We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ally Wieland a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Ally thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

Understanding your customer.

You absolutely cannot be successful without having a very specific target audience and be able to define what they need or want. In my case, I looked at my age bracket in my city and the lack of affordable, quality clothing items. I saw a common thread, it was either a large brand (fast fashion types) or small boutiques that did have a high quality with an even higher price tag. The thirty/ forty something year olds didn’t have anywhere to shop, and it was common knowledge. While the millennial invented online shopping, we also thrive on nostalgia and (what we once lived for: mall life) the in-person shopping has gone so dormant that it is actually having a comeback, IMO

I understood that my customer wanted a place to shop in-person, with quality items without paying a car payment for a sweater or pair of jeans. Beyond that, I understood that my customer wants easy pieces – like you wear it to death and your cost per wear is in pennies, type.

Geographically, my town of Pacific Grove/Monterey is a ~wild~ climate because it is a constant 62-65 degrees year round – no seasons – minus a week or two in September when ‘local’s summer’ rolls around. Why does that matter? Because spring (in the fashion world) = dresses in February. We are in thick fog in February, no one is going to buy a dress when they can’t see their driveway.

Combine easy, quality items, with not wanting to look like everyone else, and oh yea… as locally made as possible? Easy, right? Hardly, but, once I defined exactly what my customers wanted, I deliver just that. Guessing costs you money, time, energy, and customers. Learn your customer.

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 Ally Wieland, and I’m the owner of The Vague Collection, a woman’s clothing studio located in Pacific Grove, California. 

Three years ago my husband and I packed up our lives and drove across the country from Atlanta, with our three large pups to move to the Monterey area. After only one visit, we knew it was our forever home. There is something very special about this place and we are honored to call it home.

My fashion background started in 2011 when I worked for a boutique located in Atlanta. I started off as a stylist and quickly worked my way to the top in sales. My love for visual merchandising, helping my owner with buying, and the overall operations of a retail store, specifically apparel, grew from there. Foundationally, I was born in retail from a mother who has nearly 40+ years in owning her own lighting and home good stores. After several years of styling, I figured it was time to get a “big girl job” and made a transition to marketing, and more specifically automotive marketing. I’ve sent the last 10 years working for agencies and their automotive dealership clients for their marketing campaigns. When we moved to Monterey, I knew that this would be the place where I finally opened the retail store of my dreams, a dream that I had left on the shelf so many years ago.

Pacific Grove is known as America’s last small town, and with that comes a love for small businesses and supporting local. I knew that the community would be up for another woman owned small business, but more specifically I wanted to go after a market that was very untapped. Pacific Grove is known to have an older resident base, but in recent years that has quickly shifted to the millennials moving down from the Bay post-Covid. There were very limited places for that audience, I knew that it was time to open my store.

My passions collide between providing quality basics at affordable prices with providing a few special pieces that could be worn year-round. Our climate allows for such, in that it’s a constant 62°, so anything that I brought into the store I really wanted it to be able to be worn year-round. There’s a sustainability piece to all of that and I want girls to re-wear their pieces and not just hang it in their closet for that one-time event. I wanted to be the place that was your go to for a great sweater, the pair of jeans you’re gonna pick up a million times, and locally well-made accessories to polish off any look. I pride myself in housing up to a dozen other local women owned small businesses, as made in California pieces, brands, or sustainably made pieces as possible. Styles are ordered in very limited quantities, allowing for new pieces weekly.

How did you build your audience on social media?

From day, one I wanted to be truly authentic. I wanted my customers to see that in my daily life, I am not accessorized from head to toe. I wanted my customer to see that the reality is, sometimes a great pair of jeans and a T-shirt is really what I wear. I wanted to connect with them and make them feel a part of this community by providing updates as we were creating our studio. Past opening, I’ve made it a goal and at the forefront of all of my content to be focused around the community and those that support us. That includes collaborations with other women in small businesses, highlighting customers that come into the studio, collaborations with different businesses that are even outside of apparel, all of that to really bring together a community.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Without question, the power of social media is real. Trying to avoid it is just hindering your growth.

I put all of my energy in my social media, which is Instagram. I think it’s very important to stay in front of your customers and constantly explaining to them hey this is how you and I are the same, hey this is what’s new, hey this is why you should pop in because we’re hosting an event, things that keep them connected. You can see these posts are being shared with others. Referrals is the best source of new clients which typically stems from social media. It is my number one priority that every single customer that comes into the store, whether they buy something or not, leaves comfortable. Because I also know that the word-of-mouth, especially in a small town, will make or break you.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thevaguecollection.com
• Instagram: thevaguecollection
• Yelp: The Vague Collection