BEHIND THE SCENES AT THIS WORLDFAMOUS FASHION BOUTIQUE, AND HOW ITS MOTHER DAUGHTERS TRIO HAS BEEN MAKING COUTURE MAGIC FOR MORE THAN 25 YEARS

BY AMANDA McCOY • PHOTOS BY ROBERT NUZZIE

More than 10,000 gowns line the racks at Diane & Co., a high end eveningwear and couture boutique along Highway 9 in Freehold. One step inside the store is to be presented with a kaleidoscope of lace, sparkle, bold prints, vibrant colors, and at once dramatic and timeless silhouettes. Styles run the gamut, from cocktail and prom to pageant and one of a kind couture much of which can’t be found anywhere else in the world. Both designers to the stars and dynamic up and comers are represented.

Diane Scali, the proprietor and founder, is at the helm, along with her two daughters, Kimberly Gambale and Christina Lucas. They all make a point of running the store to “make each customer feel like a celebrity” in their search for the perfect dress. Today they enjoy a visible storefront and enough square footage to house such an eclectic collection of gowns, but Lucas remembers the more humble beginnings of her mom’s business, which began as a small casualwear boutique in Brooklyn in 1978 called Lucky Lady. The store was rebranded as Diane & Co. when it moved to Staten Island, and when the family relocated to Manalapan in the mid-1990s, the store settled into a small space on Route 33.

Final Diane and Company_007

“I remember her being at the store morning, noon, and night,” recalled Lucas, Scali’s youngest daughter. “She was working and trying to survive…that’s the day and age we were in. My parents had three kids, and she and my dad were working to keep going. I remember not seeing her a lot because she was always at the store.”

The first New Jersey operation was so small, in fact, that customers would wait in the parking lot for two hours or longer just to get inside so widely and quickly had her reputation spread.
“It’s her personality. She’s very contagious,” said Lucas. “You just want to get to know her. The business grew totally by word of mouth.”

Diane operated out of that small space for more than a decade, during which she transitioned from casual to formal wear. In the early 2000s, the time had come to find a bigger store; when she found the boutique’s current location in Freehold, she asked Lucas to come on board, help decorate, and otherwise get it off the ground. Fifteen years later, Lucas hasn’t left, and Gambale joined the family enterprise shortly after she did.

Cellini Spread

Each of the three women is armed with keen fashion sense and an unrelenting commitment to customer service, but each also bring individual strengths. Lucas is the head of alterations, web design, and front of house, while Gambale manages social media, employees, trunk shows, and anything and everything couture.

Final Diane and Company_005

“When you want yours to be the only piece the world, that’s Kim’s world,” added Lucas. And as for the boss, Scali is still on site six days a week overseeing garment searches, fittings, and finished products.

“She’s very much involved. She gives advice and will oversee appointments,” Lucas said. “If she sees someone getting a fitting and she doesn’t like the bust line, she will jump in and everyone in the store freezes [laughs]. She’s the reason we are all here. We learned everything from her, so when she jumps in, we are all like ‘Okay Diane.’”

The trio’s reputation for chemistry and talent spread throughout the state and beyond, garnering a cult following and even catching the attention of a TV producer, whose mother was a customer. In 2010, that same producer offered the women an opportunity to put the family boutique on an international stage. The first episode of Oxygen Channel’s Jersey Couture, centered on Diane & Co., premiered on June 1, 2010 and ran for two seasons and a total of 22 episodes.

“It was an amazing experience,” Lucas recalled. “It was crazy to let it into your lives and definitely a lot of work, but we all agreed that we would make it a good family show. We stayed true to ourselves.”

The store’s inventory is constantly evolving, and each item is hand selected by the family. The trio strive to stay on the forefront of trends and emerging designers. As for 2020, Lucas explained that feathers will be all the rage, along with simple, slinky styles from label Jessica Angel and the feminine, romantic gowns of Portia and Scarlett. As for couture, she added, expect an infusion of delicate florals and colors like champagne, rose gold, and rosy pink.

Final Diane and Company_004

“I think people keep coming back because the three of us and the way we train our staff make them feel as comfortable as possible during a shopping experience,” Lucas said. “Everyone has a story behind their gown, and we want to be invested in each customer. If you alter a gown with us, you’re going to be with us for at least a month. We want to get to know you and make you feel comfortable. We treat every customer like family.”

The Scali women also make a point of answering when community need calls. When Superstorm Sandy struck the East Coast, they began collecting donations for those in need, and a number of store visitors dropped off donations on that first Saturday thereafter, including one man who painted a large banner asking for additional contributions. The family didn’t anticipate what would happen the very next day

“By the end of the first night, we had one load for the Salvation Army,” recalled Lucas, “so the next day we were just going to meet at the store at noon and stay until four or so. I got a phone call from my sister that morning telling me to ‘Get to the store now.’ There were 1,000 people there! Apparently a news station saw the banner. We had an assembly line and different sections for baby, water, toilet paper, clothing, etc… and filled up seven or eight Salvation Army trucks. It was incredible. That’s part of what being in business is all about.”

Final Diane and Company_002

Diane & Co.
3440 U.S. 9, Freehold / 732.625.8001 /
dianeandcoonline.com