Lansing may not have the same pull as Milan or New York in the eyes of the fashion-forward, but women in the Capitol City have recently been granted some "Get out of Jail Free" tickets by the fashion police in the form of Mad Eagle, bella blu boutique and Grace.
These three independently owned start-up stores have taken Lansing's women’s clothing and accessories by storm since opening their shops, and they show no signs of slowing down.
Mad Eagle expanded from a small mall kiosk into a mid-sized corner shop in the heart of East Lansing’s downtown; increasing sales at bella blu forced the owner to move to a store twice the original's size; and Grace, one of the region’s newest boutiques, is quickly becoming known as a trend-setter.
“Independent businesses play an essential role in bringing people into our downtown,” says Scott Pitera, with the City of East Lansing. “Boutiques such as Mad Eagle bring a touch of uniqueness that attracts a wide range of customers.”
And the people are attracted. Big prints, skinny jeans, unique jewelry and fun bags are making their way out of these boutiques and onto the bodies of trendy Mid-Michiganders.
The Mad Eagle Has Landed
Holly Mead’s fashion enterprise, Mad Eagle, got its start in a kiosk in Okemos' Meridian Mall.
“We started with craft shows,” says the Grand Rapids native. “My sister and I would make jewelry to take to the shows and eventually we had the opportunity to move into the mall.”
In 2006, after 13 years at the kiosk, they opened a store at Mad Eagle’s current location on MAC Avenue in downtown East Lansing.
Mead’s sister, Tara Green, manages and designs jewelry for the shop. The store is chock-full of unique jewelry, clothing, shoes, bags and other accessories for men and women.
“We try to carry lines that other stores don’t have. I think we’re one of the only stores in this area of the state that carries Frye boots,” says Mead. “We appeal to such a broad range of shoppers, although the college students really help. The younger crowd is pretty open to new, funky styles.”
Mead moved to Lansing from Grand Rapids several years ago to go to school, where she also met her husband, a Michigan State University (MSU) alumnus.
She decided to stay in East Lansing because she "knew we could be successful here. Our store replaced another jewelry store that was in this location, so people were used to being able to come here and find something unique and special.”
Beating the Fashion Blues
“I was frustrated with what was offered to my age group,” says Michelle Thelen, the entrepreneur who turned her irritation with boring fashion into the bella blu boutique.
“I wanted to provide stylish, affordable clothing for 40-somethings, soccer moms, college students—stuff that doesn’t show your midriff,” she says.
When she saw construction begin on the Eastwood Towne Center in 2002, she knew her opportunity had come. “There was no guarantee of success, but I knew that Eastwood would offer the kind of traffic that I needed.”
The result was her one-of-a-kind clothing store, which opened in October, 2004, and now has the reputation of a denim specialist and provider of truly unique fashions and baby gifts.
“Although it wasn’t what I originally intended it to be, we have found our niche as a denim specialist,” says Thelen. “Large department stores sell many of the same brands we carry, but they don’t offer the expertise and personal attention that we do.”
Many of the staff members at bella blu are retail and design students at MSU who have a passion for fashion. On their first day of training, they spend hours trying on every style of denim in the store, including Citizens of Humanity, James Jeans and True Religion styles.
Aside from this unparalleled level of expertise, bella blu also offers complimentary custom hemming. For those women whose legs don’t exactly rival Cindy Crawford’s, this is an invaluable and much appreciated service.
In late 2007, bella blu moved from its first Eastwood Towne Center location to a much larger space, also in the Eastwood Towne Center. The move was followed by a 37 percent increase in sales.
“The move across the mall has opened the store up to a much wider population,” says Thelen.
“The interesting phenomenon is, even with the economy in its current state, women will still come in and buy two pairs of $150 jeans," she says. "When you specialize in something that makes women feel good about themselves, they are going to keep coming back.”
She’s Got Grace
Summer Schriner, a Lansing resident and attorney, recently graced Old Town Lansing with her classic styles at Grace boutique.
“I love to shop and was sick of seeing the same thing in fifteen different stores,” she says. “I was tired of having to drive to Detroit to find something nice, and I knew that if I felt like this, other women did, too.”
Schriner opened Grace in February of 2007 in a part of Lansing that is fast becoming known as the place to go for arts, culture and yes, style.
“Old Town is the only place I considered opening the store. I’ve lived here for eight years and know the neighborhood very well. I knew that this was a niche that hadn’t been filled in Old Town.”
Grace’s central location is easily accessible to a wide array of customers and that, says Schriner, has resulted in a pleasantly high level of customer traffic.
“I see 16- and 17-year-olds looking for prom dresses to older career women to young professionals to Cooley students—women who are trying to be well-dressed and don’t want to look in their closet five years from now and say ‘What was I thinking?’”
But with that large cross-section of clientele comes several universal problems: Deodorant stains on black shirts, the foot pain that comes from wearing stilettos; sausage bulges from pantyhose; and those annoying gaps between blouse buttons.
Fortunately, Grace carries several products that help to combat these problems.
Grace carries Spanx, thick pantyhose that camouflage problem areas; Bug Catcherz, clothing tape to holds blouse gaps together; Miss Oops’ sponges to magically remove deodorant, makeup and starch stains; and FootPetals’ adhesive pads to cushion stilettoed feet.
“I can easily sell these products because I love them and use them constantly,” says Schriner (whose blouse is gap and deodorant-streak free).
Together and individually, these entrepreneurial and fashion-forward women are elevating the Lansing area’s style sense and striving to protect Mid-Michigan residents from committing fashion-related crimes.
Gabrielle Johnson works for the Michigan Department of Civil Service and is a contributing writer to Capital Gains, but only until she wins Project Runway.
Dave Trumpie is the managing photographer for Capital Gains. He is a freelance photographer and owner of Trumpie Photography.
Photos:
bella blu
Mad Eagle's Holly Mead and Tara Green
Tara Green's jewelry designs
Michelle Thelen at bella blu
Some of the fun sayings painted on bella blu's walls
Grace boutique in Old Town
Grace boutique
All Photographs © Dave Trumpie