Lynn McCarthy
Diane Bailey in her signature Perfect White Blouse
It all began with boys and a beach house for Diane Bailey. The matriarch of the Bailey family is well-known here on St. Simons Island. This island is part of her blood and she’s proud to have raised her boys to adulthood here and to watch her grandchildren play on the same beaches and under the Live oaks that still tower above. She’s also proud of the business she built here with The Bailey Boys and the new chapter she’s starting with Diane Bailey Designs at the Beach House.
Diane Bailey Designs
It’s the beach house that her daddy built on St. Simons in 1980 that inspired Diane’s dreams and her designs. With pecky cypress throughout the interior, the beach house is pure Southern charm and over the years has been filled with cozy classic pieces that have been the backdrop for so many family memories. Today, it represents how the island used to be—peaceful, calm, warm and inviting. When you walk through the door, life slows down.
Diane started The Bailey Boys in 1987 after her youngest son started kindergarten. She recalls, “After lunching and shopping with friends for a while, I decided I needed to do something more productive and creative with my time. My husband, Jim, unbeknownst to me, bought several industrial sewing machines and the equipment to go with it to start a small business.” Diane explains that family legend has it that she was threading a needle from the time she was three years-old. “I guess he figured that since I’d been sewing all my life, that was the business I should pursue.” And pursue she did!
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Jim and Diane Bailey with the grandkids
She still recalls that first trip to market in Atlanta to find a sales representative. What an eye-opening experience! Diane says, “The market was so big and impressive! It seemed so out of my league.” But she did find a rep, Nancy, who encouraged her to create boys’ clothing to fill a niche in the marketplace that was underserved. And thus, The Bailey Boys was born. Diane had already been making clothes for her boys, and knew that was what she did best, so she went to work right away on designs. Her first foray in the fashion world with a reversible john john (a design she’d been making since her firstborn was a year old) met with resounding success. “I had a great response and was overwhelmed by the orders. Since it was only my mother, another lady and me doing all the cutting, sewing, pattern grading, etc., we had our hands full!” And that was just the beginning!
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Diane checking fit
The business progressively grew a little each year. The next BIG step came in the fall of 1996, when Diane’s husband Jim went to Baxley to buy some sewing machines from a plant that was downsizing. He returned with an idea to buy the factory since it was already set up and running. “At that time,” Diane explains, “we were having a hard time getting people to sew for us—many of the sewing factories had gone overseas and there just weren’t many sewing machine operators around our area.” So the idea did have some merit to it. They purchased the building and the Bailey Boys moved its sewing operations there in early 1997. Diane says, “I still marvel at how the fabric comes in on the loading dock at the back door, moves clockwise around the factory and goes out the back door the same way it came in as finished garments!” What she only recently discovered, by speaking to a long term rep for the company at market in Atlanta, was that when he used to come in, look around and say, “I don’t know how you do it! NOBODY else does this!” he truly meant NOBODY! When she asked him to explain, he said, “You don’t get it, do you? I travel all over the country. No one takes a design from pattern and fabric all the way to completed garment in one place! No one! Not just here in the area. Anywhere in the United States!” What an accomplishment!
When Diane started the business, she was designing, selecting fabrics, and overseeing the actual construction of the garments. More people, including her sons, stepped in to help. The warehouse on St. Simons Island turned into a company store where they carry and sell the five design lines they developed over the years. Diane’s little sewing endeavor turned into a national brand of children’s clothing known for its Southern classic and traditional feel and is carried in specialty stores throughout the country. A few years back, she was able to retire, leaving the business to flourish and continue in the capable hands of family.
When asked what she did when she got to indulge the luxury of retirement, Diane says, “I started baking. Soon I was giving poundcakes away to everyone I knew. I just couldn’t NOT do anything. But if I kept up the baking, that was going to be bad for our waistlines! So, after about two weeks, I decided to pursue a passion I’d always had: expanding my love of design into women’s clothing. People had been telling me for 30 years to do adult clothes! I launched Diane Bailey Designs at The Beach House with a line of ladies’ classic blouses.”
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Lovely ladies in Diane Bailey Designs
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Once again, Diane looked around and found a niche. She started with a classic, traditional white blouse, because that’s one of her favorite things. She says, “Every classy woman needs a classy white blouse.” Since women always complimented Diane on the blouses she wore, she created her designs based on the features she looked for in a blouse: a length that’s long enough to complement the figure, 3/4 sleeves for comfortable arm coverage, an attractive collar, and, pockets, of course—because you always need pockets to hold things!” Comfortable and complementary fit and quality fabric are essential and Diane ensures the best of both in the blouses she designs. But she couldn’t just stop at white! “With my love of classic, traditional checks and stripes, I’ve incorporated these patterns into my blouses for continued interest and inspiration from the island.”
Another niche she is filling with the blouses she has designed was more unexpected. She started
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carrying a certain number of Small, Medium, and Large sizes, but many women asked for Extra Small or Extra Large sizes. She started carrying those to accommodate, and now sells more of those sizes that the standard S-M-L. Diane takes pride in that, knowing that she is filling a need for women who can’t just go buy off-the-rack, and helping them to feel beautiful in quality clothing. Diane also sells some other items from other vendors that she’s picked up at market that she thinks island women might like, including cute dresses, and accessories like purses and the very popular goodr brand no-slip sunglasses.
Diane calls to mind the feeling of visiting a beach house for the designs she creates: timeless traditions and wonderful memories that last forever and return every time you step foot in the door. Her blouses are timeless and everlasting in the same way. She explains, “A Perfect White Blouse is our staple, but Diane Bailey Designs has created so many styles and colors to choose from. We just know wearing these versatile, comfortable, and durable blouses will take you back to your own ‘Beach House days.’ We believe the Beach House isn’t just a place, it’s a feeling—a way of life—and her signature blouse is not just another blouse, it’s a PERFECT White Blouse. But we want you to choose whatever color, pattern, and style that fits YOU best. Come shop with us!” Diane is happy to help you find your perfect look. Visit the website at dianebaileydesigns.com and follow Diane Bailey Designs on Facebook.
