AN INSPIRING BOUTIQUE BY DRAPERS ONLINE
An Inspiring Independent
Stil Lifestyle has been East Sussex's go-to destination for unique womenswear brands for more than a decade. Founder Sulaika Weihs tells Drapers how the business has made it work over the years – and why it is thriving, despite Brexit-related challenges.
BY SABINA WESTON 16 SEPTEMBER 2024, Drapers.
Sulaika Weihs, owner and founder of womenswear independent Stil Lifestyle in Forest Row, East Sussex, has always had a knack for sourcing unique clothing. At the age of 10, she made her first dress: a button-down, powder blue frock with an A-line skirt, elasticated waist, long balloon sleeves and contrasting red buttons. Four decades later, the design is not dissimilar to the gowns lining the rails of her independent womenswear boutique within the northern boundary of Ashdown Forest.
“My passion is dresses,” Weihs tells Drapers. “If someone wants a beautiful dress, they come to Stil.” Weihs founded Stil Lifestyle in 2013, selling women’s athleisure. The name "Stil" means "style" in Swedish and was chosen by Sulaika's sister Natasha Kelly, who held senior roles at both Donna Karan and Michael Kors before launching her own womenswear label Studio Wylder in 2021. A few months after opening its doors to the public, Stil Lifestyle began gradually expanding into ready-to-wear, becoming the first UK independent to introduce US womenswear designer Ulla Johnson to British consumers. Today, it stocks more than 50 brands across women’s clothing, footwear, handbags, beauty and gifting, with an emphasis on quality craftsmanship, including handmade elements, as well as unique brands. Stil Lifestyle is the only UK stockist of German denim brand Closed Jeans. Other rare finds include Tuscan dress staple Loretta Caponi, hand-crafted Indian womenswear from Hannah Art Wear and embroidered linen pieces from Thierry Colson. Retail prices range from £125 for an oversized blue cotton shirt from New York-based clothing brand Alex Mill to around £800 for autumn/winter outerwear.
Although close to half of Stil Lifestyle’s sales are made through its ecommerce website, the physical store remains at the heart of Forest Row’s community, nestled between other independent businesses on Hartfield Road: a vintage clothing store, a fishmonger selling locally caught seafood and a vegetarian cafe serving organic coffee. The store also draws in out-of-town customers. “Every Saturday, we have people coming in from London,” says Weihs, who estimates that just 10% of her physical customer base are local residents. The remaining 90% live “up to two hours away”. “Stil is a destination shop. Many of our most loyal customers are working women with big jobs in the City,” she tells Drapers. It is a Thursday early afternoon when Drapers visits Weihs at her store, and customers are shuffling in and out of the 300 sq ft store, admiring new products and asking for her advice. “I’d rather you not buy anything than be uncomfortable,” she tells one customer who is concerned about the fit of open-toe wedges. This summarises Weihs’s ethos around purchasing: buy less, focus on long-term wearability instead of trends and keep forever.
“I always ask [customers]: ‘Are you absolutely, 100% sure?’ If there is any question of doubt, I just [tell them] to go think about it.”
Weihs goes out of her way to make life easier for her customers. She memorises products that catch her customers’ eyes so she can help their husbands find the perfect Christmas gift and keeps her regular customers in mind when buying in Paris. Although Stil Lifestyle is open only three days a week – on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays – she also offers personal shopping appointments on Tuesdays and will open the store on other days if a regular texts her to say they need a new dress for a last-minute event or holiday. She even insists customers address her as "Bee" – the childhood name given to her by her Swiss mother ( Weihs credits her for her strength, inspiration and resilience, her mother founded a successful Independant school ) – to prevent them from struggling to pronounce her first name, Sulaika. The efforts have paid off: she reports consistent sales growth every year since starting the profitable business in 2013. Weihs also raises money for charity through clothing resale: since 2016, she has offered pre-owned, “barely worn” clothing from her core customers, who in return receive store credit. She describes it as "Stil’s circular economy".
Weihs has raised over 15k for charity selling pre-loved clothing donated by some of the World’s most famous women - a Karl Lagerfeld bespoke jacket worn by Helen Mirren to the Karl Lagerfeld memorial in 2019 and a custom Miu Miu gown worn by Rebel Wilson to present the 2022 BAFTAs (British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards). Weihs credits Cate Blanchett for initially donating a collection from her own wardrobe and helping source the unique garments for the second UNHCR fundraiser, which also included Sienna Miller’s Levi’s jeans, Vampire’s Wife founder Susie Cave’s matching two-piece silk trousers and shirt set, and Blanchett’s own custom-made suit.
Although leafy East Sussex is known for attracting wealthy residents, the town of Forest Row has changed in the last few years. Footfall is down by around 40% since before the pandemic, Weihs estimates. High street chains and candy shops, similar to those plaguing Oxford Street, are slowly taking over retail units once occupied by independent retailers, including one directly opposite Stil Lifestyle.
Like many other independent retailers, the shoplifting scourge is affecting business operations (Drapers Investigates: The State of Independents 2024). The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has reported that shoplifting has reached the highest level since records began in 2003. Weihs has installed additional security measures to protect herself and her store. She hopes the newly elected government will take steps to rejuvenate local high streets and explore introducing an online sales tax. A single-market trade deal with the European Union would also be extremely helpful, she adds: “Brexit has changed my business beyond recognition. I import 90% of the products and much of my time now is spent dealing with envelopes, chasing items that have been stuck in customs for two weeks, adding papers that weren’t attached to the boxes. It’s time-consuming, messy and expensive.”
Another challenge, Weihs adds, is having to compete for consumers used to Black Friday deals and Boxing Day Sales – a part of what Weihs describes as breaking the retail model further. Amid the challenges of trading with Europe, Stil Lifestyle has earned a new customer demographic across the pond. The US now accounts for 40% of the business’s online sales. Weihs credits demand for Loretta Caponi dresses as the reason for her popularity among US consumers, especially for exclusive colourways stocked by Stil Lifestyle: “For example, that dress there,” she says, pointing to a hand embroidered, puff-sleeved, pussy-bow belted maxi-dress in grey and white stripes that retails for £625. “Nobody else in the world [stocks] that dress in that colourway.”
Although Stil Lifestyle has had an online store presence since 2015, Weihs ramped up her ecommerce presence during the pandemic, and manages the website herself. These efforts have paid off. In 2023, online accounted for 30% of all sales. As of July 2024, the split between in-store and online purchases is closer to 50:50, with some variation on a weekly basis. If online orders become more consistent, Weihs might limit her physical store’s working days to Friday and Saturday. Having established a loyal customer base of locals and commuters alike, and with a growing international online presence, Weihs would like to finally establish a healthier work-life balance – including by spending time with her three sons and first grandson. “The longer I have the business, the more I try to make it work on my terms. Every small business owner will say that you [work] 24 hours a day, and I do, 360 days a year - so you have to start setting boundaries,” she says.
After more than a decade of trading, Weihs is still grateful for Stil Lifestyle’s success: “When I started my business, I thought: ‘I hope I get some customers! It still surprises me but I have been fortunate to collect customers along the way who share a love of beautiful clothing.