Column: Shorelines

KAREN DILLON | Special to Laker Weekly

Chinah Helmandollar models one of Donna Miller's designs under the Gotta Have It label. Miller's winter fashions are still available at The Cottage Gate at Westlake Towne Center.

In high school, lake resident Donna Miller wrote the "What's In" fashion column for the school paper. As a teen growing up in West Virginia, money was tight she bought her prom dress for $3 at a yard sale and modified it to her liking. She was the envy of all her friends. So it's no wonder this one-time beauty queen (she was Miss Southern West Virginia back in the mid-1960s), has found her niche creating wearable fashions for women of all ages.

Miller is the creator of Gotta Have It, a clothing line that includes outerwear, pants and gloves made of soft, fleecy fabrics, and sold exclusively at The Cottage Gate in Westlake Towne Center and at Christy's in downtown Roanoke. And while sales can spell success, Miller says her purpose is more about giving back to women.

"You want to make people feel good about themselves," she said.

Miller's longtime friend, Janet Medina, described her friend's clothing as "ageless and sizeless," and added that women seek out her designs because they feel good wearing them.

"That's what her gift is," said Medina. "You can put [Miller's designs] on and think 'I'm going to look beautiful in this.'"

As a young adult, Miller owned an upscale women's boutique called The Fox, which was located in the French Quarter section of Tanglewood Mall in Roanoke. Owning that store gave Miller the confidence and determination she needed to start making her own creations.

"I was seeing what the public wanted and what they were willing to pay," said Miller.

The Fox closed in 1990, but women who once shopped there didn't forget Miller.

"To this day, people come up to her (Miller) and say 'I still have something I bought at The Fox,'" said Medina.

While living in Lake Norman, N.C., Miller, who was then operating another retail store called Frankly My Dear, was in a fabric shop where she fell in love with a taupe fleece material.

"I remember thinking, 'this is wonderful,'" recalled Miller.

From that fabric, Miller made a swing coat, matching long straight skirt and headband and trimmed each piece with faux fur. Miller put the pieces on display in her store and the response was overwhelming.

"I literally started out with one coat and one skirt," said Miller of her new clothing line, which she named Frankly My Dear after her store.

The new line eventually expanded to include summer clothing, lingerie, sleepwear and even bath soaps.

Life events caused Miller to sell the business after 10 years. After that, she and husband Joe got into the shabby chic furniture and home decor business, but she found she missed designing women's clothing. So, when she moved back to the lake a couple of years ago, she put a classified ad in a local paper seeking help with sewing.

"I bet I had 30 phone calls at least," said Miller, who whittled that number down and hired five people. From there, her newest clothing line, Gotta Have It, was born.

Once owners of The Cottage Gate saw Miller's creations, they approached her and asked if they could sell her fashions exclusively at the lake. She agreed.

"I've dealt with hundreds of stores all over the United States and I've never worked with anyone as professional and lovely as they are," said Miller. "I can't say enough good things about them."

Currently, Miller is working on a spring line of Gotta Have It fashions as well as her own one-of-a-kind jewelry. And she'll be on the lookout for new fabrics to use in her lines.

"I find my fabric and then I decide what to do with it," said Miller. "It's opposite of what other designers do, but a fabric can inspire me and what I make."

While they last, Miller's winter fashions can be found at The Cottage Gate in Westlake Towne Center and at Christy's, 312 South Jefferson St., downtown Roanoke.