Four times a year, Liz Parkinson turns the living room of her Cow Hollow home into a cheery boutique for the latest shipment of Etcetera, a 10-year-old apparel company. This week, she’s showing the spring line, a colorful all-American tailored, feminine sportswear collection with a retro bent – think Tory Burch meets Michael Kors.
With consumers fleeing the upscale department stores, direct-sale companies like Etcetera hope that a growing number of shoppers with comfortable incomes will turn to private trunk shows instead, where the ambience is cozy, the choices aren’t overwhelming, the service personal and the prices less shocking than at the mall.
Etcetera’s pieces are in the $200 to $400 range, and they appeal to clients like Ana Dierkhising, a 40-year-old San Francisco real estate agent, size 10, who likes the convenience, the down-to-earth selections and the variety. “I have to wear black pants two or three days a week, and need a great jacket or top to go with them; I always find something.”
At 1 p.m. on a recent Saturday, Parkinson welcomed a few other favorite clients to preview the spring line. Joan Merryman, 47, an interior designer and veteran Etcetera shopper, a tall, thin, model-size 2, heads right for an ivory embroidered jacket and a tiger-print miniskirt. Merryman uses a personal shopper at Saks, she says, “but the bulk of my wardrobe comes from Etcetera. Liz has a great selection, she knows my taste, and you can return everything for a full refund whenever you want.”
Logo from Etcetera