Ah, fashion – it carries weight and status, yet it can be such a superficial or loaded term. For some it’s a means of self-expression or a way of life, for others, an endless obsession with labels. It offers its own world of design and aesthetic pleasures. Fortunately, local fashionistas live in an expanding universe of stylish delights: a galaxy of indie boutiques lights up Cincinnati. I recently spent some gazing time around town and am pleased to offer some highlights and insights.
Heard of Pleasant Ridge’s year-and-a-half-old darling, Plum Diore? The highly visible corner location (at Ridge and Montgomery roads) and oversize windows seem made to show off the shop’s marvelous merchandise.
Owner/buyer Ivy Pitzer is prepping for a preview fashion show that evening at Twist. Pitzer says her customers cover a wide age range and might be career women or stay-at-home moms who look for something different to wear to stand out from the crowd.
“I think it’s important to have your own style, definitely,” she says. “It’s fun to go along with the trends, but I kind of tend to put my own twist on the trends and I’ll come up with my own ideas for doing things differently. I don’t think everything needs to match or you need to look a certain way.”
The store carries a fun sophistication that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Bold prints in bright colors make the dresses stand out. Many are silk and ‘60s-inspired. A few cheerful dresses made from sumptuous vintage fabrics by Staci Woo probably won’t hang around long. There are well-fitting jeans from Level 22, some sporty Ben Sherman, along with funky jewelry of reworked vintage charms from local designer, The Letter G.
Speaking about her buying process, Pitzer says, “I usually pick a strong color story and stick with it, and now I can go to market and think of certain clients that come in and say, ‘Oh, she’s gonna buy that in that color or that style.’ Generally I don’t want to say I fly by the seat of my pants, but…I have some vision in mind and I usually build on a couple key items I’m looking for. I find those and I build off that.”
Things work a little differently at Mustard Seed in the heart of Clifton’s Gaslight district. Christie Reinshagen-Wallace’s boutique blends gently used, vintage and a few new pieces in an upscale, one-of-a-kind ensemble.
It’s an eclectic, ‘treasure hunt’ sort of place where a wide selection of merchandise is in constant flux and generally there’s only one of any given item. The goods are helpfully sorted by color, and you’ll find shoes and accessories to boot.
She accepts consignments, but says she’s selective.
“I try to take pieces that are unique and different, things you’re not gonna find in a mall, or really things you’re not gonna find that often around Cincinnati,” Reinshagen-Wallace says. “I look for really unique pieces. [Designer] brand [names] can help, but if I like it I’m gonna do it and it doesn’t really matter what brand.”
The shop’s broad appeal garnered its inclusion in the forthcoming book, Ohio’s Treasures.
“I think there’s some things for anybody,” she says. “Someone who’s 17 can walk in here and buy something, somebody who’s 50 can walk in here and find something. I think it caters to a broad range of people, economic [backgrounds]; there’s a broad range of prices, eras. You could find something from the 1800s and you can find something that’s in Saks right now.”
True: I found a current-season dress with the tags still on it and on a previous visit, a delicate Victorian jacket and a knock-out Gucci black leather jacket.
If you’re of the serious spending disposition – especially on the Italian garb front – you must know about Diane Firsten Studio in O’Bryonville. Designer names speak for themselves: Valentino, Blumarine, Paule Ka, Bottega Veneta, Ralph Lauren and more.
Firsten built up an A-list clientele while working in Saks Fifth Avenue’s personal shopping service. She even carries some pristine private label, Italian-made suits that run into the four-figures. Unimaginably luxurious fabrics are paramount, followed swiftly by impeccable cuts. Think country club-style attire spiked with selected showy standouts – like the pair of Christian Louboutin ivory python, peep-toe platform pumps trimmed in black patent leather. A saleswoman tells me Oprah owns a pair. Say no more…
If you’re after edgier high-end designers, Suki on Michigan Ave. might be the stop for you – for my money, it’s the must-see boutique among several in and around Hyde Park Square.
“Our customers have a certain sensibility, for sure,” Suki owner Summer Skrzelowski says. “I like girly clothes and I like boy clothes for girls and I love that there’s a sort of casualness to everything that we carry – nothing uptight. I like nice fabrics. I like trends, I like looking at trends, but I don’t really think I buy stuff that’s very trendy…”
Suki has stocked Belgian cult favorite fabric master Dries Van Noten’s designs for several seasons, alongside Martin Margiela’s avant-garde lines and more recently, British enfante terrible Vivienne Westwood. Like any investment, there’s a price for sartorial splendor, but the quality and style holds staying power. Also look for Clu’s softest jerseys in rich hues, Acne jeans, Petit Bateau tees, Kangol hats…I could go on.
“I think once I find a designer, I try to go with what they do best, and kind of pass on the rest,” Skrzelowski says of her selection process. “But I do have a certain trust in those designers once I find designers that work for us.”
She says she also hears customers’ voices in her head: ‘I don’t wanna show my arms’ or ‘It’s too see-through!’
“After all these years, I hear these complaining voices of what they can and can’t do: ‘I’m too old’ or ‘I’m too fat for that’ or whatever,” she adds. “But then I kind of have this ideal customer in my head. I do kind of picture everything on her.”
Ideally, fashion is more about individual style than wearing designer duds. It can become a means of creative personal expression, a way to separate oneself from the herd.
“I think people have to find what works for them,” Reinshagen-Wallace says. “I would say probably the biggest thing is just to be creative, but find things that work for you.
“I think the biggest thing in fashion is being comfortable and confident in what you’re wearing. I think when people are confident they come across as very fashionable. It might not be anything super trendy, but the way they carry themselves and the confidence in what they’re wearing makes all the difference.”
From this story:
Plum Diore, 6099 Montgomery Road, Pleasant Ridge
Mustard Seed Boutique, 311 Ludlow Ave., Clifton
Suki, 3456 Michigan Ave., Hyde Park
Diane Firsten Studio, 2033 Madison Road, O’Bryonville
The best of the rest:
Alligator Purse, 2701 Erie Ave., Hyde Park
Arte ArtCouture, 3445 Edwards Road, Hyde Park
Fetish by Nina Fallon, 3425 Erie Ave., East Hyde Park
Snap Boutique, 2732 Erie Ave., Hyde Park
Photography by Scott Beseler
Fashion Show at Jean Roberts Twist Lounge
Plum Diore
Suki Interior
Suki window display
Zarina Plieva New View Modeling Agency