July 30, 2010

Window Shopping / February 2010 / Fierce Fashion

Fierce Fashion

There are a few areas that I’d love to see more of in our local retail climate: menswear, maternity wear and plus-size women’s wear options. There are local options but there just isn’t a critical mass of these stores yet that cater to these populations. (Notable boutiques that do sell in these areas include Jazzman, Context, Atticus, and Woldenberg’s for menswear; Lady Moxie has maternity wear, but unfortunately, I’m having a hard time thinking of a locally owned shop that sells plus-size women’s wear! If I forgot a shop, let me know.)

As a “normal” size woman (that is, a woman who wears within the size confines of zero to sixteen, typical “misses” sizes) I feel lucky that I can shop at pretty much any locally owned women’s shop. But what if you’re plus-sized? If you wear a size sixteen and above there are chain store options such as Lane Bryant and Target but it would be fabulous if there were locally owned options, too.

Recently I read an article about Boutique Larrieux, a new downtown Milwaukee boutique opening March 16 that’s catering specifically to plus-sized women. I thought owner Lydia Hamilton’s idea was fabulous and decided to contact her to discuss her new store. I wanted to share this with readers because Milwaukee is only a short drive away for those who are interested in her shop; but also, all of Boutique Larrieux’s pieces will be available online starting March 16, too! Brands sold will include Kingley & Posh, David Meister and Not Your Daughter's Jeans, to name a few.

And, yes, I strongly encouraged Hamilton that once she gets her feet wet with her first Milwaukee store, to think about opening one eventually here, too!

Who is the Boutique Larrieux customer?
We are selling apparel and accessories for the plus-size woman that’s looking for contemporary clothing. We’ll have blouses, slacks, denim, dresses and more. In the fall we’ll move into career wear as well—I was just in Vegas at the MAGIC show and found some great designers there.

What’s your background?
I was a project manager at GE Healthcare as well as a small interior decorating business on the side. I was at GE eight years and decided to make the switch.

How long was the idea of Boutique Larrieux in development?
Since last July, so not too long ago. I thought of it because I was going to a Beyonce concert in Chicago—if you’re going to see Beyonce, you have to look good! I was really struggling to find an outfit I liked. I had to go to four or five different stores to find my outfit. I thought, ‘I really wish there was just one store where I could go that carried a variety of designers in my size since I’m plus size. So [the idea] had been rolling around in my mind a while, but I decided to move forward with it.

When it comes to a boutique setting, meaning a store that carries multiple designer lines, there really aren’t any [in Milwaukee]. There is one other option in downtown Milwaukee but I they don’t have the range like we do.

What do you look for in what you carry?
Really good quality fabric. I understand my target customer, being a plus-size woman myself and I can’t wear a flimsy top; I need something beautiful and durable. We look for fabrics and designers that pay attention to a full-figured woman’s body. Many of the designers we carry only make items for plus size women—you can’t just take a top and add couple of inches and call it a size sixteen or eighteen. We carry designers that pay attention to the full-figured form and designers that are willing to tailor their clothing.

A lot of people think if it’s plus size, the piece needs to be drapey. Wearing bigger clothing just makes you look bigger. You need to wear tailored clothing that fit your shape and curves.

What’s the price range?
Our price range is $40–$400. We carry designers that fall into the low, medium and high bracket. Anyone can find something in their price range. I was very cognizant of having those different price ranges. We also want to see what women are drawn to. I didn’t want to make the assumption that just because we’re in a recession people only want cheap clothing. We’ve already sold dresses before we opened at a $200 price point. When you got to a boutique it doesn’t mean you have to spend a ton of money.

Why the name Boutique Larrieux?
I’ve just always loved the name larrieux. I’ve always loved it and thought I’d go with it.

Will you offer any different services or add-ons for shoppers?
Yes, a number of things. I’ve built really good relationships with some of our designers. They’d like to come and have some trunk shows here. We don’t always carry the designer’s full line. We’d love to come down and bring our entire collection. Women can get more pieces.

We also want to get into wardrobe consultations and closet analysis for people who’d like their wardrobe to be refreshed. We could figure out what pieces will work with what she has—and we won’t only offer things that Boutique Larrieux has. If there’s another designer I know of I’ll point someone to them. I’ve amassed a list of almost three hundred plus-size designers. If there’s something a woman is looking for we can point her in the right direction. We really want to be a resource for plus-size women in Milwaukee. If she’s looking for apparel, accessories, shoes, undergarments, we want to be able to help her fulfill those needs. We’d be willing to point her in the right direction, absolutely.

I read that you’ll be carrying some of Kenley Collins’ pieces (best known as a finalist on Project Runway’s Season 5).
It’s actually pretty cool. When I was at MAGIC last year I ran into her and I told her I was a fan of her on the show. She had some really great pieces and I told her, “I love your stuff but you just don’t do plus size.” We chatted about it more and she said I think we’d be willing to regrade our clothing for you in plus size. We took a look at her spring 2010 collection and picked out five pieces for us that I thought would work: a dress, jacket, knickers and two blouses. So we are the exclusive plus-size retailer for her 2010 collection. She’s coming to our launch party on March 13. We wanted to help her expand her options in the plus-size arena.

You sound excited about working with the designers so closely.
This is hopefully something that we’re going to get into with other designers; they’ve offered to develop exclusive collections for us. As the business progresses we’ll get into that as well, and they’ll be collections you won’t be able to find anywhere else. Generally when people think of high fashion your mind does not always jump to plus sizes. We want to make a point to carry pieces what were once perceived as exclusive for this particular set of women. I think of it as where exclusive fashion becomes inclusive.

What are your top picks for this spring from the store?
Monif C has an awesome Marilyn jersey convertible dress. It’s a dress you can wear twenty-two different ways. It’s a dress it’s kind of interesting: you can wear it strapless, as a dress with sleeves, as a one-shoulder tunic … you can dress it up or down—it’s going to be essential. $198 for the short version, $235 for the long style. (Ed's note: The model in the photo above is wearing the long Marilyn convertible dress!)

Another piece that’s an essential are fun cotton and jersey T-shirts. We have a number of designers we’re carrying. We carry a local designer out of Green Bay whose line is called Lucie Lu. She has some really cute T-shirts like bow and zipper details. $20–$40.

Kenley Collins’ knicker pant. It’s really cool. Her 2010 collection was inspired by Amelia Earhart. The knicker is full at the hip and tailored at the knee with a cuff. You can wear it to the office and then wear it out at night. Price TBD.

How would you like a shopper to feel once they’ve left your store?
Honestly we’re kind of looking to create an experience that doesn’t exist right now. It’s going to be a relaxed environment and we want our shopper to be comfortable. We want the Boutique Larrieux woman to be adored. In the plus-size area, these women feel like they’ve been ignored by the fashion world a lot. We want to turn that on its ear and we want to fawn over her when she comes into the store. It’s an experience that a lot of women don’t have, and they deserve to have. And we want to create that for plus-size women in Milwaukee.

Boutique Larrieux, 717 N. Milwaukee St. 414-465-8297. boutiquelarriuex.com