MASON CITY | When the Fashion Bug clothing store chain closed last year, Mason City store manager Stacey Wood was left without a job after 26 years with the company.
"I decided I wasn't going back to a corporate type of job, so I decided to do my own," she said.
Fashion Gemz clothing store opened Aug. 26 at 1915 Fourth St. S.W., Mason City, which is behind Jimmy John's.
Wood, who was store manager of Fashion Bug when it closed, said she did a lot of research before opening Fashion Gemz.
"I did a lot of research to find out what it is they (customers) want," she said noting the she talked to a lot of people.
Wood also visited trade shows in Minneapolis and Las Vegas and participated in an entrepreneurial program at the North Iowa Area Community College, which she said helped a lot.
The result is a clothing store that includes missy sizes extra small to extra large or size 16; plus sizes from 16 to 26 or 28; a small juniors section and men's ranging from small to six extra large with big and tall mixed in. It also features some shoes and accessories, such as purses.
Most of the clothes are more dressy than casual, and specifically include a lot of dresses. The dresses range from casual to more formal, such as a mother of the bride/groom dresses.
"It has to meet the needs of our area," said Wood adding that it's hard to find dresses in the area.
Wood said she's open to suggestions and it will likely be a little trial and error the first year.
"I'm really excited to be doing this," she said.
Overall, business has been steady so far, Wood said.
Wood said when Fashion Bug was closing, customers asked her what she was going to do next. She told them she was going to open her own store and took down the contact information of any willing customers. She then sent out hand-addressed letters to them when she was ready to open.
"They've almost all come in," she said.
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