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Sydney Cromwell
Megan Dean opened The Moody Rabbit in November at 1825 29th Avenue South Suite B.
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Sydney Cromwell
Fashion designer Megan Dean stands in front of a recreation of the painting that inspired her store's name, The Moody Rabbit. The store opened in November at 1825 29th Avenue South Suite B.
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Sydney Cromwell
This painting inspired the name and logo of Megan Dean's store, The Moody Rabbit.
The first thing that draws the eye inside the Moody Rabbit is its namesake: a watercolor rabbit wearing sunglasses.
Local fashion designer Megan Dean opened the store, located at 1825 29th Ave. S. Suite B, this week. When she put together the idea for the Moody Rabbit, the name came from a painting a friend had made about four years ago.
“I was just obsessed with him and started putting him on clothing,” Dean said of the rabbit, which she said is something like a mascot. “He’s just fun. There’s something very cool about him.”
The original painting hangs near the back of the store, and a large recreation adorns one wall.
Dean started sewing at age 14 and made her first dress with her grandmother’s help, though she said she started taking fashion seriously about five years ago. She studied apparel design at University of Alabama and business at Auburn University before deciding to put her skills to the test in the business world.
“I love to see something go from sketch to finish. There’s something really rewarding about that,” she said.
She opened a textiles shop in Dothan and has sold her designs in Rosemary Beach, Florida, as well as in South Walton and New Orleans Fashion Weeks. Dean now has a studio set up on her grandparents’ farm near Dothan, as well as in the Moody Rabbit.
“I didn’t really want to move to New York, I didn’t want to move to L.A. and work for a different company. I really felt like I had a strong aesthetic and my design was really well-received, so I wanted to launch my own label,” Dean said.
The goal of the Moody Rabbit, Dean said, is to introduce shoppers to high quality designers they can’t find anywhere else, and to provide something new every time they come in.
“I’m first and foremost a fashion designer, but I felt like this would be a great platform for others just like me and a platform for the people of Homewood and of Birmingham to discover other designers,” Dean said.
The store currently carries Dean’s own line, an exclusive Moody Rabbit line and pieces from three other fashion labels that work with leather, silk and plus sizes, among other designs. Dean described her own designs as modern with timeless appeal, including use of fabrics that she hand-dyes.
Many of the pieces that the Moody Rabbit carries will be limited run designs, so “when it’s gone, it’s gone.” That means the clothes customers buy will be almost entirely unique.
“When customers come in, we want to be able to educate them on the lines that we carry and their stories,” she said.
Dean said she wants to hold a grand opening fashion show in December or January to officially open the store. She hopes to be a place for new designers to launch their careers.
“I really love the idea of people coming together and making something,” Dean said. “In a world of stuff, we all have stuff, I think people are really searching for something a little more meaningful. With that comes the quality of the clothing.”
She plans to be “experimental” this season, paying attention to the styles and brands that her customers love. As they learn, Dean said the Moody Rabbit will have a more established overall style while continuing to change things up regularly.
“Clothing is an extension of who you are and that’s why I love fashion so much,” Dean said. “Every time you come in here, we’re always going to have something new.”
The Moody Rabbit is open Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Find the store on Instagram, @themoodyrabbithomewood.
