E82: Comfortable Yet Polished: Kiya Tomlin Sews Her Own Path in Women's Fashion

What makes Kiya Tomlin with Kiya Tomlin a good neighbor? 

Necessity truly is the mother of invention. When Kiya Tomlin couldn't find clothes that fit her small frame as a child, she picked up a needle and thread and began creating her own. Little did she know this skill would evolve into a revolutionary fashion brand bridging the gap between comfort and style.

During our captivating conversation, Kiya shares her remarkable journey from sewing her own wardrobe by middle school to designing sorority dresses in college, all before realizing fashion design could be her career. Her turning point came while working as a custom designer for middle-aged women, where she discovered her true passion: creating transformative clothing that solved problems and addressed insecurities. This revelation led to the Kiya Tomlin Ready-to-Wear brand, designed specifically for women aged 30-65 who are often overlooked by the fashion industry.

What makes Tomlin's designs truly unique is her signature bamboo-cotton-spandex blend that she describes as "buttery soft, breathable, and stretchy." By intentionally avoiding hardware like buttons and zippers, her clothing relies solely on the natural stretch of the fabric, creating supremely comfortable yet polished garments. Kiya thoughtfully challenges common misconceptions about fashion quality, reminding us that excellence isn't determined by country of origin but by craftsmanship and materials.

Whether you're interested in fashion innovation, entrepreneurial journeys, or simply want to discover clothing that combines comfort with style, Kiya's story will inspire you. Ready to experience the revolution in women's fashion? Visit kiyatomlin.us or follow @KiyaTomlin on social media to see how comfort and polish can beautifully coexist in your wardrobe.

To learn more about Kiya Tomlin go to: 

https://kiyatomlin.us/

Kiya Tomlin

[phone]

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Lila Carter.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Are you in need of fashionthat's comfortable yet polished?
A resource may be closer thanyou think.
Today, I have the pleasure ofintroducing your good neighbor,
kia Tomlin.
With Kia, tomlin, kia, how's itgoing?

Speaker 3 (00:31):
Oh, very well, thank you.
Thank you for having me.

Speaker 2 (00:33):
Thanks for being here .
We're excited to learn allabout you and your business, so
please tell us more about yourcompany.

Speaker 3 (00:40):
Yeah, so I have a fashion brand and I essentially
created a category that bridgesthe gap in the market, that is,
by combining the ease ofloungewear with the polish of
day wear.
Excellent, and how did you getinto this business?
Little, when I was, you know,grade school.

(01:03):
I was really not only do we nothave a lot of money, I was also
very, very small and one of theonly Black families in our kind
of upper middle class town, andso I really just never felt
like I fit in.
Not only was I kind of like,you know, the lower income
little Black girl, I alsocouldn't fit the clothing that

(01:25):
all the other girls were wearing, even if we could have afforded
it.
And so I started to sew,learned to sew and started to
sew so that I could, you know,kind of create the clothes that
fit me and could look like theother girls.
And once I learned that I coulddo that, then I learned that I
could create things that couldalso make me stand out, but in a
good way, and so I began tojust sew my own wardrobe.

(01:49):
By middle school, I was sewingeverything.
By high school, I was saving mypants for a fabric, and by
college, I was making all thesorority dresses for the
sorority girls or the stepcostumes for the step shows.
And then, after I graduatedcollege, I didn't.
I still didn't have a dream ofbecoming a fashion designer.

(02:10):
But with life changes andeverything, I realized that
someone once told me figure outwhat you love to do and find a
way to make money doing it.
And what I had always thoughtof fashion as being superficial,
I realized I really did lovefashion and so I started on the
journey to become a customdesigner.

(02:31):
And as a custom designer Irealized from working with women
predominantly middle-aged womenthat would come in with, you
know, bodies that have changedand maybe some insecurities I
realized that I could designthings that could transform them
and solve their problems andthat was really rewarding to me.
So I set out to make what Icould do in that special skill

(02:55):
more accessible to broader womenand that's how the Kia Tomlin
Ready to Wear brand was started.

