WBLK Sable Series Sponsored by Hennessy: The ReStyle Loft

Hey, it's Yasmin Young and I'm teaming up with Hennessy to highlight black-owned businesses right here in Buffalo and Western New York as part of the Hennessy Sable Series.

This week, I talked with Courtney Hayes, the owner of The ReStyle Loft, a women's clothing store located here in Williamstown, NY, and online. They also do a Facebook Live sale every Thursday at 9 p.m.

Check out some of the conversation I had with Courtney here:

Yasmin: What exactly is The Restyle Loft?

We offer brand new boutique items from sizes small to 3XL, but we also offer what we like to call our ReStyle Collection, which are our gently used pieces. We make sure they don't have any holes, flaws or stains. They are just great items. Our goal is to make sure every woman can show up regardless of the price point.

Yasmin: How did you come up with this idea?

A couple years ago, I was at church and someone said to me, "You always look so great; I wish I could afford it." I always wanted to open a boutique. We just opened October 2020. We opened in the middle of the pandemic, which is insane, but it was a 20-year goal of mine. The ReStyle part of the boutique came when she said that. I'm like, "No, I need people to understand that you can look great regardless of price point. No matter what your budget is, you can always look great."

Yasmin: I love that. So for folks who might be cleaning out their closet and may have — I'm very guilty of this— new things that haven't been worn with the tags on them, can they come to you?

I actually work with a wholesale vendor right now. A lot of it comes from overstock, from department stores who have overstock or there's returns. But I do want to bring that aspect of items coming right in locally, so when we launch our spring collection in April, I will start to buy. We'll set up appointments because obviously, there is a pandemic. Right now, we're working on appointment only just to make sure everyone is safe. We will start setting up appointments in late March to start having people come in and sell their things to us. We also can do virtual appointments.

Yasmin: How can people shop The ReStyle Loft?

• Make an appointment to shop in the store showroom at 2821 Wehrle Dr., Suite 8A, Williamsville.
• Participate in social selling at 9 p.m. every Thursday at facebook.com/therestyleloft.
• Shop online at therestyleloft.com; selection updated every Friday.