Paula Deen is adding fashion to her repertoire.
The Southern cooking guru already has a kitchen, pantry and home line at digital commerce company Evine Live. The latest addition — Paula Deen’s Closet — effectively makes her a lifestyle name at Evine.
According to Deen, “This is always something I wanted to do. One of the main questions on my Web site is ‘Where did you get that top?’”
Deen said she has known for a long time that there is a demand from fans for what she is wearing. “If I have something that all my friends out there want, I want to be able to bring it to them for a reasonable price. Evine [said they are] happy to launch my clothing line. I think I share my body with a lot of women out there who are not a size 4. We want nice-looking, comfortable clothes. They look like they’re dry cleaned but are washable,” Deen said.
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Evine’s design team heads to Deen’s home periodically to check out her closet for inspiration for the line. Deen’s wardrobe is extensive, and the closet in her Savannah, Ga., home is about “18 feet by 20 feet,” with most of the space taken by the height of the room, she said. The room utilizes a “moving dry-cleaning rack” to take advantage of the room’s height, Deen noted.
The first showing of the capsule line on Evine is slated for Monday afternoon, with another showing for two hours Tuesday night. Deen said the plan is to add new items to the line each month. So far jackets, bottoms and tops comprise the line. Price points range from $34 to $55 for tops, up to $60 for dresses and outerwear, such as duster coats and sweater coats.
With the kitchen, home and fashion covered, what’s next for Deen? She said she’d like to pursue jewelry for her next product line.
For the last two years, Evine has been making a bigger push to include celebrity-based lines that are exclusives on its site. On the fashion side, more recent additions include Vanessa Williams, Nancy O’Dell and Karen Fairchild.