Trending: Mobile Fashion Boutiques
UPDATE, August 14, 2013: Amber Huber has closed the boutique Redemption in Broad Ripple. Her newest mobile brand Boho Pretty will still be launched end of August.
Hold onto your clothing racks! Just as Hoosiers have become smitten with food trucks, a slew of local boutiques on wheels have emerged onto the scene—among them, Retro 101, Yessiree Petunia, Blush Shoetique, and Boho Pretty. Cutting out large brick-and-mortar start-up and maintenance fees and self-promoting with a grabbing web presence (these businesses are gaining social-media followers as I type) has never been so stylish.
Boho Pretty co-owner Amber Huber, who also helms the Broad Ripple store Redemption, has spent the past decade versing herself on this new business tactic, one that’s proven profitable on both coasts. But 10 years is a long time; why so interested? While owning a boutique, Huber realized that she truly enjoyed selling merchandise (some of which she designed) away from the storefront. “I would close my store for the day, pack up my SUV, and travel to people’s homes, trunk shows, and many times sorority houses down at IU,” she says. The Bloomington campus was always a profitable location, so Huber plans to return soon with chevron prints, lace, and patterned bottoms, among other popular pieces from her newest brand of merchandise, Boho Pretty. However, this time she’ll be driving a renovated Vintage 1970 Shasta camper. And don’t fret. The camper will be making its rounds in Indy, too.
Will the trend survive? Hopefully. These fashion entrepreneurs are in it for the long haul.
