Annette Wallander in one of her custom purple tweed suits. (Joseph Fuqua II photo) | ZOOM |

        At the age of 10, Annette Wallander of Sycamore Township started drawing pictures of the clothes she liked, and her path was set.

        Thirty years and several retailing jobs later, she's back at it, running her own custom-design clothing store, the Garment District, in Hyde Park.

        “I love a well-tailored dress and jacket, and it's really hard to find the perfect fit, in the right jacket length in the right fabric and color,” she says. So she's taken matters into her own hands and is her own best advertisement of a “tailored, polished look,” according to nominator Lauren Abel.

        Signature style: I usually wear suits, either with skirts or pants. It's a good professional look. You can mix and match pieces and make a totally new look with accessories and blouses.

        You splurge on: Something that fits really well and is classic so it will be in style for a while, yet has a flair.

        Earliest fashion memory: Designing clothes as a child and actually sewing them. I'd work from a book pattern and make lots of changes because I couldn't find the clothes that fit well and were the kind I was looking for.

        Pet peeve: Clothing tha doesn't fit and pants that are too short. I'm 5-feet, 8-inches tall and sometimes have a hard time with length.

        Best bargain: A leather designer coat for $99 at an outlet store.

        If you had big bucks you'd buy: Fabulous evening wear. I love to dress up and go out. People ought to do that more often.

        Nominations to Joy Kraft, Cincinnati Enquirer, 312 Elm St., Cincinnati 45202; fax; 768-8330; jkraft@enquirer.com Include their name, age, daytime phone and why they should be featured.

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