Speaker 2 (03:02):
I love that.
What a prolific journey.
Ready-to-wear brand was started.
I love that.
What a prolific journey,amazing.
So what are some myths, ormaybe misconceptions, in the
fashion industry that you'd liketo discuss today?

Speaker 3 (03:14):
I definitely think one of the things that I hear a
lot about is about qualityQuality whether it's fashion or
where it's made.
And I think that thatstereotype of, say, everything
made in China is cheap,everything in America is good,
everything in Italy isexceptional I think all of those

(03:37):
levels of quality exist in allof those places.
We just have to become betterat identifying quality.
We just have to become betterat identifying quality.
So it really is on us to lookat the different pieces and from
different countries and to beable to identify what makes a
garment quality what is thefabric that's being used, how is
the stitching done, how is itdurable, how is it washed?

(03:59):
And you really can find thoseeverywhere.
But it is on us, instead ofstereotyping the country of
origin.

Speaker 2 (04:07):
Absolutely.
That's such great insight.
I mean there's going to beexceptional artisans in every
country, right, and then alsothat might have quality that is
less savory.
Yeah, totally agree.
So, as we think of marketing asthe heart of every business,
who are your target customersand how are you attracting them?

Speaker 3 (04:30):
So we, my target customer, is women kind of
middle aged 30 to 65.
That's where my love of problemsolving comes from, when I was
a custom designer and I reallybelieve that there is a need in
that market.
Designer, and I really believethat there is a need in that
market.
We're not 22 anymore and I feellike the fashion industry does

(04:50):
for the most part, cater to theyounger generations, especially
when it comes to comfortablewear and stylish comfortable
wear.
So that's my target market andwe do our advertising Well.
Best of, of course, is word ofmouth a happy customer that
spreads the word um weabsolutely love.
And then we also use um socialmedia.

(05:11):
We use um paid advertising andactivations and we also use um
charity auctions as a way tobring um attention to our brand.

Speaker 2 (05:21):
What do you do for fun?

Speaker 3 (05:24):
um, travel, um, and that's a new love.
I have spent the last 25 yearsbeing a full-time mom, and so,
now that my I'm a new emptynester, if I'm not traveling to
go see the kids, then I'mtraveling to do some, some other
exciting things very nice, nice.

Speaker 2 (05:43):
So, kia, please tell our listeners one thing that
they should remember about yourclothing brand Kia Tomlin.

Speaker 3 (05:51):
I would say that what separates our brand most
noticeably is the fabric that weuse.
We use our signature blend ofbamboo, cotton, spandex and it
is just buttery, soft andbreathable and it has stretch.
And we don't use in all of ourdesigns well, one I design with
the woman's body in mind.

(06:12):
I'm inspired by women's bodiesand that is what formulates the
design.
But also we don't use anyhardware no fasteners, buttons,
zippers.
It's all just based off thestretch of the natural stretch
of the fabric and it justcreates this like ultimate
comfort, non-binding apparelthat you can dress up and dress

(06:35):
down, very versatile.

Speaker 2 (06:38):
Very nice.
And how can our listeners learnmore about the clothing brand
Kia Tomlin?

Speaker 3 (06:44):
Well, they can, of course, go to our website, which
is kiatomlinus.
You can also follow us onInstagram and Facebook, which is
at at Kia Tomlin, and if youwant to shoot us an email, you
can email us at info atkiatomlinus.

Speaker 2 (07:02):
Perfect Well, Kia, I very much appreciate your time
today and having you as a gueston the show.
We wish you and the clothingbrand the best moving forward.

Speaker 3 (07:13):
Thank you.

Speaker 1 (07:15):
Thank you for listening to the good neighbor
podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to GNPPittsburghcom.
That's GNPPittsburghcom, orcall 412-561-9956.