Get Nasty

Sophia Amoruso turned her hobby of selling vintage clothing on eBay into the $130-million Los Angeles-based Nasty Gal brand. Amoruso founded Nasty gal in 2006 at the age of 22, and now the 30-year old founder – this week she rocked the fashion world by stepping down as CEO- has her first brick-and-mortar which opened in November on Melrose Ave., strategically situated across the street from Fred Segal. What was solely an e-commerce site for vintage-inspired fashion, and the talk of the young fashion world- a shrine to the 20-something set- the LA startup opened its 3,500 square-foot store where about 30 percent of the merchandise is Nasty Gal, 5 to 10 percent vintage at prices $1,000 and up, and the rest are brands that the company also sells online, such as Three Floor, Discount Trash, Cameo, Eugenia Kim, and Shakwhachi.

Whether a teenager is looking for a skirt or top for less than $100, or a thirty-ish girl is splurging on a vintage gold lame Yves Saint Laurent jacket, Nasty Gal has it. The store offers dressing rooms with two-way mirrors, and a high-touch feature for a customer used to high-tech shopping- sales associates have iPads for mobile POS. You can also find tech accessories, magazines and books, as well as a back building/shoe salon. Amoruso works on concepts and trends, along with her 12-person design team in downtown LA, all the while planning for more shops in LA and in other cities- a second location on Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade is slated for this year. But what’s really impressive is Amoruso’s book #GirlBoss, her smash hit business manifesto that was published last May, documenting her journey from shoplifting teen to fashion mogul. She recently started a foundation for female entrepreneurs who may want to get nasty…just like her.  www.nastygal.com