Molly Broeren opened her eponymous women’s clothing store in downtown Denver in 1981, the same year John Molloy published “Dress for Success.” The book told working women they needed to mimic men and wear conservative, skirted suits if they wanted to be taken seriously.
It was a dictate many women followed. Broeren adopted it herself and encouraged clients of Molly’s, now at 1660 Stout St., to do the same. Female lawyers, bankers and corporate leaders were infiltrating the ranks of male-dominated companies, and they needed guidance on how to look the part of seasoned executives.
Broeren, 56, has long since made her mark as an anti-trend style diva, dressing her clients in high- quality clothes designed to last for years rather than a season. Concentrating on service and personal attention has enabled her to keep some clients the entire 25 years, including such professional women as Mary Gittings Cronin, president and executive director of the Piton Foundation, and Virginia Berkeley, president of Colorado Business Bank.
U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Denver, buys not only suits at Molly’s, but also special occasion clothes for such events as the recent Denver Art Museum gala.
DeGette says she has been shopping at Molly’s since she was newly out of law school and could afford to buy merchandise only when it was on sale.
“I’m the type of person who hates to shop and have very little time to shop,” the congresswoman says. “But I can call Molly or anyone on her staff and tell them what I need.”
DeGette has several stories about her last-minute clothing needs, including a time in 1997, when she was flying on Air Force One with then-President Bill Clinton to Colorado for the Denver Summit of the Eight. “They had changed the attire for one of the events at the meeting, so I asked Molly to get some outfits together, and my staff brought them out to me at Centennial Airport.”
DeGette also feels confident that dressing Molly-style will project the right image. “I want to look professional, but not dowdy,” she says. “I can’t be on the edge of fashion, but I like to look fashionable. And Molly also has clothes that you’re not going to see on everybody else.”
“Trends are for weekends”
Broeren knows that trying to stay up with all the current looks can be a trap for working women and make them end up looking like style slaves rather than the confident, competent individuals they want to be.
“I’m old-fashioned enough to believe that people are judged by the way they look,” says the retailer, who wears her gray hair in a no-nonsense crop and prefers Stuart Weitzman flats and kitten heels to Manolo Blahnik pumps. “Trends should be reserved for weekends and vacations.”
While corporate dress codes have relaxed in the last quarter century, the definition of what is appropriate in a business setting hasn’t, Broeren says. “If I’m dressing a 25-year-old for an interview, I’ll put her in a black or navy blue suit, and I always have. I still think that women should dress professionally and that business casual means a blazer, not khaki pants and a shirt from The Gap.
“What’s happened is that dress codes have changed, but they aren’t well-defined, so people don’t know what to wear,” Broeren says. “You don’t see men going to work with their toes or chest hair showing, but women wear sandals and tops that show cleavage.”
In defense of business suits, whether they’re worn with pants or skirts, Broeren insists they look polished and says they’re not more expensive than wearing separates. “You can get a good suit and buy several different tops, and be done with it.”
The right hosiery and shoes
Women sabotage their image in ways big and small, the retailer says. Among the offenders? “Bad nylons,” she says. “Hanes is the bare minimum quality of hosiery you should wear.” Unpolished shoes are another no-no and “handbags are a dead giveaway” as to a woman’s status as worker bee or executive.
As for label snobs who insist on wearing the latest from New York or Europe, “my customers could care less about names,” Broeren says. “They want quality and are proud to tell me they’re still wearing something 10 years after they bought it.”
Molly’s carries such lines as Barry Bricken, Lafayette 148, Bernard Zins and Zanella. The retailer isn’t above getting these manufacturers to meet her clients’ needs rather than just push their new looks.
When vendors showed mostly short jackets for fall, she knew customers wouldn’t want them, so she ordered a hip-grazing 25-inch jacket from Barry Bricken in seven fabrics. The jackets started arriving at her store in July, and she had sold them all by September.
Broeren says she once considered relocating her store, but a few phone calls to clients made her change her mind. “I was going to call 25 people, but I only made it to 10,” she says. It was unanimous: Her customers didn’t want her to leave. “They said I was part of their business day, and they didn’t want to have to make a separate trip to go shopping.”
She also makes it easy for them, offering valet parking at the Magnolia Hotel; free alternations on full-price merchandise; and “drive-by” shopping – running a purchase out to the curb for a client to pick up, for example.
And she’s always there when clients like DeGette need her. “If I have a fashion emergency,” the congresswoman says, “I know who to call.”
Contact staff writer Suzanne S. Brown at 303-954-1697 or sbrown@denverpost.com.
Don’t leave home without these staples
Clothier Molly Broeren says the well-dressed working woman has these staples – and services – at her disposal:
A good strand of pearls. Glass ones are nice substitutes for cultured pearls and stand-in for the real ones when you travel too.
Black pants, in multiples. Flat-front, pleated, narrow or wide-legged, you can’t have too many.
Black shoes, in multiples. Flats, heels, evening shoes.
Several quality handbags: a daily handbag, a tote for business papers, an evening bag.
A good haircut and place to get regular grooming for your skin and nails.
Someone to do alterations, if the store where you shop doesn’t offer them. Well-tailored clothes are essential to your image.
A signature scent, but one that’s not overbearing for daytime.
Age-appropriate makeup.
Good foundation garments.
Cowboy boots. After all, you live in Colorado, ladies.
