CAPE MAY – A merino wool contrast sweater, woven in New York on a seamless Japanese knitting machine, a wood speaker hand-carved in Cape May, a Jacques Cousteau-inspired shirt designed and printed here in town; Lindsay Givens Casale, the founder of Givens, a lifestyle store on the Washington Street Mall, knows the story behind every item for sale in her shop.

That’s especially important because, as Givens Casale put it, “unvetted manufacturing dominates the fast fashion industry.”

Givens Casale has a close relationship with every vendor that sells items in her store. How an item was made is just as important as how it looks and feels.

“There should not be human suffering when making a product,” she said. “You have to vet your stuff. It’s putting in that extra effort to ask questions of your suppliers.”

Clothing made with higher ethical standards is often of a higher quality, too. Givens Casale said that some of her favorite memories at the store are when customers came in wearing products they bought years ago at the store. Jungmaven shirts, made from American hemp, last for years even when up against frequent wear.

“A customer told me recently, ‘I rolled my eyes at what was at the time a $36 T-shirt, but here I am five years later I still have it on.’”

But reality is that transparent manufacturing methods come with a higher cost for business owners.

“To me, it’s worth the effort, the extra legwork. I’m willing to accept slimmer margins that are not the same as somebody stocking true fashion brands or trendy brands,” Givens Casale said.

Givens Casale wanted to create an “entire world where people can get lost” in her shop, she said. She remembers being enchanted by stores like Bath Time, a soap shop on the mall with a rubber duck flair, and Whale’s Tail, with a curated selection of children’s educational toys and gifts that stand out for their quirkiness.

Colorful shirts, pottery, books, and bags stand bright against Givens’ fully white interior, which allows even the smallest items to shine.

Givens Casale grew up in Cape May and went to school at the Parsons School of Design in New York. Her schooling and talent landed her an internship and job offer at Calvin Klein. She quickly found herself working with a team that designed iconic items like “the Met Gala gowns, anything that is worn to high-end events made by Calvin Klein. It was the true clothing atelier, it was really cool.”

Givens Casale is still able to use her design prowess at the store. The Hartman sweater, named after longtime employee Christian Hartman, is a popular seasonal item that wears a custom Givens label. The Hartman, made of merino wool, dons two contrasting colors that vary each year and is manufactured in New York City. But the design – the fit, the colors – is allGivens.

But a Cape May local can’t really be happy with a big corporate atmosphere, she said.

“I realized there was a world where I could cobble together a living and still enjoy the beach,” she said.

She moved back to Cape May and saw a niche: She wanted to open a store on the mall that sold things to a demographic that wasn’t tourists looking for a souvenir. She wanted to sell funky clothing, and looks that would inspire a younger crowd.

Those first few years of business had Givens Casale working roughly 80 hours a week. She waited tables all the while, and her husband took on odd jobs to give them financial security while the store found a name for itself.

She had a lot of help from her husband’s family, the Casales, who own a shoe store on the mall. “They showed me the ropes – I had no idea what I was doing in some areas of the business.”

Nine years in, Givens has made a name for itself. The store hosts art shows, pop-ups with local artists, andGivens Casale jokes that some days coming to work is like hanging out with her friends. But her commitment to colorful, ethical fashion still anchors the store.

“At the end of the day, I need to stand behind everything I sell. I didn’t use my family name on my business for nothing.”

Visit Givens year-round on 418 Washington Street in Cape May.

Contact the reporter, Collin Hall, at chall@cmcherald or by phone at 609-886-8600 ext. 156.