Profile

Brooke Garber and Stephanie Nist opened their first boutique in Brookline, Massachusetts, in 2004, housing a hand-picked collection of around twenty contemporary New York and Los Angeles–based designers. The pair expanded to a second location in Cambridge two years later and ventured into the Lower East Side in summer 2008, bringing a covetable supply of dresses, tops, jeans, and accessories from a mix of prominent and smaller designers. Chandeliers, lilac-colored accent walls, and exposed brick give the space a feminine vibe with a downtown edge. The racks are filled with flouncy cocktail dresses and versatile day-to-night tops from brands like Tibi, Vava and Voom by Joy Han, Tracy Reese, and Free People. The vibrant assortment of handbags offers a welcome departure from the omnipresent oversize leather variety, with Kim White’s totes made from vintage automotive fabrics and Crystalyn Kae’s vegan clutches pleated with colorful prints. Tees and tanks from American Vintage and LA Made provide comfy go-to basics, as do stacks of denim from Citizens of Humanity, Joe’s, and Raven. — Lauren Murrow