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For any hardcore fashion enthusiast like me, finding an exciting new line on the market
is like stumbling onto a juicy secret, you just can’t wait to share it. When I find a line
that is not only brilliant, but also original, I usually can’t wait to buy it, wear it and share
it with the readers of FashionQandA.com! When introduced to Credibility by Sheri
Drobnick, I knew instantly that this is a line worthy of some limelight and attention. I
had the pleasure of conversing with creator and founder of the line, Sheri Drobnick,
who has been a force in fashion for many years and has worn almost every hat in the
industry, from merchandiser, to buyer and to designer. Drobnick was inspired to start
her line from a tragic experience that thankfully has an incredible ending.
is like stumbling onto a juicy secret, you just can’t wait to share it. When I find a line
that is not only brilliant, but also original, I usually can’t wait to buy it, wear it and share
it with the readers of FashionQandA.com! When introduced to Credibility by Sheri
Drobnick, I knew instantly that this is a line worthy of some limelight and attention. I
had the pleasure of conversing with creator and founder of the line, Sheri Drobnick,
who has been a force in fashion for many years and has worn almost every hat in the
industry, from merchandiser, to buyer and to designer. Drobnick was inspired to start
her line from a tragic experience that thankfully has an incredible ending.
| Written By: Qianna Smith, Editor-in-Chief |
FACTS:
Type of Line: High-end luxury coats, trenches and small jackets
Choice of Textile: Fabrics are made in Italy and Paris
Line Location: Credibility is based in Los Angeles, California
Cost: The line starts at $159 to a high of $219 for trenches and coats
Type of Line: High-end luxury coats, trenches and small jackets
Choice of Textile: Fabrics are made in Italy and Paris
Line Location: Credibility is based in Los Angeles, California
Cost: The line starts at $159 to a high of $219 for trenches and coats
Qianna: When and why did start Credibility?
Sheri: Seven years ago, my husband and I were held up by gunpoint outside my
home. I ended up with a gun at my chest, and my husband with one at his head.
Afterwards I experienced post-traumatic stress. I was really down and out, and after
something like that you start thinking about your life, and you look at it in a whole
different way. I decided that I really wanted to be my own boss. I decided that I wanted
to run a company and treat people the way I felt they should be treated. So I started
my company and now am in my fifth year.
Qianna: You found strength and true calling when someone tried to violate you and
play upon you weakness. Your journey is an amazing example of real people turning
a negative into a positive and that is awe inspiring.
Sheri: Thank you!
Qianna: What would you describe as your essential style ingredient for your own
personal style and how does that convey in your collection?
Sheri: I think my own personal style is pretty eclectic, I have always had an edge and
that has affected my line. My line is sophisticated with an edge, everything has to
have edge including my fabric chooses. I’m really striving to appeal to the woman
that has a designer headset like myself, but she doesn’t have a designer budget. So
she looks in magazines and sees things for $2,000 - $3,000 and she loves them,
but she can’t afford them and so with me I see fabrics that are gorgeous and they are
expensive but I’m producing in Thailand and it’s not slave labor, everything is done in
beautifully safe factories and I want to bring to the market something, let me put it
this way, I feel there is a whole world between contemporary and dum dum bridge
and designer. I think it’s a real void in the market and that’s the niche that I am filling.
Sheri: Seven years ago, my husband and I were held up by gunpoint outside my
home. I ended up with a gun at my chest, and my husband with one at his head.
Afterwards I experienced post-traumatic stress. I was really down and out, and after
something like that you start thinking about your life, and you look at it in a whole
different way. I decided that I really wanted to be my own boss. I decided that I wanted
to run a company and treat people the way I felt they should be treated. So I started
my company and now am in my fifth year.
Qianna: You found strength and true calling when someone tried to violate you and
play upon you weakness. Your journey is an amazing example of real people turning
a negative into a positive and that is awe inspiring.
Sheri: Thank you!
Qianna: What would you describe as your essential style ingredient for your own
personal style and how does that convey in your collection?
Sheri: I think my own personal style is pretty eclectic, I have always had an edge and
that has affected my line. My line is sophisticated with an edge, everything has to
have edge including my fabric chooses. I’m really striving to appeal to the woman
that has a designer headset like myself, but she doesn’t have a designer budget. So
she looks in magazines and sees things for $2,000 - $3,000 and she loves them,
but she can’t afford them and so with me I see fabrics that are gorgeous and they are
expensive but I’m producing in Thailand and it’s not slave labor, everything is done in
beautifully safe factories and I want to bring to the market something, let me put it
this way, I feel there is a whole world between contemporary and dum dum bridge
and designer. I think it’s a real void in the market and that’s the niche that I am filling.
