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Monthly Archives: July 2012
Summer shopping: Cabana, Dallas’ beach-inspired boutique
By Rachael Borne
Owning and running a boutique takes a driven personality, with a dash of crazy. Take Merry Vose for example.A graduate of Southern Methodist University with a degree in advertising, Vose decided to take a different route. She realized Dallas lacked a certain aesthetic she was looking for and set out to change that.“There really wasn’t a lifestyle store, like a store with a focus on a vacation-ready wardrobe,” Vose says.
Her friends also frequently sought her help to build their wardrobes, but she was not interested in becoming a personal shopper. So, to kill two birds with one stone, Vose opened her own store in the pool house behind her Bluffview home and called it Cabana.
Two years later, in 2009, Vose moved Cabana into a small white bungalow with a lavender door on West Lovers Lane. Vose says relocating to a mall or strip center would have thrown off the entire aesthetic she had worked so hard to achieve.
“I wanted a little house. It was in such a cute little pocket . . . so the house was perfect. ”
Just walking into Cabana, you sense yourself beginning to relax. The interior replicates a beach house with its white couches and coral reef decorations. Even beach games are on display. With a focus on vacation clothing, Cabana carries an eclectic selection of beach-inspired items, from starfish-patterned caftans to metallic swimsuits to neon-colored denim shorts.
Vose attributes Cabana’s success to both her friendly staff and the shop’s merchandise.
“Cabana is unique in that it is a little more edited and well-selected,” she says.
Vose stays away from mainstream brands and prides herself on discovering new names and labels. “I love finding and supporting young, emerging talent. ”Vose’s only rule: “If I wouldn’t wear it, I won’t buy it for the store.”
Different pieces, from a casual jersey dress to a lime green sequin shift, reflect the many roles in Vose’s own life, from busy mom to chic sophisticate.
Vose says, “Cabana is all of my personalities — very wearable, casual yet sophisticated, and cute not pretentious.”
Photo courtesy of Life Content.
Summer shopping: The ‘bohemian-cowgirl’ mix of The Gypsy Wagon
The Gypsy Wagon
By Rachael Borne
Dallas’ trendy boutique, The Gypsy Wagon, has not one, but two dynamic women at its helm.
Owner Carley Seale opened the shop — a Western-inspired boutique for women of all ages – five years ago on North Henderson. When Seale discovered the creative abilities of sales associate Molly McBride, she quickly made her apparel and accessories buyer.
Together this dynamic duo expanded the shop’s clothing department, growing the boutique into the shopping mecca it is today. McBride credits their success in part to the sense of style — a mixture of bohemian and cowgirl – that she and Seale share.
“We have a ‘boho cowgirl’ kind of mindset when we buy for the shop,” McBride says. “I’m a Texas girl with a very obvious bohemian style.”
The Gypsy Wagon epitomizes that mindset. From silk floral daytime dresses to handmade silver and turquoise jewelry to the extensive and colorful collection of cowboy boots, “boho cowgirl” style flows throughout the store. McBride says she helps the shop maintain a unique look and quality by carrying designers who are not as well-known and brands that are not mainstream.
“We carry lines that you won’t find everywhere, yet they are still trendy. The best part is you definitely won’t see your girlfriends in the same outfit,” she said. “I pick brands that are a little laid-back, a little Western and always easy to wear.”.
Today, McBride and Seale’s easy-going attitude and sense of fun are reflected in The Gypsy Wagon’s décor, from a lamp made out of a cowboy boot to mounted antlers that double as a purse display.
Says McBride, “We don’t take ourselves too seriously, and I like it that way!”
The Gypsy Wagon