Carmel Magazine

Loungewear with Style at Ruffle Me to Sleep D ee Borsella believes that a woman should be dressed with style and fashion even while relaxing around the house, out of sight of the public. That's why she designed the line of loungewear for her new shop, Ruffle Me to Sleep in Carmel. Using couture fabrics, the collection she's created is whimsical, feminine and above all, ultra-comfortable. "I found myself wearing loungewear more and more," Borsella says, "and couldn't find any that I really liked." She was particularly unhappy with the proliferation of what she calls "holey sweats," and longed for the "lus- cious embroidered gowns of before." So she got out her trusty Singer and went to work. A lifelong seamstress ("I learned to sew on my mother's lap") she is quick to point out that she has no formal training in design or fashion. But that didn't stop her from spending several years working as a stylist for movie and television productions in San Francisco. That, in fact, was just one of the occupations the 20-plus year Carmelite has enjoyed. "This is my 47th—or 74th—career," Borsella jokes. She initially began the business by making and selling bed jackets online. In the summer of 2014, she opened what she calls her "Store-dio," tucked away in a courtyard at Dolores and 5th. It's a charming space, a large por- tion of which is taken up with a workshop filled with the tools of her trade: cutting tables, sewing machines and bolts of fabric. Finished pieces hang on neat racks in a comfy, boudoir-like showroom. "My goal is to create an 'old Carmel' type of business," Borsella says. "One in which the artist works right in the shop, making unique things that can be bought only in Carmel." Ruffle Me to Sleep is in the Del Dono Court at Dolores and 5th in Carmel. For more information call 831/293-8636 or to order loungewear online, visit www.rufflemetosleep.com. —Michael Chatfield SHORTCUTS BUSINESS Dee Borsella, a seamstress and stylist, started selling attractive loungewear for women online, and recently switched to a retail space in down- town Carmel. Her company, Ruffle Me to Sleep, focuses on pajamas, robes and nightgowns in cozy and beautiful fabrics. 54 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • H O L I D A Y 2 0 1 4 Photo: Kelli Uldall

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