After being unable to find jeans that fit, 15-year-old Andrea Lebelle turned to her friend and said, “Someone should open a store for real women!”
Someone did.
“I didn’t know it would be me,” she said with a chuckle.
Now, 20 years later, the business is the Flagstaff Jean Company and Labelle’s mission is to find jeans that fit everyone who walks through her doors, much to the delight of a growing number of women.
Anyone who has struggled in a dressing room knows that it takes countless tries finding jeans that fit. Actually, it’s one in 60.
Who has the time? Who has the tenacity or the self-esteem for that matter?
Labelle has a better idea. Shoppers should turn themselves over to the experts at the Flagstaff Jean Company. She said there are about 48 body types, the wearer’s weight, and eight zones that also need to be considered.
The hardest shapes to fit are the J-Los and Kim Kardashions of the world, whose waists are much smaller than their hips. But if either one of these ladies walk into her shop, she will likely walk out satisfied because, regardless of body type, Labelle offers a seamstress who does alternations.
“It really is a science,” she said. “The first year [in business] was funny because people were skeptical. Now, in year three, we have a reputation. People walk in and declare, ‘Find me a jean.’ They know now we are really doing that. We truly find a good fit.”
Labelle is no stranger to the difficulty of finding jeans that fit. She said she belonged to a new Mom’s club who all commiserated about their body issues.
“Men age gracefully and cherish body shapes as they age. For us, we are so hard on ourselves,” she said. “We try to look better and preserve ourselves longer.”
She said the industry is getting better, now recognizing there are so many body shapes, so it offers different styles and sizes, but Labelle takes it a step further. And she knows her stuff. Before opening the business, she enrolled in a fashion design program at Mesa Community College to learn all she could about her passion.
“There was a really good program that took us to Scottsdale for over a year. The instructors knew I was not there for a degree. I wanted to learn about textiles and how to make a jean from scratch,” she said.
And people who work for her undergo intensive training that lasts about six months.
The return rate is only two percent, as opposed to 20 to 35 percent of jeans purchased online.
Labelle says starting her new business mid-recession was precarious, but she had already been a business owner and knew how to raise the business like a child – from the beginnings to the toddler stage and on to adulthood. She has been in the insurance business for 17 years with her husband, Jim.
“I already knew the basics,” she said.
She acknowledged that if it had not been for the support and financial help from the insurance company, her new business might have failed. “Business is good now. We have roots in Flagstaff. People know what we do. Their friends are talking about it,” she said. “I feel like our reputation has come through. We give each customer the VIP treatment.”
Labelle is a native of Arizona, born in Phoenix. Her mom is a nurse and her dad is in sales. She attended Horizon High School, then onto college in Scottsdale and Paradise Valley, paying for each semester by working as a bartender at Bobby McGee’s in addition to working at an insurance company where she met her future husband.
The couple married 17 years ago and has two children, Jim and Matt, both born and raised in Flagstaff.
Besides jeans, the shop also offers tops, jewelry and complete outfits. FBN
The Flagstaff Jean Company is located at 319 S. Regent Street #203. For more information, call 928-226-7600 or visit www.flagstaffjeancompany.com