elmo as well. We put a month into putting it together. Since then, we've just grown so much, inventory wise and as business owners.

CP: So you had the idea to open a store five years ago when you started collecting clothes?

SA: Yeah. I knew I wanted to start a store. A couple of times, I gave up. We'd go to Rag-O-Rama - they do trade, too - and we'd trade for clothes. After giving up a few times, we decided to go for it.

CP: What do you mean “give up”? You tried to open the store and it failed?

SA: No, we haven't tried before. But we didn't have the guts to do it. (Laughs.)

TA: We probably got rid of a lot of our inventory, just went ahead and sold it to place that bought it or just threw it in the dump. (Laughs.)

CP: Why did you decide to go through with it?

SA: It's nerve-wracking to start your own business. You have thoughts like, “Am I good enough? Can I do this? Do I need a degree in business?” That's what kept deterring me. I never had in background in business. I only ever had really one real job, and that was at GreenLife, and they don't sell clothes. I had no experience working in a clothing store, and neither does (Travis). We're still learning. We're not the best at making displays or making the store look awesome, but we do a good job of finding what people really want or that they'll think is unique.

CP: What's the most important thing you've learned about running the store and what Chattanooga likes?

TA: Work can be fun. It can be something you don't dread going to every day. It's been a real blessing to get to do something we genuinely enjoy doing, and we don't have to make a lot of sacrifices with our family. We can still spend time with our daughter. She's with us every day.

CP: Why settle in St. Elmo?

SA: We took the first opportunity we came across, which was in St. Elmo, but I love St. Elmo more and more, the longer we're there. Our plan is to stay in St. Elmo. We love North Shore, too, and there's nothing wrong with any other parts of town, but this is where we're at now. If we grow and can open other locations, North Shore might be on our list of places to check into. It's really about availability and price. We found a good deal where we are.

CP: What are your thoughts about St. Elmo, as a neighborhood?

SA: I think it's awesome. It's diverse. It has lots of character. It's historical and it's new. There are aspects of everything in St. Elmo. It's bike- and family friendly. It's close to a lot of attractions, so we get tourists and regulars. It's not too busy. Really, people are used to staying in one area of town, which helps us simulate what people want to see. We'll do live music at our store or do cross-promotion events. We'll say something like, “OK, have an after party at our shop, and we'll give everyone 10 percent off.” It's spurred us creatively, like, “How can we get the community involved in what we're doing?” We also have gallery space on the wall.

CP: What about clothing appeals to you?

SA: I guess that it transcends time. The lucky thing about our culture today is that we don't get to enjoy what people are designing now, but we get to enjoy what is still around from decades before. We get to see things from the '20s, if we're lucky, and more currently, from the '70s and '80s. It's like you're witnessing a time capsule … and dressing yourself in it. You can mix different eras and take all these looks and make them whatever you want. I really like that about clothing. I like that someone put so much thought and design into it. Things in the past were just made so much better.

TA: I just think it's more fun to go out on the hunt looking for things. It's always fun to try to find something funnier or cooler or rarer than what you've found before. It's just something fun to do.

CP: Have you had to develop an eye for it?

SA: Yeah, and sometimes, we're right on, and other times, we're like, “Why did that person want that particular item?” and we're confused. (Laughs.) It just depends. You don't always know what everyone is looking for - we don't appeal to every person - but to the people who come back and return, it's easy for me to be their stylist and help them develop their look.

CP: How do you acquire your items?

SA: It's pretty even. Some of it is stuff from people in the community or who know what we do bringing stuff in for trade. Then, there's the stuff we find ourselves that comes from thrift stores and estate sales. We get some stuff on eBay. The other third is from a buyer we have in the Midwest who goes out and finds stuff for us.

CP: What do you look for in something resellable?

SA: If you come in the store, you definitely get a sense of what we like. I'm in love with owls, so I look for anything with owls. Also, I like fun jewelry. (Travis) is into western shirts, cowboy boots, Texas ties, that sort of thing. We carry a wide range of things.

CP: What items are selling well at the moment?

TA: It's different months to month, but usually t-shirts do well.

SA: Summer dresses. People love rompers, which are shorts that turn into a tank top. We have some really cool American Apparel underwear in bright colors for men. Those are cool.

CP: What are some items you know will always sell well?

TA: The band shirts.

SA: Jewelry. People love jewelry. It can be flashy stuff that's more costumey, some classic stuff, and we have a lot of locally hand-made jewelry. I like to support the locally made things.

CP: Are you ever surprised by what people bring in?

SA: Sometimes. (Laughs.) One time, I was surprised in a very good way. A lady brought in all-original, Bohemian-style clothing from the late '60s and early '70s. It was in perfect condition. It was awesome. Then, you know, you get your fair share of people brining in stuff you don't want, and it's hard to say, “No.”

CP: Do you tell people what something is worth, if it's potentially pretty valuable?

SA: It's weird because things definitely have their worth, but because of our location and the demand for things, we can't always price things for what they're worth. People come in and they know they'll be getting a good deal on it. When people are selling to us, I tell them that pretty much straightforward that we're not like a vintage store in Atlanta that can sell something for $90. They're usually really cool because they want to support what we're doing, since we're locally owned and operated. They just like what they're doing and it's time for them to let the piece go. Part of what we're doing is a kind of cleansing when people let things go. Not only letting it go, but knowing that it will go to someone who really appreciates it.

TA: It seems like most of the time, what happens is the reverse of that. We find something, and we don't know what it's worth until it goes out the door. A couple months later, it's like, “Oops.”

SA: That's another thing. We're not as researched as some places. If you go to Atlanta, they know exactly where everything came from and what it's worth. We're still learning.

CP: How do develop that sense for pricing items that are decades old, in some cases?

SA: I wish there were some kind of manual. I'm sure there are some buying guides out there. We don't have the resources right now. We do a lot of Google searching and eBay searching. I would love to learn, though.

CP: What would you say is the greatest challenge of running Collective Clothing?

SA: Trying to appeal to the masses. I think people can find value in what we have if they open themselves up to what we are and want to reminisce. For a lot of people, it's hard to figure out what we can bring in for them. We want to appeal to everyone, but sometimes, it's hard to know exactly how we can broaden our inventory to make it a place where everyone can find something they like.

CP: Are you ever tempted to take things home instead of putting them out?

SA: Yeah, but I'm a lot better at not taking things than I thought I would be. Clothes are all about if they fit you, not just if you like them. A lot of thing unfortunately don't fit me, but if everything fit me, I would probably keep half the store. (Laughs.)