The Store...it's a lifestyle
First look: Broadway's newest fashion boutique, which promises impact and a focus on sustainability.
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Downstairs in the Saratoga Marketplace, 454 Broadway Saratoga Springs, is…the store.
The name is as simple as that. Black letters on a white background: The Store.
The small, curated space is the latest venture of Sophie Deshaies, a former fashion buyer and retail salesperson who found her first attempt at retail ownership in downtown Burlington, Vermont to be too difficult, logistically speaking.
So she moved south to the Spa City, which is both closer to New York City — where she meets with clothing designers or their agents — and has a vibe that feels like a better fit for her vision as helps build the type of community she likes. The entrepreneur got help finding the location from real estate broker Amy Sutton and real estate salesperson Megan Brenenstuhl, and she’s been getting help from her fiancé, Kevin Merck.
“Being in this, the Marketplace, has been nice too, because I'm around some other really well-established businesses,” she said in a conversation with the Dispatch. “It's been a really nice community, and Lucy [Straus], who's the owner of the building, is really sweet.”
Although her boutique is downstairs (and therefore not within eyesight from the street), she said the space felt right.
“I feel hidden,” she said, “but I also feel lucky…to be in this space.”
So why The Store, the most nondescript name for a retail establishment?
“It could have just been called a clothing store,” said the fashion expert. “I think of ‘drugstore,’ [or] ‘grocery store,’ but when you say ‘the store,’ there are a lot of different things that might come to people's minds, different experiences. And that's kind of what I'm trying to cultivate here…Everyone comes in and has their own experience.”
Deshaies has an undergraduate degree in public relations and a master's in fashion marketing, so the bulk of the merchandise is clothes and accessories.
“Eventually I want to get into other items as well, like homeware — other things that people can surround themselves with, whether it's in their home or any part of their routine,” she said. “I want it to eventually be a lifestyle situation, so it's The Store, because I didn't want to put myself in a corner with what I was selling.”
To that end, Deshaies carries a few fun, independently published books, some “eco-print” cards of her mother’s design, and some skincare products. But the future might bring more lifestyle options such as a podcast or “The Store playlist,” or “The Store edit.”
But the stylish businesswoman also knows that she is a start-up, with just under two months open.
“I have so many ideas, but I'm like, ‘OK, let's just open — let people find me,’” she said. “At the end of the day, I have to sell, because that's how I make a living.”
Deshaies said The Store is both a place to buy but also its own brand, and she wants people to think of quality and value. She knows that much of what she sells is at the higher end of retail, but she is hoping the quality and the focus on sustainability and other social choices will keep sales brisk.
To that end, she said she is even dropping one line after the current inventory is sold because the price is just too high. At the same time, she carries socks — the Organic Basics brand — at a reasonable $16 for three pair.
The Store also carries Twin, Outland Denim, Corridor, Silphium, William Frederick, Stutterheim and others. Deshaies likes these brands for their quality and attention to sustainability or labor fairness, and because of her ability to go to New York and meet with the designers themselves, she said.
For instance, William Frederick uses “dead stock” material that’s left over from other companies’ activities, to keep from buying new. And Outland Denim includes a personal story on the inside pocket of their pants, a story from the person who actually sewed them.
“You're not only buying jeans, but you're making an impact,” she said. “So you're not only making an impact for me as a business owner, but it's impacting these other women who are trying to make the best for themselves.”
The Store hours: Monday–Saturday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.; Sunday: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. You can follow The Store on Facebook, Instagram and subscribe to their newsletter at thestorewebsite.com for updates on new arrivals, events, and special promotions.
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