Local Fashion: Retailers Restyle Themselves In the Midst of COVID

Tiffany Colaizzi opened Namedroppers, a second hand high fashion store, 25 years ago. She has weathered up and down economies, the fantastical vagaries of the style business and the uncertainties of retail staffing and demand. But COVID-19 knocked her for a loop.

“I almost had to close our second location,” she says. Lots of retail businesses have shuttered during the COVID; at one of the pandemic’s early peaks, doors everywhere closed and there was no business at all.

So Colaizzi got creative. “During the COVID closure, we had to switch our whole presence,” she says. “I learned to focus online, not just the online store but on social media. While we were closed, we filmed inventory, showing a walk-through of different outfits. We did personal shopping Zoom calls with clients to show them different items and let them pick things up curbside. We started picking up inventory from clients who didn’t feel safe coming into the store but still wanted to sell things. It’s been great to be able to help generate income for people who are out of work and need money.”

Demands definitely changed, says Colaizzi—people who used to want fabulous gowns for special occasions are more likely to want Lululemon leggings. But her business has changed also. “One TikTok video has had 350,000 views,” she said. “It saved our second store.” By growing outreach, Namedroppers expanded.