What: Contemporary women’s wear, including coats, dresses, pants, and blouses.

Who: Tsyndyma Kroujilov. She was born in Siberia and lived in Russia and Houston before moving to Washington 12 years ago. “In some kind of way, I’m getting closer to New York,” she says with a laugh. She lives in Potomac with her husband and two sons.

Where to buy it: View the clothing line on her Web site, tsyndyma.com, and call 240-888-5175 to make an appointment to visit her showroom at 9317 Bentridge Avenue in Potomac.

Engineer-turned-designer: Tsyndyma started sewing when she was six years old, but in high school she was a top math student, so she decided to attend Moscow Polygraphic Institute for mechanical engineering. At school, friends would ask her to help them with their wardrobes: “I would say, ‘First tell me why you want to change.’ Beauty is confidence.”

After spending six years as an engineer, she decided to begin working as a couture dressmaker in Moscow, where her passion for the fashion industry really began to grow. She also found that her math skills helped her with the dress designs and proportions.

Bringing Fashion to Busy Washington Women: After settling into the area, Tsyndyma noticed that local women often spend more time working and less time shopping than in other places. Now she’s a member of the Greater Washington Fashion Chamber of Commerce, which promotes the local fashion industry, and her clientele consists of all types of women. “I want to make women younger and have style to be happy,” she says. She does so by using high-quality fabrics with simple, but unique designs.

High-fashion looks without the high-fashion price: Designers such as Yohji Yamamoto and Marc Jacobs inspire Tsyndyma, who purchases expensive fabric from Italy every six months for her clothing line. She charges $300 to $500 for some of her pieces—a reasonable price, she says, considering that similar works can go for thousands of dollars.

Tsyndyma’s faves:
Place to shop for clothes: Relish in Georgetown.
Place to shop for shoes: “Oh, I love shoes! Usually I go to Saks or Neiman’s.”
Restaurant: Black’s Bar & Kitchen in Bethesda.