Former Patagonia Seamstress Introduces Own Line of Clothes

Alba Alargunsoro isn’t sure how to describe her new line of women’s clothing.

“If you say ‘dressy,’ people think it’s just evening clothes,” said the owner of the Alba label. “When you say ‘designer,’ people think it’s very expensive. I think everybody can afford my clothes.”

Alargunsoro introduced her Alba line of three-piece rayon outfits, priced from about $80 to $110, at last week’s grand opening of her small Ventura showroom in the industrial area of Bunsen Avenue off Victoria Avenue.

The showroom is attached to Alba’s Garment Works, the 9,000-square-foot sewing factory Alargunsoro has owned since 1989. The 35 seamstresses do contract manufacturing work, predominantly for Patagonia Inc., the Ventura-based outdoor clothing company.

Though she may have trouble defining her clothing, Alargunsoro had no trouble naming it. Seeing her name on the clothing label, she said, is a major milestone in a career path that began when she emigrated from Uruguay 18 years ago and took a job sewing Patagonia garments.

“Because I couldn’t speak the language I had to do something with my hands,” said Alargunsoro, 45. “An Argentine friend of mine was working at Patagonia and got me the job.”

After taking garment industry classes at UCLA, traveling to trade shows, and attending health and safety seminars, Alargunsoro decided to go into business for herself, contracting her work to Patagonia and to smaller clients.

At the start, Alargunsoro took on repair work for Patagonia, fixing products manufactured overseas that didn’t meet the company’s quality standards.

“That’s the big gap she filled then and still does,” said Marjorie Leigh, contract manager for Patagonia’s operations in the southwest United States. “Little by little she’s grown.”

The company has grown to the point that Alba’s Garment Works manufactures about 15 types of Patagonia designs, including hats, cardigans, shorts and children’s clothing. For 1996, Alargunsoro projects sales for Alba’s Garment Works at $1.2 million, a nearly 58% increase from 1995, she said.

Alargunsoro wouldn’t mind a similar growth pattern for her Alba clothing line.

“If it works, I would open a full retail store,” she said. “My goal for 1996 is to export to Uruguay.”