shopping
The Virtual Boutique
No bricks and mortar necessary at Audrey Lowe’s Audrey and Elle
E
ver since Audrey Lowe
was a kid growing up
in Jersey City, she knew
the fashion world was
the place for her. After
attending fashion school
in Philadelphia, Lowe moved to New
York City, where she worked her way
up from being an assistant designer
to creating designs of her own.
After 15 years in the industry,
however, things began to become
“tumultuous.” She experienced lay-
offs and multiple job changes, and
decided it was time to try a lifelong
dream: running her own online
clothing store.
“I wasn’t happy and wasn’t grow-
ing as a professional,” says Lowe
about her later years working in
the industry in New York.
Lowe launched, Audrey and
Elle — AudreyandElle.com — in
October 2019. Starting a small
business has its array of challenges;
for her, one of the most difficult ones
has been trying to build a following
of customers on her website.
“Gaining the trust of followers
online is a little challenging compared
to when you're running a bricks and
mortar store,” says Lowe. “There,
they can look, touch, feel the
clothing, but online they have
to rely on photos and reviews.”
Lowe says she looks through
thousands of different clothing
brands to decide what would be
the best looks for Audrey and Elle,
making sure she finds items that will
appeal to “contemporary women” to
create “looks from casual to cocktail.
“I want her to find a piece
that she’ll wear over and over
again,” says Lowe.
20
SPRING 2020 MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE
FASHION FOR A BETTER FUTURE
Audrey Lowe donates a portion of her prof-
its to groups that combat human trafficking,
including the Child Rescue Coalition.
Realizing that sometimes custom-
ers want to look at clothing in
person, Lowe will occasionally host
pop-up stores in Montclair; this
gets the word out about her store
and lets customers try the clothing
on. She believes Montclair is a
wonderful community and is happy
she fell in love with the township
after moving there eight years ago.
“I love the arts vibe,” says Lowe.
“I decided this was the place where
I wanted to plant my roots for a
while.”
Since she’s opened her online
business, Lowe has also met with
other women who own small
businesses in the area, and she
believes that surrounding herself
with like-minded women has allowed
her to grow personally. “I believe
in community over competition,”
she says.
She also wanted to make sure that
her clothing helps those in need;
a portion of her sales goes to
organizations and charities that fight
human trafficking, such as the Child
Rescue Coalition. “It’s a pandem-
ic,” says Lowe. “I felt that I couldn’t
do enough. I wanted to have a bigger
personal impact. I thought I could do
that if we donate a portion of sales. It
would help awareness of the situation
locally, and hopefully globally.”
Looking to the future, Lowe is
planning to offer “Boutique
Parties,” where she will bring her
wares to North Jersey customers
so friends and families can shop at
their own convenience in their own
homes. “It’s another great way
to get to know my customers
and build relationships in my
community,” she says. ■
WRITTEN BY STEPHANIE NODA