Where it's all coming nicely together

In sewing circles, a topstitch is one that brings multiple fabrics, both decorative and functional, together.

In local retail circles, Topstitch is a meeting of the minds between multiple craft-design clothiers Babooshka, HoneyMilk and Kinked Works.

"HoneyMilk is decorative. I'm functional," said Babooshka designer Francesca Sloan, her words belied by her reddish-orange hair and leopard-print leggings.

Decorative was a good description for the outfits worn by her co-owners, HoneyMilk's Linda Smyth and Julie Stone Waring, who donned outfits of yellow and bright blue, as well as bold-stroked "Fleather" earrings from Smyth's Cholita line.

The word applies also to Topstitch's products - warm bright colors, textures and tones splayed across reconstructed vintage outfits, hand-sewn leather belts and bags, knitted sweaters, and an array of dresses, jumpers and onesies.

And that's not even counting the oversized pink porcelain cat in the window.

But the items at the recently opened gallery/studio/boutique, from Stone Waring's gold-dipped leaf earrings to Smyth's knit hats to Sloan's signature "bubble" outfits, are finding fans among Philly's fashionable.

"Thank God, knock wood, everything we do is selling," said Sloan, 29.

That's evident when about 40 members of a University of Pennsylvania sorority showed up for a store-sponsored "Design Your Own Dress" party. Not only did the women buy items off the racks, they perused each designer's studio space, choosing material so each Topstitcher could make them something unique.

"This dress feels great on, and the design is fantastic," said Rebecca Boas, 19, as she tried on a wrap. "And no one else in town will own this. It's one of a kind."

"That's always a part of what we do," said Stone Waring, 35, as she pulled yards of cloth off her work station. "That's why we have our studio where we sell our wares."

(The third component of Topstitch, Kinked Works, is made up of Kylie Grant and Kurt Hunte, silk-screeners who design the store's baby clothing. They also rent a studio space.)

Sloan credits the sales to the prices, which tend toward the under-$100 range. She has jumper dresses that you can wear pinned up ("so it has a trapeze effect") or down that sell for $78, similarly priced kangaroo tunics, and wrap dresses for $72. (Stone Waring's gold earrings cost between $40 and $50, as do the Fleathers from Smyth, 27).

"Some stores like to buy and sell merchandise and sit and stare at it because they outprice it," Sloan noted. "But that's boring for the merchandiser and the buyer who comes in a lot. . . . I'd rather just flip stuff fast."

Sloan used to sell her Babooshka line from the top floor at Echochic, Jennifer Ramsay's tony boutique at 17th and Sansom. From October 2005 to December 2006, Sloan sold accessories, vintage shoes, and her homemade bubble shorts there, making sure her pieces didn't compete with what Echochic offered.

Smyth and Stone Waring enjoyed that same style of noncompete salesmanship when they opened HoneyMilk as a boutique within a boutique at Vagabond in Old City. But like Sloan, that duo wanted more: to have a shop to call their own and commune with other designers.

The women had all met before, but their partnership was sealed when Philadelphia Magazine gave each a shared award for its Best of Philly 2006 (the "retail expansion" category), and they realized how similar their styles and passions were.

"We found that we play off each other, have the same creative energy in our lives and designs," Smyth said.

"We excited each other and wanted to share a healthy environment for creative minds," Sloan said.

Neither knew exactly how they do it, running an existing business while getting money for a new business. "But when you want something bad enough - " Sloan said, her voice trailing off.

It's a mantra that Sloan has followed most of her life. Growing up in Houston, she vowed that she would live happily rather than die bored.

"People in Houston think you're a homeless loser if you look like me," she said, laughing.

Sept. 11, 2001, gave her the impetus to pack up; she came to Philadelphia for a weekend adventure, "realized I wasn't as much of a freak as I thought I was," and told her family she was pursuing a career in art.

Sloan started Babooshka in 2005 after graduating from the Art Institute of Philadelphia. The label name comes from several places - it's the name of her puppy when she was 5, it's a nickname she gave her grandmother, and it's the item of clothing she wore in her high school graduation picture - an image that is now part of her logo.

"And calling my line Francesca sounded too serious," Sloan said.

Knocking down the serious but finding function is what guides Sloan's clothes. Like finding an outrageous printed vintage dress and reshaping it for the modern female body, or coming up with bubble pants and bubble dresses that can be worn round the clock.

"I hate buying clothing only for wearing out," Sloan said. "I just want to make clothes for women who want to have a few beers or go from work to play to out."

The now-popular bubble shorts, for example, came into being right after Sloan cooked her first Thanksgiving dinner, in 2005.

"I wanted to be comfortable after I ate," she said, laughing. Her jumpers and tulip dress are equally roomy.

"I really like the whole colonial look," Sloan said, pairing a dress with boots and a vest. "Like Ben Franklin - only cuter."

Even Sloan's slinkier wrap dresses are different from most, as she gives the wearer straps that are three times longer than the usual length. "The only person who can normally just wrap it is Kate Moss," she said.

While each component of Topstitch is one of a kind, the women also work in partnership. "There's always interplay of color, stories and material themes," said Smyth, pointing out earrings that seem to have been designed for Babooshka's next batch of purple jumpers.

"If I'm the only one doing yellow, then nothing else will look good," Sloan concurred. "But if I'm doing a yellow tulip dress and there's yellow accessories and such, everything from the outfit to the store itself will look more complete. It's so much better for the eye."