Photography by @kirstenbrittaphoto | Looks pulled from @shoptheskinny | Modelled by Amber Appah @ambercja, Bojana Nikic @bojananikic, and Erinn Trebaczkiewicz @erinntreb | Published by @the_issuemagazine

“What’s The Skinny?”

Everyone has their own story to map out, and Erinn is going to focus on her own. She often reminds herself that comparison is the thief of joy and follows her intended journey in her personal and professional life. She has come to pursue a new mantra: be happy with what you used to wish for. For Erinn, it's a reminder to be excited and proud of how far she's come.

The Skinny comes from a saying Erinn's grandfather used to say, what's the skinny? Always, the question was posed in a way that would make Erinn grin, excited to share all the intricacies of her life with him. He was indeed the most remarkable man and role model Erinn's ever had. Naming her company after someone who inspired her and helped guide her seemed only fitting—the perfect way to honour him.

"So, The Skinny answers that age-old question, giving you the inside scoop, or low down on what's new in fashion," Erinn says of the name of her brand.

The Skinny opened in late 2014, a month and a half before her twins were born and let's say she can't remember much from those early days. It's something that went by in a blur for her, but one thing is for sure, it's worth every chaotic moment. Originally Erinn had anticipated that she would be stocking her shelves with children's clothing, targeting ages two to six years old. Then, with time, she expanded into baby items, and eventually, she saw an opportunity for growth and moved into women's fashion.

"The business had a pretty great little start right off the bat because I had a supportive community from a blog that I had, called The Fancy Napkin. I would get so many questions about where I sourced so-and-so item after the birth of my oldest son, that I saw a real opportunity to monetize my time and efforts, and it just went from there," Erinn says of the early days of The Skinny.

She had planned on keeping The Skinny online only until things started to pick up. But she began to feel uncomfortable with daily pickups from her home. Quickly she and her husband found a cool rentable 300sq. Ft. space called Vacancy Hall located in downtown Edmonton. She was open for business—one day a week and stored all her stock in the three hundred square foot rental. Then it came time for a permanent location, and that's when Erinn put everything into The Skinny.

"I ended up quitting my job instead of going back after maternity leave and knew I had to provide more to sustain that decision. It's true what they say, you will never work as hard until you put everything on the line, and that's exactly what I did."

They tried out a short four-month lease popup at Kingsway mall, which did extraordinarily well, and then moved into their permanent location in Southgate Mall. So many firsts became a trend for Erinn as she remembers how nerve-wracking it was to experiment with kid's clothing but never really thought twice about the mechanics behind it. Once she decided to step into women's fashion, she had to take a leap that she'd been building up to for years. Soon after, her efforts fell into a variety of opportunities. West Edmonton Mall's location came shortly after their warehouse, offices, and the Premium Outlet Mall location.

"I constantly felt like I was wearing my heart on my sleeve every time I would recommend a women's product, hoping they would love the same things I did, but I was also so invigorated doing it, and I just knew I was on the right path for myself, business-wise."

Committed staff and customers are the backbone of any successful company, and Erinn adores hers. She's come to appreciate her staff as she understands that once you find people who care, are honest, work hard and know what it means to grow with you, you hang onto them tightly. Internally, she's fostered a creative aspect with her employees- an 'open door creative' policy- and she loves to hear and see her employees' ideas come to fruition. They also have so much fun that most days, it doesn't even feel like work.

She smiles as she thinks of her customers and her community. "They are what makes her entire world go round, from their loyalty to friendship to holding The Skinny accountable to being the best brand that they can be."

THE SHOP

The Skinny brand is heavily community-focused, with a mix of fashion on the side. They strive to create a warm, inviting atmosphere, with a clean, modern aesthetic. They treat each other as family and hope that customers feel the same way when they come through our doors. Erinn likes to think they serve a side of awesome clothing and extras as a bonus.

Erinn is constantly inspired by so many of her fellow peers in Edmonton. For her, it’s great to walk into a room and know most of them. They are a tight-knit community that always supports one another. It’s been a difficult journey for Erinn and other local designers to be taken seriously as Canada is not known for fashion and getting the exposure is a lot harder to achieve worldwide. It’s something they all hope to change.

