Shopping

The Boutique Around The Corner: My Trip to Rye

By Elizabeth Walle

Rye is a new clothing boutique uptown on Adams Street, just around the corner from the lovely Maple Street Patisserie. As I strolled around this quietly bustling corner of New Orleans on a recent Saturday morning, the streets were dotted with women in athletic gear, coffee in one hand and a leash in the other, their spaniels and retrievers and terriers panting in the morning heat. These women—the college blondes, the uptown moms, the family matrons—are a large part of the customer base of Gisele Cosma’s 6-month old boutique. Cosma is a New Orleans native who took the boutique from concept to reality in a span of about 2 months. And while Rye could sell its clothes practically anywhere, touches of New Orleans are evident: locally made ceramics (embellished with the requisite fleur-de-lis) are displayed opposite an armoire full of “Save our Coast” t-shirts.

The boutique is airy and clean, with a modest amount of product. I say modest because we are not in Forever21 territory, where shopping is more like a trip to the junkyard, where one must dig and pull and pile, flinging jersey dresses over one’s shoulder and soldiering on to wait 30 minutes for a dressing room. This, by contrast, is so very easy. In times when too many people (especially the young ones) do their shopping in warehouses jammed with factory fashion, it is always nice to visit a neighborhood boutique, where a solid—and carefully selected—sample of fashion stretches a long way. Cosma was gracious enough to tell me a few customer anecdotes and it is clear that she caters not only to the college student looking for a ruffle-laden Cynthia Steffe cocktail dress, but that student’s fashionable mother as well, and even, in some cases, her grandmother. There are a few pieces that only a lithe leggy youngster might brave, but on the whole, the store’s goods seem ready to join the wardrobes of multiple generations of women. Rye also sells handbags, shoes, jewelry, ceramics, and a few t-shirts and pairs of pants, but unsurprisingly, dresses reign supreme. While speaking with Cosma I mentioned that I myself rarely wear dresses. “You will,” she responded, not missing a beat. “You will and you’ll love it.” I nodded, eying a delicate white number that beckoned to me from a rack on my left. It was vaguely retro, wispy without being flimsy, and I could imagine buying it as a gift for my mother as easily as I could see myself flitting down the street on some sultry late summer night, a vision in white.

Throughout our conversation I found Cosma to be welcoming, energetic, and obviously committed to engaging her customers. Like any shop owner, she wants everyone to be able to purchase something. My own shallow pockets may have prevented me from snatching up a lovely navy cashmere vest, but I was able to find several other items that fit my budget as I perused the racks. Plus, Cosma told me: “I always have a little sale rack going…there’s always something for my bargain hunters.” For those who want a grown-up wardrobe (and to avoid the mall), small boutiques like Rye, where owners strive to stock what will work for their customers, are best. This new boutique is gaining its stride and I look forward to seeing what’s in stock on my next trip uptown.

[View with PicLens]