Q&A with Lee!
Get to know our amazing, Lee!!
1. Tell us a little bit about yourself!
I am a wife and mother to two wonderful teenage children. I love fashion, fitness, my friends and my family. I love challenges and keeping very busy. You will often find me multi tasking between many different projects.
2. How long have you worked at Denise?
I joined the Denise family over 25 years ago in the mid 1990’s. Denise was opening our third location in the Toronto Eaton Centre. I had previously spent years managing a few different locations for a few different companies. I worked with Fairweather and Dalmy’s and finally Winner’s. I lived downtown so joining Denise and managing the Eaton Centre location was a perfect fit at that time.
3. What do you do at Denise?
The real question is what don’t I do at Denise (Lol). Our Denise team consists of a few very talented at what they do, which helps make my job that much easier. We really don’t have titles as we prefer to work as a team, however I am responsible for overseeing the entire company operations. One of my biggest responsibilities for the past 15 years is picking out all the amazing pieces that we sell in our boutique. I am responsible for all the items we carry from our premium brands, like Paige, Velvet, Rails Etc. I spend most of my day working on the floor meeting our clients, getting to know them to help ensure that I am bringing in the correct product that will suit their lifestyle.
Lee with the Designer and Owner of Paige Denim.
4. What are some of your favourite brands at the store?
My favourite brands that we carry at the moment would be Paige, Velvet and Gentle Fawn. All of these brands fit extremely well and use amazing fabrics. Clothing should make you feel good and these items from these brands make me happy.
5. What trends are you excited for this upcoming season or year?
I am excited that denim is starting to expand from the classic skinny jean. The fact that I was able to get a jean on my legs that had the word skinny in it was a miracle. I am looking forward to a more authentic denim fabric and I am loving the straighter wider bottoms.
6. What are some trends you could live without?
Something I’ve noticed a number of suppliers trying to push is bike shorts. Truthfully I’m not sure I get it. Bike shorts look great in the gym but I’m not convinced that this look is going to translate to our fashion.
7. What are some of your favourite pieces in the store?
I am loving the romper trend. If you see me in the store you most likely see me wearing a Smash and Tess romper (I own five lol). They are the most comfortable outfit ever and I am going to continue wearing them to work for as long as I possibly can.
8. What do you do when you're not at the store?
When I am not at the store you will most likely find me at the gym or yoga studio. I am a certified fitness instructor and personal trainer. For the past 15 years I’ve been instructing about twenty classes a week. After a full day at Denise I then head over the gym and teach 2 or 3 classes almost every night. The ladies in my evening classes just love saving the shipping costs as I can bring their orders direct to them...(win/win).
(Lee is also a big Young & the Restless fan! Also she is wearing our Rails Lola Wrap Dress from Holiday 2018 season!)
9. What are some of your closet staples?
My classic go to items would be my Paige jeans. They have a perfect fit and help place everything exactly where it should be. I also have a few classic jersey wrap dresses that will never leave my closet.
10. What are some trends you wished you never tried?
I still have nightmares of shoulder pads and stirrup pants.... I'm finding it hard to forget this haha.
We hope you loved getting to know Lee!
-- The Girls at Denise xoxo
