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Seven women are sitting in a circle at Greenwich Village’s Onegin Restaurant, sipping cocktails, exchanging business cards and raving about Kristin Paquette’s pants.
At first glance, Paquette’s trousers seem like ordinary work pants: black and fitted, with a flattering front seam and a slight ankle crop. But as Paquette delves into why she and Crystal Ung, her business partner, created the trousers for their new clothing line, Seyrue, it’s obvious t hese two women want to revolutionize the way professional women dress by making it simple, personalized & comfortable
Crystal Ung, left, and Kristin Paquette are the founders of Seyrue.
It’s easy to see why the women at Onegin were so enthusiastic. Currently, the active wear pants come in two styles – one with a front seam, one without – are wrinkle-free and machine washable and have a customizable inseam. In fact, they feel like high-quality leggings, but look very much like work trousers found at Banana Republic or Loft.
Ung, who just received her MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business, was inspired to create a new type of trouser for professional woman last year during an internship with Amazon. She became frustrated with the work wear options for women, which had to be altered to fit correctly or were outside of her price range.
Through a mutual friend, she met Paquette, who was also struggling to find comfortable, work-appropriate pants that actually fit, and the two hit it off.
“I’ve traditionally worked in male-dominated industries, and so we really wanted to empower professional woman. We want them to have this wardrobe that is just easy and they don’t have to worry about it,” Ung said. “Who likes worrying in the morning when you’re getting ready for work? I think it makes a difference when you feel confident.”
The entrepreneurs said they want to simplify the buying process while complimenting the active lifestyle of the modern business woman.
“One thing that motivated me with these pants is, I can wear them on the plane and be comfortable, and then get off and be presentable,” Paquette said. “What could be more versatile than black pants?”
Now, Ung and Paquette are trying to raise enough capital via a Kickstarter to get their line of pants up and running. The women hope to expand the collection to include a blazer and more color options.
The Seyrue line is available online.
Follow me on Twitter: @AliciaAdamczyk
