What's Behind The Name?

What’s behind the word “Novel” (Ruthie’s “Novel” Fashions)?  My mom had a used bookstore for many years – it was her dream – not a money maker – but her passion and dream.  It was called “A Novel View” (see her storefront picture below).  My mother is no longer with us here on earth and it was important to me, to include her somehow in this venture.  I agonized over the name of my business for months. And one day, it just popped into my head to include the word “Novel” from my mom’s store.  I love so much that she is part of my business name that I now share with you.

My mom was the sweetest soul, very humble and when talking fashion, very conservative.  She was only 5’2” and I remember taking her shopping for a new outfit. it was like pulling teeth to get her to even try on a longer skirt, as she was falsely under the impression she would look dumpy (due to being short).  I did talk her into it, and we found her a jacket in the same color as the skirt.  She could then wear a colorful blouse underneath.  With the skirt and jacket being the same color, it actually made her look taller and it became one of her favorite things to wear. 

We all have fashion sense impressed on us over the years, that can have us believing we shouldn’t wear some things, when those things might be just what we should wear – possibly in a different color, or different shade of the color.  The misconceptions we learn over the years can be confidence shakers, making us just not feel confident in the clothes we wear. Or we wear clothes to hide our bodies which often can have us feeling frumpy and feeling worse about ourselves.

My hope is that Ruthie’s Novel Fashions can provide a space to find something you love, maybe something flirty, maybe something simple, maybe something perfectly cozy.  Whatever you find, I want you to feel comfortable and confident when your wear our items.  That you are here, reading this, truly means so much.

This picture of my mom is just one of my all time favorites – her happy smile – you can see it in her eyes and the Koala makes it that much better.