I first met Stefania Bulboaca on a sailing trip few weeks ago. While chatting together on the topside of the boat comfortably sunbathing, she told me about her business which it suddenly brought a smile on my face as it touches one of my passions, too.

Ever since she launched her line 5 years ago, business has been growing steadily for Stefania. She’s been busy developing her own signature collections that are elegant and practical. She is offering as well a full service of custom tailoring, adapting the dressmaking services to the clients’ style and preferences.

At Choices atelier you find two seasonal collections per year, pick a design, take a look at the latest fabrics, you get involved in the process and even if you do not know exactly what you want, the team will guide you and will create garments especially for you.

The entire process, from mood boards to picking out fabrics to production is done with passion.

As far as I understood from Stefania, the cloths are not extreme or conceptual, they are made for real women, with different measurements and expectations.

I had few curiosities I had to ask Stefania:

1. What is Choices about? How would you describe your brand?

Choices is about a lot of things that point to the same result: rediscovering/enhancing our client’s personal style, with the help of a team of dedicated people. No matter if they try it for the first time, or if it’s their favorite way of shopping for clothing items, we are here for them. Our female clients can choose either between our two seasonal collections (S/S & A/W), a few capsule collections (accessories/lingerie), or “starting from scratch” by choosing their favorite fabrics, cuts and details, through our custom-to-order tailoring. So, the Choices are endless!

Choices it’s also about trying on as many items, in order to decide what suits them best: our distinct cut, help them discover new shapes that complement their bodies, so we often hear: “Well, that’s magic!” J Thus, there we are, delighted when “magic” unfolds under their eyes, which creates a great deal of happiness for us too!”

Also, as fresh news, since October 2015, we developed a Partnership that is dear to us, with another exquisite brand, namely organic face & body products, by Careless Beauty. Together we are The Canvas: a Universe entirely dedicated to women.

2. What is the type of woman that wears Choices? How do you accommodate the needs of women that enter your showroom, who might have different fashion sensibilities?

The Choices woman is solar, in love with life and beauty, in all its forms. She knows her assets and embraces her flaws, always in a journey of discovering new, interesting ways of being herself. She is a powerful woman, efficiently juggling the roles of her everyday life: mother, wife, business woman, etc. Thus, while searching for great pieces to fit her personal style, we love to offer her the possibility to relax in a cozy atmosphere.

Giving the fact that from our first encounter, we openly discuss about their likes and dislikes, trends and/or classic cuts that will live forever, we succeed in finding together the best solutions for every one of them.

3. May you tell us about your next collection?

Choices’ F/W 2016 Collection is almost ready to be revealed, so we need to keep the secret a little bit more 😉 What I can tell you, is that our dear ladies shall find a great mix of fabulous fabrics (as always), our classic cut updated with some contemporary lines, just to give it the perfect bit of twist. So, we’ll keep you updated with the “grand reveal”! 😉

4. Where do you find your inspiration?

I do think that inspiration lies inside each one of us. It just waits to be activated at a specific point in time. I love visiting art galleries, reading biographies, listening to music of all sorts according to my mood, travelling as much as I can… so I think it is a great mix of the above J

5. How has your work evolved since you began your own label?

Wow! It seems like a lot of time since five years ago and now that I am thinking of it, I realize that I managed to accomplish a lot of things, both professionally and personally: I gave birth to a beautiful child, my son David, while I was “raising” my other child – the atelier. I succeeded in finding great people to set up Choices: collaborators and employees and I thank them for standing beside me, all these years. I am also grateful for discovering wonderful women who wish to be different and embrace their own personality, while discovering/enhancing their style.  Last but not least, I am happy about our new showroom – a gorgeous place that suits us best 😉

Regarding the Choices style, we’ve grown a lot in the past 2 years. I wanted to experience with cuts and fabrics, so we used from silk voile to jersey, natural leather, velvet, wool and cashmere…Thus, our first 2-3 years, we developed different collections: it was a great, natural process, which helped us a lot in discovering who we are and who our clients should be.

6. What’s next for you, professionally?

After 2015 and beginning of 2016, a period full of great happenings, I am willing to continue to focus on my clients, my new Collection and events for the second part of 2016, while continuing my volunteer work in Professional Women’s Network, a great Association with a marvelous goal – that of ”advancing women in leadership”.

…and don’t forget to always make your Choices, memorable!