Alex Lepe
Stephen Rivers learned how to put an outfit together while growing up in Eltingen, Germany, immersed in a culture where dressing in “Sunday best” was the norm. He remembers putting on his best clothes for church; then during the weekday, his family’s attention to style would carry on, especially when he’d watch his father dress up for work.
“He always had great patterns, great ties, he wore cologne — I was always impressed by him as a kid,” Rivers says.
And while Rivers may be a “grown-up” now, he hasn’t lost his sense of style. Rather, it’s taken a character of its own.
“I’ve learned to dress in a way that made me feel comfortable and confident, and express more of my own personality versus my dad’s or what I grew up in,” he said. “I feel like my style has definitely developed to be my own now. I believe we have a privilege as people every day to express ourselves in the way we dress without saying a word, and that’s really amazing.”
And “pretentious” isn’t part of his style vocabulary. For Rivers, the founder of local furniture line Jovili, and owner of custom window treatment company Trinity Uptown, putting together a good outfit doesn’t have to involve shopping at upscale boutiques. His go-to’s are Levi’s and Banana Republic, but he will also splurge at Nordstrom for shoes.
“What I go for is good quality pieces at good, attainable prices,” he says. “I don’t believe in going broke over a shirt or pants, even though I can afford it at this point. I just haven’t changed the way I shop.”
Rivers says he prefers clothes with a generally tight fit and likes to incorporate color and texture when possible. He also likes to accessorize, having a fondness for watches and glasses (he says he has about 10-12 pairs he likes to switch out). One of his favorite eyewear retailers is Warby Parker, which happens to be opening a location at WestBend on University Drive later this year. He also likes to model after the company’s business philosophy: The brand hinges on the concept of providing designer eyewear at lower prices than most retailers.
Rivers says he’d like to carry on that same principle with Jovili, which launched in March and held pop-up shops at The Crossing at Camp Bowie before moving to the Waterside development along Bryant Irvin Road and Arborlawn Drive. The shop, situated between REI and Steel City Pops, is there to stay until Oct. 31, with the opportunity to return in the months after.
Jovili’s collection of midcentury modern and contemporary furniture includes chairs and sofas made from leather and velvet, along with tables, drawers and rugs. Operating without a warehouse or brick-and-mortar helps keep the prices low.
He still wants to build a brick-and-mortar eventually. But for now, Rivers says business is running smoothly, selling pieces every week with a few lines out of stock.
Jovili is also going through an “experimenting phase,” he says, working on a custom line, with hopes to launch by the end of October.
He’s also continuing his day job at Trinity Uptown, a company he’s run for the past six years alongside his wife. And even though his German has become a bit broken since moving to the U.S., Rivers would be hard-pressed to lose touch with the roots of his personal style.
“What I learned from my dad is, the way you dress is how people perceive you,” he says. “[For him], it was about making sure your first impression was the best.”