Close Up With T-Joue
By: Alysia Song
Amongst the vast array of boutiques and fashion brands, another one takes placing in the retail industry in KL. Aimed at young working women who don’t want to dress too seriously within the stiff corporate world, T-joue has created a line of clothing to suit this purpose.
I met up for a quick chat and fashion consultation with T-joue’s Fashion Director, June, and Operations Executive, Mei Ying. During the consultation, June looked at my body shape and selected several items for me to try.
Admittedly, my first thought was, “These clothes are so not for me.” But that all changed when I saw what June had magically pulled up from the racks.
I love the material they used for this top. It felt absolutely gorgeous on the skin and draped beautifully.
I was seriously impressed with how perfectly this dress fit me.
If you thought you didn’t have cleavage, you should try this tunic on.
TIC: How did T-joue come to life?
Mei Ying: Well, we actually started off as a trading company under Hadrons Capital. Then we ventured into our own designs so now, we’re going towards a fashion brand direction.
TIC: What is the meaning of T-joue?
Mei Ying: ‘Joue’ comes from the word ‘jouer’. It’s a French word which means ‘to play’. And the T, we take it from the word ‘trendy’. So it means trendy and playful. The name is actually coined from a French word.
TIC: What three words would you use to describe your brand?
June: Simple. Elegant. Classic.
TIC: Describe the woman you are targeting.
June: Young professional women. Our target age group is 25 to 35-year-olds. We have a lot of young consultants, marketing executives and lawyers buying our clothes. Basically, young professionals.
TIC: Do you design the clothes yourselves? Where are they made?
June: Yes, we have a team of designers. Our fabrics are mostly sourced from China, and made in China as well. The bags are actually bought from trade shows but we are looking at designing our own bags for our new collections soon.
TIC: Where do you get your inspiration?
June: Everywhere, from movies to magazines or even while daydreaming. I also travel a lot and meet a lot of new people and by talking to them, I get some ideas.
TIC: Can you tell us a bit about the design process you go through to create your collections?
June: I come up with a theme and discuss it with my team members. I’ll tell them what we should have in this season, what materials to use and what the season colours are. So, we work as a team to come up with the whole collection.
TIC: Aside from just selling clothes, you also offer a personal consulting service. Tell us more about this.
June: We actually started it when we got a few calls from customers telling us that they have problems mixing and matching in our shop. That is why we started the free consultation for our members. We started it for our members, but we have opened it up for all our customers. We send out emails to our members, our members tell their friends, and they’ll bring their friends in for a fashion consultation.
TIC: What were you doing before this? Have you always been in the fashion industry?
June: Yes, I’ve been in the fashion line for ten years. I started out as a merchandiser, then I worked in an export factory which manufactured brands like J. Crew, Ann Taylor, Calvin Klein and Liz Claiborne. This is where I got my experience in quality control.
I then joined British India and worked there for about two years. After that, I took a job in marketing taking orders from Jusco, Diesel, etc., and we manufactured them in China. That is how I got into the China market.
So, when I came into T-joue, I had the advantage of knowing each field – from factory to retail to marketing. Having covered all these important areas, it was easy for me to create the brand for T-joue.
Bring some colour into your work environment.
Bold zebra printed clutches are sure to add an edge to your outfit.
Simple, functional without compromising the stylish factor.
I absolutely adored these clutches. Perfect for after-work drinks.
Colourful accessories to spice up your outfits (and possibly conversation in the office).
Killer heels make a killer outfit.
T-joue has just launched their online store on the 8th of September, so dressing for work is now just a click away.
Stores are located at:
Mid Valley Megamall
F-085 1st Floor
Mid Valley City
Lingkaran Syed Putra
59 200 Kuala Lumpur
Bangsar Village II
Lot 1F-1D Level 1
No. 2 Jalan Telawi 1
Bangsar Baru
59 100 Kuala Lumpur
Sunway Pyramid
Lot LG 1.116
46 150 Petaling Jaya
Selangor
(Note: T-Joue have closed their Sunway Pyramid outlet)
