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     Clothing of yesteryear found on local Web site
     By Kevin Lusk 
     Staff Writer 

     Susan Whitfield hopes she has found a new "stitch" in electronic commerce. 
After five years of selling reproductions of historical clothing at Civil War re-enactments, Ms. Whitfield, 24, decided it was time to broaden her horizons. She created a Web-based business, www.maggiemayfashions.com, to sell her products online. A year later, Ms. Whitfield's gamble has paid off. She has sold clothing to customers in 25 states, Germany and the United Kingdom. 

     "I originally only sold the clothes at (local) events," the Hixson resident said. "After I posted by Web site, I was able to reach a whole new audience. There may not be a large market for these type of products (locally), but with the Internet I can find the larger market." 

     Ms. Whitfield specializes in creating reproductions from 1750 to 1950. Most of her creations have been used for period weddings, Civil War re-enactors, living historians and museums. 

     Katherine Grava, a resident of Allen, Texas, started attending re-enactments with her husband in 1999. After searching for dresses near her home, she didn't find anything to her liking. She turned to the Internet and found a handful of sites to browse, though she was still left frustrated. 

     "Many of the dresses weren't authentic or well made," Mrs. Grava said. "When I came across Susan's site, I was very pleased." 

     Over the past year, Mrs. Grava has bought five dresses from maggiemayfashions.com. Ms. Whitfield custom-makes all of the products to ensure they are tailored for each customer's measurements. It takes one or two days to create a dress. 

     "The fact I am getting custom-made clothes is phenomenal," Mrs. Grava said. 
     One of the advantages of owning an online business is being able to keep a low number of dresses in stock. Ms.Whitfield makes most of the dresses after they have been ordered. As a result, she has low overhead and needs little space for materials. 

     "If I opened a shop in Chattanooga, many of the dresses would have to be pre-made," Ms. Whitfield said. "If you add that with the slim chances of someone walking in and buying something on a daily basis, I wouldn't be able to stay in business long." 

     The only investment Ms. Whitfield has made in the business is the money needed for a domain name and to reserve the Web space needed for the site. 

     The biggest problem Ms. Whitfield has faced is registering her site with Internet search engines. Many, like AltaVista and Netscape, require a yearly fee between $100 to $400 to be included. Once you have signed on, there is no guarantee where a site will be placed among search results. 

     "If a search brings back 2,000 results, you could be number 1,500 on the list," Ms. Whitfield said. "You pay the same amount as the person on the top, but don't get the same push." 

     As a result, Ms. Whitfield was able to register with only one search engine and the engine's service is free to many Web sites. Luckily that site was Yahoo.com, one of the most used search engines on the Internet. 

     "I was so excited when I found out they accepted me," Ms. Whitfield said. "Even though I may be listed with several other sites, every little bit helps."