Boutique Cothing

Years ago, when we would visit Rochester for a holiday or a week during the summer, I always made a point of stopping in to shop in one of my favorite clothing stores. Not qualified by “in Rochester.” One of my favorite clothing stores, period. Inspiration Designs, on Monroe Avenue. I loved their selection, and especially the racks of “petite” clothes (no one would ever call me “petite,” but in terms of clothing, it's polite for “short”). My decades-old French Dressing Jeans are wearing thin, and I still wear most of my inventory from that store (I’m not sure what that says about my sense of style, or lack thereof; I prefer to think it means that owner Carolyn Bick’s taste was timeless…). When the store seemed to fall victim of the recession, I was disconsolate. Someone suggested Ruby Rd. as an alternative. Um, not. I finally found a couple of other small stores with a nice selection: Suzanne’s and B. Younique. I didn’t shop at either often (because I don’t really need any more clothes!), but I took it for granted they’d be there when I did have a yen for something new and more fashionable.

So of course I was upset to read recently in the D&C that both of these stores will be closing shortly. I rushed over to both, but their selection at this point is obviously very limited, especially in the middle sizes. When I expressed my disappointment of the closing to the shopkeeper at B. Younique, she explained that women would often come into the store to get ideas and try things on, and then go online to order them at a lower price. It reminded me of the state of the independent bookstore years ago. Eventually, though, we lost most of those stores, and now there aren’t physical places to do the browsing. Stores can exist as showroom-only for only so long.

Then I remembered that when the “upscale” department store Von Maur first opened, I was impressed with their selection, and especially that they carried my favorite designer, Joseph Ribkoff, and his protégé, Frank Lyman. So I trundled over to Eastview, in hopes of finding my new go-to clothing store. I struggled to find any women’s clothing not made in China, and I was discouraged to find that there was a larger selection of Ruby Rd. than Ribkoff. I managed to find one top made in the US that fit and was age-appropriate, and I bought it (even though the last thing I need is another black and white blouse...).

I guess I’d better make more frequent trips to The Country Ewe in Canandaigua and Jane Morgan’s Little House in Aurora, and make it my personal mission to help keep them in business!