Tweenage Dream

Sally Miller reigns supreme with fashion-forward and always-chic tween styles.

Who says hearing voices is always a bad thing? Just ask Sally Miller, creator and designer of her namesake tween apparel brand. “In November 2006, I woke up to a very quiet voice that said it was time to go out on my own,” she recalls. “It literally woke me up out of a dead sleep.” Miller, who at the time was recently divorced and living with her two tween daughters, answered the call. Within months, she was shipping out her first fall collection.

While starting a brand from scratch may not be that cut and dry for most, Miller’s previous experience in the tween market helped pave the way. She’s been designing pre-teen clothes for more than 20 years—starting first with Sister Sister in 1987—making her a pioneer in the industry. Since the launch of Sally Miller just four years ago, Miller has continued to see remarkable success. “My brand is trendy, sophisticated, fresh, modern and always age-appropriate,” says Miller, who emphasizes the last characteristic. “It’s one of the single most important things to me as a designer and a mom,” she explains. “I want the buyer feeling safe when she is purchasing my clothes.”

Not only is Miller’s line carried by big name retailers like Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue, as well as trendy boutiques like Fred Segal, she was also featured on The Today Show this past October, when she worked with New Jersey-based Gotham Clothing to showcase the hottest fall trends. But while she makes it look like a breeze, Miller is quick to warn that meeting the demands of the tween market is no easy feat. “You have to understand that girls are coming into this market when they’re 8 and they’re staying through their 12th year,” she states. “The biggest challenge is how you design something that both age groups will want to wear. It’s a very fine line of not being too young and not too old, and that comes with experience and intuition.”

For fall, Miller plans to show off more sportswear and fashion tops while experimenting more with textures and fabric mixing—trends she says have been passed down from the women’s market. Although her collection may be considered pricey, she says it’s value that really matters, noting that if a customer sees worth in an item, she’ll purchase it. “Some of my most expensive items have been my bestsellers.”

Looking to the future, Miller is eager to expand her Undercover collection—a line of intimates including non-wire bras and 3-pack hipster underwear—and introduce a young contemporary line, which will feature dresses skewed toward older girls. She was inspired to branch into bigger sizes, she notes, after observing the Obama children and Nickelodeon’s Big Time Rush characters sporting her styles. Not to mention, her own growing girls were clamoring for more options. Miller adds: “I even get moms in my store asking for my clothes in their size.” —Mary Avant