Niagara Falls women open Alpha Femme store in Fashion Outlets
Nov. 26—From out of their homes and into the Fashion Outlets of Niagara Falls, two city residents have opened a new store offering trendy clothing for women.
Alpha Femme offers all kinds of formal wear for events, dressy items for going out on the town, and casual wear for everyday use. Store owners Michaela Crumpler and Brionna Harris, both Niagara Falls natives, had previously both run businesses selling clothes out of their homes, Harris focusing on children's clothing and Crumpler on women' clothes.
Crumpler has always been interested in fashion, wanting to be a buyer for a major clothing brand and started working in retail in high school. Some Fashion Outlet stores she has worked at were Calvin Klein, Charlotte Russe, and Burlington Shoes Encore. Harris also worked at Charlotte Russe and other mall stores when she was younger.
"We were both into fashion, friends, and seeing what's new and trending on Instagram," Crumpler said. "Then we both kind of run into that issue where we find ourselves ordering most of our clothing for ourselves. So it was kind of like, if we're having that problem, I know that's a problem for other women as well."
Crumpler ran her home business for seven years on a part-time basis while working a full-time job. She made that her full-time job during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to stay at home with her daughter. Harris had been doing her's for a year.
About a year ago, the two started talking about combining their businesses and getting a storefront of their own, since while successful, they were both running into issues doing deliveries, having people come to their homes for pickups, and people not able to try the clothes on before buying.
"We post on our social media what we have and then it would be a pickup drop-off kind of thing instead of where you can try on, you can come in, and browse through things," Crumpler said. "So it wasn't really an ideal situation."
At first they wanted one in downtown Niagara Falls near where they live, but decided on getting a space at Fashion Outlets. With the COVID-19 pandemic still going through the community and other personal issues going on, along with viewing a few available spaces in the mall, it was not the right time. The right time, they decided, was earlier this year.
Since Alpha Femme opened on Oct. 16, business has been slow during the day and picking up on weekends, but more people are coming with Crumpler and Harris working to get their name out there. The two are working with the mall's marketing team on letting people know they are here.
Alpha Femme's location has it surrounded by Brooks Brothers, Ralph Lauren, Vera Bradley, and Clarks among other more well-established brands. While Crumpler knew they would deal with competition, the variety of different things they sell are a lot different from what other stores sell.
"I feel like as long as we keep that separate where we're having different things, I feel like we'll be okay," Crumpler said. "Even the girls from down at Windsor, they'll come in and look at our stuff."
The two of them only had a two month window to get moved in and set up their inventory, so once more settled they want to rework the design and layout. When their name is more out there, Crumpler sees them hosting fashion shows and photo shoots.
The name Alpha Femme came because Crumpler and Harris consider themselves dominant females and to them, that means someone who is confident, setting trends, reaching their goals, overcoming life's obstacles, and looking good while doing it.
"We just wanted something for the females that are confident, like to get dressed up, go out, have fun, and just look good," Crumpler said.
For Small Business Saturday, Alpha Femme will be offering coupon cards to the first 40 customers that come in today and Sunday, along with a basket raffle and other giveaways.
