New boutique offers custom-made clothing to women over 35 New boutique offers custom-made clothing to women over 35 (April 27, 2005)

By Jane Knoerle

Almanac Lifestyles Editor

Business executive Judy Balint was frustrated when shopping for clothes. "The clothes didn't fit, the styles didn't feel right, and shopping wasn't fun any more. I didn't want to dress like an 18-year-old or like my mother. I knew there had to be better solution."

That solution was founding Atelier Avocado, a company selling made-to-measure clothing in natural fabrics -- silks, linens, cashmeres, and cottons -- to women 35 and over.

Ms. Balint left a job with E*Trade financial group in 2001 to study fashion design for two years at the Academy of Art in San Francisco. While there she came up with the idea for her business: a custom-made fashion line using natural fabrics, not synthetics.

The name, Atelier Avocado, comes from the French atelier (studio or workshop) and avocado -- a green, luxury fruit. "Fruit names are a bit of a trend," she adds. (Mango is the name of a popular European clothing brand.)

The business opened this month at 1145 Merrill St., a historic house in Menlo Park, formerly the site of Lisa's Tea Treasures. The cozy boutique is a far cry from the shopping mall. It's a place where women shop by appointment in a relaxed setting.

In our great-grandmothers' day, women didn't buy ready-to-wear. They hired seamstresses to make their clothes or sewed for themselves and their families. At Atelier Avocado, this old-fashioned concept is given a new twist.

When clients arrive for an appointment, they look through styles and materials with a consultant to see what appeals to them. Then they are literally put on a pedestal, wearing leggings and a silk robe for modesty, while 40 measurements are taken of their body.

Do women feel embarrassed by the close and personal contact with a tape measure? "No, they love being fussed over," says Ms. Balint.

The company then uses digital pattern-making techniques to make an individual pattern for each customer. "You aren't just one size; every body is unique," says Ms. Balint.

Clients can use 3D digital-imaging software, which allows them to play "dress-up" by projecting specific designs and patterns on personalized virtual models. A click of the mouse can change the color, fabric and style of a digital wardrobe.

After selections are made, an order takes about three weeks to complete. The actual sewing is done at another Bay Area workroom.

Atelier Avocado uses two designers: Fiona Henderson, whom Ms. Balint met while attending the Academy of Art University in San Francisco; and Francesca Sterlacci of Portola Valley, who taught at the New York Fashion Institute of Technology.

Natural fabrics include silk, linen, cotton, hemp -- and fleece created from recycle soda bottles.

Prices range from $75 for a sport top to $320 for a two-layer carousel skirt and $1,500 for a cashmere coat lined in silk.

The Menlo Park boutique is located at 1145 Merrill St., across from the train station. It is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and on weekends by appointment only. For more information, go to AtelierAvocado.com, or call 330-8030 for an appointment.

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