A Bogner women’s long coat from Germany ($1,899) with a Bogner piece underneath it ($319) and fur collar ($499 at The Changing Room on Burtis Avenue in New Canaan). Credit: Michael Dinan
‘Fire & Ice,’ a women’s winter coat, also by Bogner, and it’s an entry-level brand to the parent company ($749 at The Changing Room on Burtis Avenue in New Canaan). Credit: Michael Dinan
A junior Kamik (Canada) jacket, fully waterproof, seam-sealed winter and ski coat ($120 at The Changing Room on Burtis Avenue in New Canaan). Credit: Michael Dinan
Sheepskin and fleece Astis mittens, all waterproof and hand-beaded ($199 at The Changing Room on Burtis Avenue in New Canaan). Credit: Michael Dinan
Few New Canaan businesses built a reputation for unique products in demand and strong customer service as did the Alberino family-owned New Canaan Ski and Sport, a Main Street fixture for decades.
Fueled by a love of skiing and offering a wide array of outdoor wear, the iconic shop that John Alberino launched on Cherry Street in 1976 would serve locals for most of its 36 years in a commercial space opposite Morse Court before moving to Forest for its final eight years in town. It closed in October 2012.
Pam Alberino in The Changing Room, her cold weather wear boutique and personal shopping service on Burtis Avenue in New Canaan. Credit: Michael Dinan
By then, daughter Pam Alberino, a 1990 Wilton High School graduate and accomplished skier, already had worked for most of her life at the shop, and the family had opened a store in Ridgefield with another soon to launch in Westport.
Yet the Alberinos’ deep New Canaan roots remained, and when Pam—now mom to a 4-year-old boy and living in the Silvermine district of Norwalk—brought her high-end winter wear to a trunk show at a downtown salon two winters ago, an idea for a new business came to her.
A drawing of the old Ski & Sport Center on Main Street (later Forest) in New Canaan. Contributed
“We are known for our winter wear and I wanted something in fashion, so I came up with this concept which is personal shopping under a European boutique model,” Alberino said Thursday afternoon from The Changing Room, a high-end cold-weather wear boutique and “showroom” that opened Monday on Burtis Avenue.
There, as opposed to the ski rentals and gear at the Ski and Sport stores, Alberino features “one of everything of what we offer in different brands.”
Though skiwear staples such as goggles, helmets, coats and long underwear are available, the shop is “not just for skiers,” Alberino said. “It is cold-weather wear. If you are freezing and you want a long coat for walking around town, I have that coat.”
Alberino settled on ‘The Changing Room’ for the shop’s name “because it will be constantly evolving with whatever is coming in,” she said.
That soon will include menswear, Alberino said, and—as with the pieces she already is featuring in the shop—she personally chose each piece from vendors at shows and while traveling, including European brands and “items that you can’t find readily online.”
“This is giving a customer a showroom experience, so they see what we offer and put their order in, and I can bring it either the next day or special-order it from suppliers,” Alberino said said.
The Changing Room is located above Allure hair salon on Burtis—in fact, Alberino said, she heard about the available space because she and her mom both get their hair done there.
The family has remained local to the area, and in the three years since Ski and Sport closed, Alberino has kept up her New Canaan Chamber of Commerce membership, setting up a booth at the Sidewalk Sales each July and receiving feedback continually from longtime customers that her wide knowledge and personal touch are missed.
They’re differentiating qualities that should serve Alberino well in a town that’s seeing an increasing number of boutique women’s clothing shops, such as Shen New York on Morse Court and Scout & Molly’s on Elm with the soon-to-open More More More next door.
The chamber’s executive director, Tucker Murphy, said of the Alberinos that it’s “great to have them back” in New Canaan.
“Skiwear in particular—I know they carry sportswear and other items—but the skiwear business is very much alive and well here,” Murphy said. “People love to ski in this town and I think they will do well. Everyone knows them and loves them and will be thrilled to know that they’re back in town.”
The Changing Room (203-966-1671) is open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays except Wednesday, and by appointment. This Facebook page for Ski and Sport in Ridgefield and Westport soon includes photos and information for “fans” of The Changing Room.
