We were lucky to catch up with Adrienne Scott-Trask recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Adrienne, thanks for joining us today. So, let’s start with trends – what are some of the largest or more impactful trends you are seeing in the industry?

The biggest trend I am seeing is direct from China sales + amazon fashion is destroying the fashion industry and small business. It is gutting everything that makes fashion/clothing unique or special. It is going to crush the boutique end of the small business economy, take away jobs and anything unique and interesting and removes experience from shopping. It creates unrealistic expectations in the dollar value to clothing, making it seem like a dress for $20 is ethical or sustainable – which it isn’t. It removes the human experience on multiple levels because it forgets that a human has to make that dress for $20, which everyone wants to ignore the conditions that exist in order for that person to make a dress for that price. It is directly shipping all of our economies hard earned money directly overseas instead of creating and sustaining jobs here in America. Small businesses simply can’t keep up. People will stop shopping because they can get it online for “cheaper” because they think a store is trying to rip them off by charging what we do here. What they don’t realize is how many jobs they sustain by shopping small and local. I know it’s a cliche term – but one day we will all regret not keeping our money in this country and supporting our own. This is especially hard right now with the state of the economy and everyone feeling financially “pinched”. They don’t have the budget for clothing and when that happens, they will continue to go for cheaper options online as it’s all they have in their budget.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Adrienne and I am the founder of Electric Dream Boutique in Denver, CO. Fashion has been in my blood my entire life. I remember sketching outfit ideas when I was a kid of things I wanted or dreamt of having in my wardrobe. My entire background is in art, fashion and design. I went to OCAD for art fundamentals, have a BA in (fashion) Design from Ryerson University in Toronto (which is where I call home) and another certificate in retail buying. My journey in this field has been a lifetime in the making.
I ended up moving to Denver for my now ex-husband and started Electric Dream there. When I first moved to Denver 14 years ago, there wasn’t anything really cool or interesting fashion-wise. I personally was starved for good shopping and didn’t have anything calling to me for a little “retail therapy”. It was around this time people really started flocking to Denver and I saw the demand for people looking for more unique options. People were moving here from California, Texas, New York etc. from fashion centers and were used to more fashion-forward clothing and not just active wear for the mountains and adventuring.
I brought my own little personal Toronto flare and style to Denver. Lots of loud colors, patterns, textures and sequins. Clothing has always been my form of self expression and I wanted others to have the same fun experience with getting dressed. Fashion should be fun – and should also be comfortable and make you feel amazing. Confidence in yourself as you are is amazing and necessary….it’s also a great bonus when you like your outfit and it just elevates you so you walk a little taller and have an extra “je ne sais quoi” presence about you for the day.
Electric Dream boutique is exactly what business owners tell you not to do…shop for yourself and not your customer. But what I found over the years is that I am my customer. There are a ton of people out there just like me who didn’t feel seen in the fashion industry. Our slogan has been “for girly girls who drop f*bombs” – and I am just that. I love cute things and I love cuss words. So a lot of our vibes are female empowerment, bad b*tch, “pink power” energy. I was brought up without rules or restrictions for what it was to be “female”. I was always supported to be whatever I wanted to be and show up as myself and it has attracted many other “black sheep” who also love the color pink and given them space to feel seen.

Has your business ever had a near-death moment? Would you mind sharing the story?

I feel like our entire journey has been one close “almost death” experience. When I first launched our fashion truck nine years ago, within two weeks of launching the city of Denver put a block on all fashion trucks from acquiring “parking permits” that allowed us to actually park in spots around the downtown core and actually run our business. I spent five years battling the city for proper permitting just to be able to run our business. Through this time it was a lot of trial and error of where we could park and exist without getting kicked out or having our business license threatened. Nine years later, we still don’t actually have a proper permit with the city, I have just learned all the ins+outs of how to run the truck part of our business without the city messing with us.

202o was the next major one. It took me three years of working three jobs including the business when I first started to get to a point where I was ready to jump off from my other jobs and just run the business full-time and would actually be able to support myself financially. Within six months of making that transition, COVID happened and shut my business down completely. That entire time was stressful for everyone but navigating just relying on yourself full-time for income and trying to figure out how to run a fashion truck through that weird time was an experience I will never forget. It was amazing and about as stressful as you can imagine – with lots of tears and uncertainty of how to actually make it somehow we managed to not only survive but grow through that time. Weirdly enough – when businesses were allowed to open again, an outdoor, well-ventilated fashion truck was actually a perfect way to shop during this time where people could get some retail-therapy while also getting some much needed human-interaction.

We are now again facing probably one of the biggest challenges to date. For the past year we have been in a state of “one wrong step” and we might be totally done-for. As we battle the current state of the economy and how people continue to spend their money shopping online, I would say this last year has been the most gut-wrenching. We have grown from myself and a truck to myself, a truck, a storefront and employees who rely on us. Growth is amazing but it also comes with a lot of overhead to support while people continue to shift their spending to Amazon/Shein and aren’t spending like they used to because the cost of living has become so high. I can say with all honesty, watching this transition from people being outside and experiencing shopping in person and dining out to doing everything through their phones like living in an episode of “black mirror” where they never leave their house has been the most petrifying to see.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I think staying authentic to your brand and yourself through owning a business is essential.
I have been told multiple times they stay loyal and love us because of myself and the standard I set for our store.
I want your experience with us to be as amazing from start to finish.
I keep it simple; treat others as you would want to be treated.
I strive for human connection and not just empty sales and as a result I think our “vibe” has also attracted our “tribe”. We have great customers who we treat each other with mutual respect. I respect you and you respect our business and for the most-part it’s a pretty win-win situation.
There are always situations to learn and grow from to be a better person and a better business owner and even situations that haven’t been handled perfectly – they just become an opportunity for myself, my team and our business to do better next time.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.electricdreamboutique.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/electricdreamboutique/
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/ adriennescotttrask