NIAGARA FALLS — 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 has a variety of casual and formal clothing for every occasion. 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 was always interested in fashion and wanted to become a buyer for major brands. She started retail work in high school. Her Fashion Outlet experiences include Charlotte Russe, Calvin Klein and Burlington Shoes Encore. Harris was also a worker at Charlotte Russe, and other mall-based stores while 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 managed her business part-time for seven years while she worked a full time job. To be with her little girl, Crumpler made this her full-time work during the COVID-19 crisis. Harris had been doing her’s for a year.
Two years ago they began to talk about the possibility of combining their business and opening their own storefront. Both were successful but had difficulty with deliveries and having customers come to their houses for pick-ups. It was also difficult to allow people to fit the clothing on their bodies before purchasing.
“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.”
They initially wanted one near their home in Niagara Falls, but they decided to get one at Fashion Outlets. The COVID-19 pandemic, personal and community issues, as well as the availability of a few spaces at Fashion Outlets, made it difficult to make the decision. They decided that it was this year, earlier in the year.
Alpha Femme’s opening on October 16th has seen business slowing down during the week and increasing on weekends. But Crumpler, Harris are working hard to increase their visibility. 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. Crumpler understood that they had to deal with the challenge of competition. However, their products are very different from other retailers.
“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.”
They only had two months to move in and put together their inventory. Once they are settled, the two will be reworking and reorganizing the layout. Crumpler hopes to see them host fashion shows and shoots when they are known more widely.
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.
Alpha Femme, a small business Saturday vendor, will offer coupon cards for the 40 first customers to come in today or Sunday. Also, there’ll be raffle prizes and other giveaways.