Good Neighbor Podcast: Pittsburgh

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

• Leila Carter & Kiya Tomlin • Episode 82

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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

(412) 408-3614


Speaker 1:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Lila Carter.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in need of fashion that's comfortable yet polished? A resource may be closer than you think. Today, I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, kia Tomlin. With Kia, tomlin, kia, how's it going?

Speaker 3:

Oh, very well, thank you. Thank you for having me.

Speaker 2:

Thanks for being here. We're excited to learn all about you and your business, so please tell us more about your company.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, so I have a fashion brand and I essentially created a category that bridges the gap in the market, that is, by combining the ease of loungewear with the polish of day wear. Excellent, and how did you get into this business? Little, when I was, you know, grade school. I was really not only do we not have a lot of money, I was also very, very small and one of the only Black families in our kind of upper middle class town, and so 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 also couldn't fit the clothing that 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 the other girls. And once I learned that I could do that, then I learned that I could create things that could also make me stand out, but in a good way, and so I began to just sew my own wardrobe.

Speaker 3:

By middle school, I was sewing everything. By high school, I was saving my pants for a fabric, and by college, I was making all the sorority dresses for the sorority girls or the step costumes for the step shows. And then, after I graduated college, I didn't. I still didn't have a dream of becoming a fashion designer.

Speaker 3:

But with life changes and everything, I realized that someone once told me figure out what you love to do and find a way to make money doing it. And what I had always thought of fashion as being superficial, I realized I really did love fashion and so I started on the journey to become a custom designer. And as a custom designer I realized from working with women predominantly middle-aged women that would come in with, you know, bodies that have changed and maybe some insecurities I realized that I could design things that could transform them and solve their problems and that was really rewarding to me. So I set out to make what I could do in that special skill more accessible to broader women and that's how the Kia Tomlin Ready to Wear brand was started.

Speaker 2:

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, or maybe misconceptions, in the fashion industry that you'd like to discuss today?

Speaker 3:

I definitely think one of the things that I hear a lot about is about quality Quality whether it's fashion or where it's made. And I think that that stereotype of, say, everything made in China is cheap, everything in America is good, everything in Italy is exceptional I think all of those levels of quality exist in all of those places. We just have to become better at identifying quality. We just have to become better at identifying quality. So it really is on us to look at the different pieces and from different countries and to be able to identify what makes a garment quality what is the fabric that's being used, how is the stitching done, how is it durable, how is it washed? And you really can find those everywhere. But it is on us, instead of stereotyping the country of origin.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely. That's such great insight. I mean there's going to be exceptional artisans in every country, right, and then also that might have quality that is less savory. Yeah, totally agree. So, as we think of marketing as the heart of every business, who are your target customers and how are you attracting them?

Speaker 3:

So we, my target customer, is women kind of middle aged 30 to 65. That's where my love of problem solving comes from, when I was a custom designer and I really believe that there is a need in that market. Designer, and I really believe that there is a need in that market. We're not 22 anymore and I feel like the fashion industry does for the most part, cater to the younger generations, especially when it comes to comfortable wear and stylish comfortable wear. So that's my target market and we do our advertising Well. Best of, of course, is word of mouth a happy customer that spreads the word um we absolutely love. And then we also use um social media. We use um paid advertising and activations and we also use um charity auctions as a way to bring um attention to our brand.

Speaker 2:

What do you do for fun?

Speaker 3:

um, travel, um, and that's a new love. I have spent the last 25 years being a full-time mom, and so, now that my I'm a new empty nester, if I'm not traveling to go see the kids, then I'm traveling to do some, some other exciting things very nice, nice.

Speaker 2:

So, kia, please tell our listeners one thing that they should remember about your clothing brand Kia Tomlin.

Speaker 3:

I would say that what separates our brand most noticeably is the fabric that we use. We use our signature blend of bamboo, cotton, spandex and it is just buttery, soft and breathable and it has stretch. And we don't use in all of our designs well, one I design with the woman's body in mind. I'm inspired by women's bodies and that is what formulates the design. But also we don't use any hardware no fasteners, buttons, zippers. It's all just based off the stretch of the natural stretch of the fabric and it just creates this like ultimate comfort, non-binding apparel that you can dress up and dress down, very versatile.

Speaker 2:

Very nice. And how can our listeners learn more about the clothing brand Kia Tomlin?

Speaker 3:

Well, they can, of course, go to our website, which is kiatomlinus. You can also follow us on Instagram and Facebook, which is at at Kia Tomlin, and if you want to shoot us an email, you can email us at info at kiatomlinus.

Speaker 2:

Perfect Well, Kia, I very much appreciate your time today and having you as a guest on the show. We wish you and the clothing brand the best moving forward.

Speaker 3:

Thank you.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for listening to the good neighbor podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GNPPittsburghcom. That's GNPPittsburghcom, or call 412-561-9956.