Qianna: What have you learned about your customers over years and how has Credibility women
evolved and where is she going?
Sheri: First of all the Credibility woman is the woman that either works or she does a lot of
charitable things or she is a housewife who is working at home and she just wants to look great
going out. I have always felt that you can put on a t-shirt or tank top and pair of jeans or slacks, but
it’s that third piece that finishes it and can make something a wow and it doesn’t matter whether
what the rest of it is. That’s what I’m striving to do, I am striving to make that third piece a wow! And
have it have an edge and be sophisticated and so that part of me definitely is reflected in the line. I
can go from sophistication to just sort of edgy. I am on trend without being too trendy.
Qianna: What do you define as too trendy and how can women avoid falling into this mainstream
design track?
Sheri: Too trendy to me is something that is exploited and just all over the place and that’s not
what I want to do. Too trendy is something that is just everywhere and it’s not special and my
things are, I’ve been told by the market and it’s been fulfilling, that there is nothing like our jackets
on the market. It’s really great and I have to say I am truly blessed and very appreciated and lucky
in this economy where things just are so bad, our business has doubled and I think that says a
lot. We are doing something right we are bringing something to the market that isn’t out there and
I think that in these times women have to have something different. We are covered in the basics.
Qianna: Do you think your line caters to a certain age group? Vogue does an issue each year
called their “Age Issue” and I’m always curious if women should be forced to confine themselves
to age appropriate fashion rules?
Sheri: I have to tell you something, I look at these things where they do the 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, 50’s,
60’s, 70’s and it just makes me laugh because I’m very young at heart and I take care of myself.
I’m not a kid yet I feel comfortable, perfectly comfortable with 26 year old girls and I feel perfectly
comfortable with 84 year old women, but sometimes I dress edgy, like sophisticated with an edge.
evolved and where is she going?
Sheri: First of all the Credibility woman is the woman that either works or she does a lot of
charitable things or she is a housewife who is working at home and she just wants to look great
going out. I have always felt that you can put on a t-shirt or tank top and pair of jeans or slacks, but
it’s that third piece that finishes it and can make something a wow and it doesn’t matter whether
what the rest of it is. That’s what I’m striving to do, I am striving to make that third piece a wow! And
have it have an edge and be sophisticated and so that part of me definitely is reflected in the line. I
can go from sophistication to just sort of edgy. I am on trend without being too trendy.
Qianna: What do you define as too trendy and how can women avoid falling into this mainstream
design track?
Sheri: Too trendy to me is something that is exploited and just all over the place and that’s not
what I want to do. Too trendy is something that is just everywhere and it’s not special and my
things are, I’ve been told by the market and it’s been fulfilling, that there is nothing like our jackets
on the market. It’s really great and I have to say I am truly blessed and very appreciated and lucky
in this economy where things just are so bad, our business has doubled and I think that says a
lot. We are doing something right we are bringing something to the market that isn’t out there and
I think that in these times women have to have something different. We are covered in the basics.
Qianna: Do you think your line caters to a certain age group? Vogue does an issue each year
called their “Age Issue” and I’m always curious if women should be forced to confine themselves
to age appropriate fashion rules?
Sheri: I have to tell you something, I look at these things where they do the 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, 50’s,
60’s, 70’s and it just makes me laugh because I’m very young at heart and I take care of myself.
I’m not a kid yet I feel comfortable, perfectly comfortable with 26 year old girls and I feel perfectly
comfortable with 84 year old women, but sometimes I dress edgy, like sophisticated with an edge.
 |
Qianna: What would describe sophisticated with an edge and if you can, give me mental picture of
this?
Sheri: Okay, sophisticated with an edge would be wearing that asymmetrical coat, with a great pair of
jeans, a killer purse and shoes. I’m really into shoes and bags as well and I think that another
sophisticated with an edge is one jacket that I do for Fall, it just has a huge, big stand up collar and
great buttons and it’s this really beautiful Italian cloquet fabric and just to wear that over a black pant
or black jeans or something, it’s just so killer yet so sophisticated. That’s the way I want to dress, I
don’t want to dress like a 25 year old because I’m not 25 yet I do wear dresses that are short and I
wear shorts that are short because I take care of my body. Now is it age appropriate for me to wear
shorts and tank top, the same thing that a 25 year old girl would? My answer to that is if you look
good in it why not! I look at these pictures and they way they want to dress these 60 and 70 year old
women and I don’t think I’ll be there when I’m 100, if I live that long, It’s just dowdy, I don’t follow that
philosophy at all.
