Local boutique starts online talk show

Take a lady who carries the spirit of fashion within, take her on a roundabout tour, from the small town (Texarkana), to the big city (Dallas), then a whirlwind tour of New York City and its fashion scene, and a fashion entrepreneur is born.

"I started my business out of a car trunk," said Rozalyn Arnick, owner of Couture Closet. "Originally, I was just doing jewelry. But after twenty years as a civilian investigator with the Cedar Hill Police Department, I got to know Dallas and its fashion scene pretty well. So, when I got the idea of a brick-and-mortar store, I couldn't find anything suitable. I had taken a trip to New York City and the magic of the fashion scene there took hold and I knew that was where I wanted to take my business. But where?"

She came up with the idea of returning to her hometown of Texarkana.

"I suggested it to my husband. I wasn't sure he would be inclined, given he was a city guy from the West Coast," she said. "But thought we about it and decided it was a good idea. So home we came!"

They set up their location in Central Mall in 2017, and from the beginning, it had an online component. But it was COVID-19 that would inspire the next-level move.

"COVID was a bump on the head for our business," said Arnick. "But when we came through the shutdown, we looked at the online component and realized we could do more. So, three weeks ago, we kicked off the show, Couture Closet Live. It features us talking fashion, showing off our wares. We especially feature items we want to move or new stock that is coming in."

Couture Closet Live has quickly caught on, with the conversational style bringing in fans who not only are enthusiastic about bidding on the items that are presented Home Shopping Network-style, but who just hang around and watch the ladies banter during the broadcast. The show, which features Arnick, her daughter Jordan Chaffie, who also is her administration specialist, and sales manager, Barbara Rochelle. The three combine their knowledge and chemistry to produce Couture Closet Live.

"The key to making what we do here work is keeping her (Arnick) organized," said Chaffie. "My specialty is not fashion, not my wheel house. I help keep the ship straight and on course."

Rochelle brings the business and customer relations side of it as sales manager.

"We have great products here, great prices, great style. Our boss is great, too," she said. "But the key to this store and this show is customer relations. And though the show is great and succeeding beyond what we originally planned, our store location in Central Mall is central to the Couture Closet experience. A face-to-face experience and expertise is what we offer our customers."

"Most of our lines are east and west coast fashion designers," said Arnick. "Our merchandise is diverse, ranging from traditional to trendy, classic to chicc. Most customers who see our store location get a 'big city fashion vibe' from it. We have a great place, great product and a great show. But I could not pull this off without my team, these great ladies."

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