A BYU-Idaho student has launched a modest fashion outlet and just announced plans for new releases.
Angie Johns, the creative behind Adalee Clothing, saw a need for modest and “garment-friendly” clothing. She began an effort to make stylish outfit pieces that would cover the temple garment for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“When I started to become active in the Church, I started to notice this need for clothes,” Johns said. “I knew that I had the materials to make this happen.”
Johns started a company Instagram and gained a following and has received positive feedback after the release of her first dress, Annie. Annie was inspired by the yellow satin dress from “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” and named after a close friend who always showed Johns Christ-like love.
“I think it’s the most stunning dress ever, but I knew I couldn’t wear it with garments,” Johns said. “I wanted to make sure I made it in a garment-friendly way, so we could still feel extremely beautiful wearing this dress and still have that design with that yellow satin fabric that is so stunning … and feel like the original dress.”
Johns announced the upcoming release of Adalee’s second dress, Isabelle, which is named for Johns’ childhood friend. The inspiration for Isabelle came from a trending dress style which is often found without sleeves.
“I have always seen dresses that have the same design of those frills all the way down the dress, but they were always tank top dresses,” Johns said. “I did some really deep digging and probably went for about an hour searching for a dress that had sleeves with that design, and I could not find one. So, I knew this was a need because if I was needing it, I wonder how many other girls have been wondering if there’s one that has short sleeves.”
Johns said she selected the name Adalee because of the name’s Hebraic meaning, “God is my refuge.” Johns wanted her company to be a refuge for those who want to wear stylish clothing while being able to wear the temple garment. Johns plans to release a summer line in the upcoming moths and is working on creating clothing for men as well.
Johns said one of the things that makes her happiest has been the feedback from customers.
“Definitely the feedback that I get from girls that purchase dresses when they tell me that it’s everything that they’ve ever wanted,” Johns said. “Or that they never have to worry about covering their garments no matter what style they’re wearing, that it’s one of the first dresses they haven’t had to worry about while ordering.”
To learn more and listen to the full interview with Angie Johns, go to BYU-Idaho Radio’s podcast on Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.