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By
Chukundi Salisbury
"We wanna be the cats that stay (in business)!", that is what
House of Stylez co-owner Earl "EC" Parker said when asked for
a defining sentence regarding his new venture.
This is a very simple but ,difficult goal, considering the
precedent set by other independent urban clothing retailers in
Seattle.
The new store, located at
6951 MLK Way South, opened on December 1st, 2002 and
features all of the hottest urban fashions for men, women, and
children. They also plan on carrying NW based clothing
and currently carry the locally designed
Independent
Industries line. Custom Timberlands and Air
Forces ones are available as well. This well stocked
store could be located in any mall in America.
"This is just the foundation", says co-owner Wyking
Allah,
"We
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House of Stylez carries:
Davoucci, Outkast, Iceberg, Coogi, Rocawear, Ecko, Sean
John, Fubu, Girbaud, Phat Farm, Azzure, Parasuco,
Akademiks, Pelle Pelle, Esco, Ruff Ryders, Maurice Malone,
Sergio Valente, Karl Kani, Johnny Blaze, Pepe Jeans,
FJ560, ENYCE, Baby Phaty, North Face, Timberland & more. |
plan
on building upon this". House of Stylez is rooted in a
vision of community development and economic empowerment.
The owners point the proliferation of hip hop culture in
Seattle and beyond, but the note lack of African American's
in any type of ownership positions. They also recognize
that many of the businesses that came before them did not
always handle business. With the closing of long time
Seattle South end retailer, Nubian Designer Fashions, a void
was created, but more importantly, a lesson was learned.
"We have to work together and network" said Tiger, another
co-owner. Not wanting to take a "sit back" attitude, the fella's at House of Styles are putting together an aggressive
strategy to create a network of urban businesses that will
eventually support each other. The first step in this
strategy is to combine networking events along with fashion
shows and invite other business owners and those interested to
meet each other and build.
Jamal
Davis, the 4th and final co-owner, points to the success of
the Pre New Years Eve Bash and Fashion Show that was held at
the Nine 16 on December 27th, 2002, as an indicator that the
strategy will be successful. The fashion
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B. Unique Designs model,
Janell, on the runway at the House of Stylez fashion show
at the Nine 16 in December. |
show and
party, hosted by Eddie Francis and Tiffany Warner of
KUBE 93.3,
had a more than modest turn out, but more importantly to
Davis, other business owners and potential patrons came to
support and see how they can be a part of the network.
Davis and his partners are looking to host more of these
events with the next event in March (check the Seaspot.com
Calendar)
House of
styles is celebrating the hip hop lifestyle positively and in
a major way. On your way to the mall this weekend, get
off the freeway and get in the hood and check these guys out.
All flix by
Kun Luv
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