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As a youngster, designer Sally Miller was inspired to enter the fashion business after watching an episode of the "Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour" on TV.

"I was always so impressed with Cher because she was incredibly bold and outrageous and funny and just electric," Miller told The Jewish State. "I learned that Bob Mackie was her fashion designer. I read all about him and her, and I learned from a young age that I wanted to do what Bob Mackie did - create this pure magic."

Miller, now a renowned designer, is bringing her own brand of that "pure magic" to Milltown, where she opened a boutique in August. Miller, whose designs are sold in upscale department stores such as Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdale's, has won many awards for her designs, specializing in the "tween" age range, clothing for girls age 8-12.

Miller's early inspiration put her on a lifelong path of fashion design. She graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design and returned to her hometown of Philadelphia, where she began pattern-making for a series of boutique stores. One day, however, Miller decided to take a train trip to New York that changed the course of her career.

"I decided that I would wear these designs (that I made) and walk into Carl Lagerfeld's office and ask him for a job. (Lagerfeld is the designer for the Chanel label.) I knocked on his door in New York. I took a train up - with no appointment - with my little portfolio that I worked so hard on. A man named Eric Wright opened the door and said that Carl would meet with me right there. Here I am, 20, arriving at Carl Lagerfeld's office! The meeting went very well. I learned that they were closing the U.S. office and they were moving back to Paris. I wasn't prepared to move to Paris. He sent me to a guy named Andrew Rosen, who was at Anne Klein at the time. He wasn't hiring, but he interviewed me, loved me, and he called Liz Claiborne."

The rest is history. Miller landed her first job designing for Liz Claiborne, which Miller said was an opportunity that helped her advance in and "get the inside skinny" on the business.

"That [whole experience] really sums up who I am. When I'm really focused on something, I really go after it," Miller said. "I'm really passionate about what's important to me."

Miller moved on from Liz Claiborne to work for other labels, Champion and Lulu Handbags among them. After designing for labels, Miller started Sally Mack with a partner to design clothes aimed toward tweens.

"I'm considered an expert in the tween arena of branding and designing," Miller said. "I've been involved in the tween market for over 20 years."

Miller won the Fresh Face Award in 2001, during her first year of designing with Sally Mack. About one year ago, Miller started the Sally Miller label and saw only success from there.

"My brand is in high-end retailers like Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdales; I ship to Nordstrom's, Lord and Taylor, and over 275 boutiques across the country, including Lester's and Fred Siegel," Miller said. "Neiman Marcus built a Sally Miller boutique."

Miller found the opportunity to open a boutique in Milltown when her family moved out of New York City.

"My ex-husband and I were driving around with my two kids in the car looking for houses," Miller said. "We had been in New York for 18 years and we were looking for [a neighborhood where we could] have our children ride their bikes in the neighborhood. The kids were getting antsy. We pulled over, got lost, and stopped in front of a house that said 'for sale by owner, open house today.' I lived there and I first started my office in my house and we grew out of the house."

A property on Main Street was up for rent, a place where Miller could move her home office into its own entity.

"It was a great opportunity," Miller said. "I renovated the whole space. It has an uptown vibe with a downtown spirit. These tweens, they walk in, and it's a store for them."

Miller says that her boutique in a very Jewish county provides a great opportunity for her clothing, because it is fashionable and age-appropriate.

"There is a huge range of ages that come in to buy my clothing," Miller said. "What's so great about it is that the clothes are appropriate. They're cool and hip, but very comfortable. The tween wants to wear it, and the parent green lights the buy. I think that's been the success of the brand. I am very detail oriented about fit and quality. I fit on live models. I develop all of my own fabrics, and they have to be incredibly luxurious and comfortable. You can get a beautiful dress to wear to a bat mitzvah and it's in the $70 to $80 range, and the quality, trend, and fit are really there."

Miller is very passionate about designing for the tween age range.

"In the tween market, you start when you're 8 years old," Miller said. "She's in 2nd grade. I have to design an outfit that an 8-year-old will want to wear and it goes all the way up to 14 and 15. Picture a second grader wearing the outfit as a 7th grader. How do you please both? And that's what's so exciting about designing a collection that's so age-appropriate. Make sure that the product has integrity; the questions I ask myself [while] designing are, 'Is this empowering the girl? Is this a good choice for her? Is this nurturing her self-esteem?' Putting on clothing for her is expressing herself. I'm giving her lots of creative choices for her to add on to or build the wardrobe that is going to build her self-esteem and explore and celebrate herself and who she is."

The Sally Miller store is located on 30 North Main Street, Milltown. Visit her Web site at www.sallymiller.biz to see her collection and shop online.