Retta Tussey opens the door to her office and showroom looking every bit the part of her new fashion label, Retta Jane. (Her mother and grandmother also share the name.) Dressed in a white pleated mini-dress and tweed blazer, she exudes the style and sophistication of her new tween brand. “This dress is in our Spring 2023 collection,” says the 44-year-old entrepreneur. “A lot of my inspiration comes from the vintage pieces in my closet that have been passed down from my grandmother. She had a tennis dress that looked almost exactly like this.”
Tussey is on a mission to provide sophisticated, age-appropriate garments for girls ages 8–16, and her vision is laser-focused. Her classic take on American sportswear includes smocked dresses, tweed skorts, and pleated-collar blouses. You won’t find anything like her designs, including their higher-than-average price point, at big-box retailers. “We had to lean one way or the other, and we chose this route,” she says. “The idea is to be luxurious and well-made. We want these clothes to be handed down, not thrown away.” Tussey recently talked about her new collection and the challenges of dressing a tween.
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Do you have a background in fashion design? I studied interior architecture at Miami University and dipped my toes in the fashion world, with stints at Betsey Johnson and Tommy Hilfiger in New York. I had a job lined up in Tommy Hilfiger’s home department when I graduated from college, but then 9/11 hit, and suddenly no one was hiring anymore. So I moved home to St. Louis and started my own stationery company, followed by my own interior design business. Both businesses were successful, and I enjoyed the work, but I knew those fields weren’t for me in the long run. I missed the product and working in fashion.
Why did you start Retta Jane? My father-in-law passed away in 2016, and I told my husband I would get clothes for my 11-year-old stepdaughter to wear to the funeral. I came back from shopping and was really defeated—everything had glitter or sequins or was too tight and too short. The comment that came out of my mouth after that experience was, “Why isn’t someone making classic, sophisticated, age-appropriate garments for girls?” Tom, my husband, said, “Well, why don’t you?” That conversation planted the seed. It took a while to get to where we are today.
Who is the Retta Jane customer? We make classic American sportswear for girls ages 8–16. She is not cute, not sexy, but sophisticated. “Sophisticated” is not a word to shy away from with young women. Just as the power suit is to business professionals, anyone can put on something that is constructed well and made of good quality materials, and it can change their attitude.
Why is dressing this age particularly difficult? This is such a trying time in their lives. They don’t want to dress like a kindergartener but are not mature enough to dress like an adult. These girls are a real sweet spot in the market that no one is addressing. What makes us unique is that we’re designing clothes specifically for girls—they’re not an afterthought. We’re not just sizing down a dress designed for an adult. We ask ourselves, “How do they wear garments? How will they grow?” Comfort is of the utmost importance. Elastic is used in waistbands, we use smocking—whatever we can do to help our clothing grow along with the girl.
What inspires your designs? Fashion is the underlying thread in my life. Clothes were a language in our house. My mother and grandmother were both models, and a third of my current wardrobe is vintage, handed down from them. Retta Jane is a nod to these past generations. I love vintage pieces because they’re chic and cool and very well-made—this is the idea behind Retta Jane. We focus on classic dressing and timeless silhouettes with impeccable construction. Our Fritz dress, for example, is modeled after a dress that my grandmother wore in the ’50s. It has a double zipper, smocked waist, and has matching cropped pants. The dress can be worn alone, with the pants underneath, or even as a coat.
What is it like starting a fashion label in St. Louis? There is an incredible wealth of resources and a network of very knowledgeable people in this town. When I was first starting out, Audra Noyes of the label Audra was an immense help and brand consultant. I was a part of the St. Louis Fashion Fund’s residency program in 2019. They exposed me to a community of like-minded people in St. Louis—there really is a plethora of designers trying to make a name for themselves and St. Louis. And for fall, we’re producing knitwear locally with Evolution St. Louis, the knitting manufacturer on Washington Avenue.
Where do you design and manufacture your line? I have an amazing team of people who help me. They’re in St. Louis, New York, and in China. Our inventory manager, operations manager, and technical designer all work out of New York and work closely with our factory in Shenzhen. Our garments are produced in Hong Kong and Shenzhen. Our main factory is female owned—a young 30-something entrepreneur. She has been a gift because she is so knowledgeable. She and I will meet every few months in New York… Here in St. Louis, we have a showroom and offices where I work alongside our sales, buying, and bookkeeping team.
Where is Retta Jane sold? Right now, it’s sold on our website, through our catalog, and at trunk shows. We’re having early introductory conversations with larger retailers, but that is still a work in progress.
Learn more about Retta Jane on the House of Lou podcast.