Erinn tends to stick to classic designs but with a modern twist—think playing with a cool hem or collar and a basic top. It's a lot about clean lines and transitional fashion that can withstand the change of decades. It's Erinn's rule to always follow her gut instinct. If she second-guesses a pattern or style, she'll generally choose to stay away from it.

"If I have to talk myself into liking something, then I know I'm not passionate about that particular piece, and it will show to my customers. I've never wanted to be a salesman just selling something to someone, but rather I want to share my interests and excitement over a cool discovery and hope it helps make someone else feel the same way I do!"

As the season shifts, Erinn is over the sweatsuits trend and excited to get back into tailored items. A really great blouse with a nice denim layered with a beautifully patterned jacket—is what Erinn stays up dreaming about. She is also loving all the gingham popping up and their sweet country vibes. The Mojave patterns and all the layering options that Fall always bring around. Also, can you go wrong with earthy tones that look heavenly on every skin tone—you can't.

"It's been very organic into where we've been going with our 'Erinn Cardigan' design (our first design ever, and I'm proud to say we've sold over 35,000+ units) - a very long time coming. We finally have some movement in that area, and it's invigorated me in ways I can't explain."

She's a big fan of interior designer Sarah Sherman Samuel for years and often screenshots her latest home design for inspiration, and the way she plays with fantastic colours or patterns. Erinn is leaning towards some of that inspiration in her clothing line. Along the more classic lines, she will forever adore Audrey Hepburn's classic clean, chic clothing style, and on the flip side, she loves Marilyn Monroe's voluptuous empowering style. Erinn loves that you could feel her presence through her photos or expressions.

In the future, Erinn would be pretty happy with a few more stores coast-to-coast in Canada, working with a small handful of strong women she's hoping to collaborate with, and having half of her shop designed by her in-house brand, Double N. Exploring the option of opening up wholesale with Double N is something she ponders from time to time.

THE FOUNDER

For as long as Erinn can remember, she's always had a love for fashion. She was that fifteen-year-old girl still dressing and styling her Barbie dolls. She would take all her mom's old pieces of scrap fabric and make clothes for them.

"I had this little sewing kit that was my pride and joy. Oh, and don't get me started on my paper dolls! I would design outfits and houses for them for hours." Erinn laughs.

She was always tearing up her mom's fashion magazines and leaving half torn-apart pages and magazines everywhere. It drove her mother crazy. It's not surprising that she still tears out pages of magazines and leaves them all over her house in sorted stacks. Only now, it drives her husband crazy.

On a personal side of things, Erinn is a mama to three sweet boys. Jack, eight years old and twins Theodore and Axel, who are six. She's been married to her sweetheart, Peter, for eleven years—together for eighteen. Her kids were an integral part of inspiring Erinn to be brave and start The Skinny. She wanted a life where she could chase her ambitions all the while being there for her kids to do simple things like taking them to their school recitals or volunteering in their classrooms.

"Trust me when I say the amount of stressful late nights and tears that have come out of me is too numerous to count, but if you love fashion, love making people feel good about themselves, and thinking on your feet (no day is the same) then I can also say the good outweighs the bad ten-fold."

It's the highs and the lows that are the hardest, the unknown that each day truly brings and The Skinny, like so many others, readied themselves for something that could have crumbled their brand. Simply that they're a small business with a big heart and even bigger dreams, without their loyal community surrounding them with support and love, none of Erinn’s dreams would be possible.

Every day brings a new challenge with constantly changing rules and safety protocols, beside the day-to-day mental exhaustion. Erinn feels the pressure to stay current, stay fresh, and that means you always have to come up with something new to keep your community engaged. Most importantly, the pressure to continue to provide a safe and secure place to work for the thirty-plus employees.

In the end, Erinn offers some advice to those wondering if it's the right time to follow their dreams. "Start. You'll never have the perfect timing, the perfect bankroll, the perfect layout, the perfect design, the perfect set of lists."