Greenwich Time By Harold Davis Special Correspondent April 11, 2007 Sharon Kim Sunoo wasn't too happy with drab women's golf fashions, so she decided to create her own. With Greenwich-based Birdy & Grace, her first line of clothes, Sunoo hopes to bring a more fashionable look to women on and off the course. "My whole way of fashion is making it attainable, not making you look like a victim or like you're trying too hard," said Sunoo, whose clothing can be seen online at www.birdyandgrace.com. Sunoo has been an avid golfer for the past 12 years. The former Wall Street executive with Solomon Brothers, Nasdaq and Morgan Stanley was introduced to the sport by her husband. She said she won a nine-hole championship at Burning Tree Country Club in Greenwich last year. Sunoo said she got the idea for improving women's golfwear about a year ago. She and her golfing buddies balked at clothing that seemed to come from a male perspective, or was sporty and athletic rather than attractive. She also wanted clothes that were pleasant to wear off the links. "We didn't wear women's golf clothes because there're ugly," Sunoo said." They're taking men's clothing, shrinking them to a women's body and making them pink or blue. Women want to look like women whether they're playing a sport or not." The Birdy & Grace line has been development for the last eight months, but Sunoo didn't plan on launching the company until next year. A public relations campaign and word-of-mouth got Sunoo's business off the tee early. "The response has been so great that we decided to push up production to June," Sunoo said. With no previous fashion experience, Sunoo welcomed assistance from Teress Stephens, her lone employee, who has been in the fashion industry for 15 years. Stephens also is a designer and does production for the line. Sunoo plans to do a series of shows locally in mid-June, including one at Sportif in Greenwich. Her spring line, the "Molly Group," named after one of her children's first-grade teacher at Parkway School, includes six shirts, a sweater, a pants design, a shorts design and two skirts. The pieces will sell for $95 to $100. "Usually at most trunk shows, you're able to see samples, but have to wait for months to get product. Our trunk show you can come and leave with product. It's harder for us to come with inventory, but we really believe in the product," she said. Argy Koutsothanasis, fashion director for Golf for Women magazine, is enthusiastic about more women producing women's golf clothes. "I believe that the female market has the greatest growth opportunity - the male market has kind of plateaued. For women it's an exciting time. I was just at a PGA show and everybody is doing a stellar job. It feels like women are getting a stronger voice. They're more confident and want more feminine, beautiful and fashion-forward clothing," Koutsothanasis said. Koutsothanasis said that having an Internet presence is important to generate buzz for a new line of golf clothes, especially when some retailers are afraid to take risks on unproven products. "The Internet is great way to show your product, and then the pro shops come to you," she said. Sunoo said she is excited about the interest in her company. She has five other lines on deck for next spring but thinks the soft launch of her business will be helpful before going national with her designs next year. "Greenwich is a great place to start a business and a local buzz to create a national buzz," she said. Copyright © 2007, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.