Qianna: What would you describe as smart fashion buys for Fall 2008? If you had to dress a woman
she would be in a Credibility jacket but what else would she be wearing?
Sheri: She would be carrying a “killer” purse and just great shoes. I would like to see the Credibility
woman wearing wide-leg pants, some kind of fitted tops and one of our great jackets or trenches, as
well as skinny pair of jeans with a great pair of boots and one of our jackets or trenches. That’s what I
love about my line, everything is meant to be worn with it, our jackets can be worn with denim and yet
it can be dressed up to go to work. Some of the fabrics are just so beautiful that they have been used
by many of my clients for special occasions, so they are very, very versatile.
this?
Sheri: Okay, sophisticated with an edge would be wearing that asymmetrical coat, with a great pair of
jeans, a killer purse and shoes. I’m really into shoes and bags as well and I think that another
sophisticated with an edge is one jacket that I do for Fall, it just has a huge, big stand up collar and
great buttons and it’s this really beautiful Italian cloquet fabric and just to wear that over a black pant
or black jeans or something, it’s just so killer yet so sophisticated. That’s the way I want to dress, I
don’t want to dress like a 25 year old because I’m not 25 yet I do wear dresses that are short and I
wear shorts that are short because I take care of my body. Now is it age appropriate for me to wear
shorts and tank top, the same thing that a 25 year old girl would? My answer to that is if you look
good in it why not! I look at these pictures and they way they want to dress these 60 and 70 year old
women and I don’t think I’ll be there when I’m 100, if I live that long, It’s just dowdy, I don’t follow that
philosophy at all.
Qianna: What would you describe as smart fashion buys for Fall 2008? If you had to dress a woman
she would be in a Credibility jacket but what else would she be wearing?
Sheri: She would be carrying a “killer” purse and just great shoes. I would like to see the Credibility
woman wearing wide-leg pants, some kind of fitted tops and one of our great jackets or trenches, as
well as skinny pair of jeans with a great pair of boots and one of our jackets or trenches. That’s what I
love about my line, everything is meant to be worn with it, our jackets can be worn with denim and yet
it can be dressed up to go to work. Some of the fabrics are just so beautiful that they have been used
by many of my clients for special occasions, so they are very, very versatile.
Qianna: What would say is next for Credibility? Where do you want to take this? I know you have a
strong following in the South, how do you see yourself in terms of expansion? Do you see yourself
opening up your own store?
Sheri: I definitely don’t want to open my own stores. What I do want to do is get distribution in
couple very upscale majors, like Henri Bendels or at Bergdorf Goodman or Barney’s, and then my
next step from this is to sell my line in Europe. I think European women would really get it and
European women dress with understated elegance and my clothes sell to girls that are 25 years
old and I also sell to women in their 60’s. I sell to women who buy a lot of Armani and shop at only
the best stores in Beverly Hills. They just go crazy over my line.
Qianna: With so much success going on what 3 things in your life are most happy about?
Sheri: I’m happy that my son is in love and that he found a girl that my husband and I adore, I’m
happy that the business is doing well that we can start paying down our loan that we had to get to
run the company ourselves, and I happy that I have a very, very supportive husband that believes in
me and basically investing all of our money and a lot of his now since I’m not on salary into this
company and I’m just happy to see it performing and see the feedback and hear the women say
how much they love it.
strong following in the South, how do you see yourself in terms of expansion? Do you see yourself
opening up your own store?
Sheri: I definitely don’t want to open my own stores. What I do want to do is get distribution in
couple very upscale majors, like Henri Bendels or at Bergdorf Goodman or Barney’s, and then my
next step from this is to sell my line in Europe. I think European women would really get it and
European women dress with understated elegance and my clothes sell to girls that are 25 years
old and I also sell to women in their 60’s. I sell to women who buy a lot of Armani and shop at only
the best stores in Beverly Hills. They just go crazy over my line.
Qianna: With so much success going on what 3 things in your life are most happy about?
Sheri: I’m happy that my son is in love and that he found a girl that my husband and I adore, I’m
happy that the business is doing well that we can start paying down our loan that we had to get to
run the company ourselves, and I happy that I have a very, very supportive husband that believes in
me and basically investing all of our money and a lot of his now since I’m not on salary into this
company and I’m just happy to see it performing and see the feedback and hear the women say
how much they love it.
