Bird launches a line of summer dresses

Bird, the hip Brooklyn boutique, launched its very first line of summer dresses last Wednesday. While summer in New York's retail sector tends to actually slow down a bit due to all the shoppers heading off on vacation to areas like the Hamptons and tourist destinations like Miami, Bird has given those customers some options for that vacation wardrobe. The collection contains five dress silhouettes and uses twelve different fabrics.

The price points for the collection remain within Bird's usual contemporary points, with tunics and frocks ranging in price from 295 dollars to 345 dollars. What will help set Bird apart from their competitors is how late they launched their collection. The majority of Bird's competitors would have released their summer lines in April or May, Bird's collection arrives now in late June.

Brooklyn boutique bird launches line of summer dresses

Jen Mankins, the owner of the boutique, told fashionista.com that this was actually intentional. “I heard from my customers that come into the store in May and June and want sunglasses, not fur coats. We put out items that will resonate with customers at the time, so people aren’t buying [the dress line] six months in advance. It’s not how I see my customers budgeting or spending their money.”

The line is certainly something unique. It originated from one swatch of cloth and turned into 14 hip and original pieces. Mankins found a piece of Indian Madras fabric ten years ago and bought a stash of it out of pure adoration for the fabric, and never knew what to do with it. It certainly come in handy ten years later whens he reunited with Bird alumna Ali Landorf who helped her produce the city-friendly designs.

Mankins, who formerly worked as a buyer for Barneys New York and Steven Alan, bought Bird's original Park Slope location from the owners in 2004. Since then, the boutique has expanded to two other New York locations, including one in Williamsburg and one in Cobble Hill, in addition to launching their e-commerce site. They have certainly put their star on the map in Brooklyn, that's for sure.

While Bird is a growing brand, they have managed to stay true to their roots. The brand is still about their out-of-the-box feminine designs that are suited for an upper crust Park Slope mother, or a young traditionally chic fashion girl. Depending on how well this line does, Bird could be doing a lot more original collections in the future.