By Robin Jovanovich
Ten years ago, retail maven Angela Guitard blew into town and set her sights on taking local women’s fashion up a few notches. Not only does she have an impeccable eye and innate fashion sense, but she makes customers love what they wear and have fun when they shop.
When women walk into Angela’s, which moved this spring from Purchase Street to Theodore Fremd Avenue where it anchors a new complex, they look to both Angela and her daughter, Samantha DelGatto, for trendy fashion that fits their lifestyles as well as their body types.
When several clients are in the store at the same time, it’s like a social club. “Women are happy to be there, catching up with old friends and often making new ones,” offered Angela.
From childhood, Angela has been fixated on fashion and has had a penchant for shoes. She loved to draw and wanted to attend art school, but ended up on a more practical course, studying finance and marketing instead. Art is in her DNA. “My father owned an auction gallery in New York City for over 20 years and was an art dealer. My mom worked alongside him, shared a passion for art, and had a flair for decor,” she said.
While Samantha attended the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where she trained as an opera singer, she is a born fashionista. Before joining her mother as co-owner of the boutique, she was a stylist at both Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom.
Angela’s oldest daughter, Amanda, is also an artist who majored in illustration at art school and is today a major shoe designer and Vice President of Vince Camuto footwear.
“Samantha develops fantastic relationships with our clients who often text her for advice or just to say they are coming in and she should fill up the dressing room!” said her proud mother.
Both Angela and Samantha are relieved that fashion is coming back. “We’re getting lots of requests for dresses,” they noted.
As for sweatpants? “Unless you are going to the gym, there is no reason to wear them outside your home,” advises Angela. “Enough with the lululemon. If you’re wearing sweats every day, you’re not wearing all the great jeans and pants in your closet that you look great in.”
For the last few years, Samantha has been dreaming of expanding the business by investing in a mobile fashion truck for private shopping — in the comfort of your own driveway!
“While the pandemic presented us with big challenges,” said Samantha, “it also pushed us forward.”
Leaving Purchase Street was a bold move, but they gained precious free parking for customers and a place for the truck, whose interior is fabricated like the inside of a boutique with a fitting room included.
“Samantha and I worked diligently to come up with a mobile menu which includes different options for hosting events from birthday parties to trunk shows to charity events,” said Angela. Their first event is a fundraiser for the Breast Cancer Alliance which will be held at a private home later this month. In August, they’ll be parked at the Hampton Classic.
They named the truck “Tootsie”, which was what Angela’s dad caller her as a child. Tootsie has her own Instagram account (@thestylepatrol.
Having known these two dynamos for a decade, it’s no surprise that they are comfortable in the driver’s seat.