McEntire Moonlights

Monday, November 08, 2010 - 08:53 AM, CST | Tennessean.com | Cindy Watts

Reba McEntire has a new album on the way, but she’s got more on her plate than just music. And that includes designing the plate.
The country star recently added a slew of new items to her line of Reba items at Dillard’s, including tableware and a women’s clothing line. (She also designs luggage, shoes, bedding, furniture and coordinating bathroom sets, among other things.)

“I’m working constantly,” McEntire said of her Dillard’s line. “Tomorrow, I pick out (clothes for) May of next year. I’ve already done the color palette and samples.”

Although she isn’t making sketches or dying fabric, McEntire does choose the colors and styles she likes, and after she sees samples, makes notes on details such as necklines and skirt lengths.

The singer didn’t expect to work in the fashion industry — she notes that she grew up wearing hand-me-downs. But she found that helping design clothes had a lot in common with comparison shopping, and that people responded to her style preferences.

“I didn’t have any taste whatsoever,” she said. “But once we started in on it and they said, ‘Would you like this shirt or this shirt, this style or this style, this color or this color?’ When it’s an A and B, it’s like, ‘Well, that one.’ And it turned out that’s what my customers liked also. So it gives me confidence when things sell that I had a voice in. I really do like it.”

McEntire thinks women respond to her clothing because she has a sense of what they want: color, comfort and sparkle.

“The dresses and tops are very comfortable. The sweaters are easy to maintain,” she said. “All of my stuff has some kind of sparkle to it, whether it’s on the hip of a jean, or a top, or even the boots have studs on them and the shoes have sparkle.”

McEntire is especially proud of her new women’s line, with tunics, tops, skirts and jeans that mimic the items found in the misses department.

“It’s not fair when a size 20 walks through the misses department and says, ‘I wish they made that in my size,’” McEntire said. “Well, go upstairs to the women’s department and now they do. The ladies love it, and we’re getting great feedback.”

Posted by Kevin on 11/08/2010 at 08:53 AM