NEW YORK — Girlshop, an early Internet fashion boutique and one of the first retailers to turn a profit online, is opening its first real-world store today in the Meatpacking District here.
As on the Web site, it’s all about creative chic, with a focus on unknown designers and glam decor fashioned from eBay finds.
Girlshop president Todd Richter has wanted to open a boutique for years, and founder and chief executive officer Laura Eisman first wanted to find the right location. They think they’ve got it at 819 Washington Street, on a block filled with the sound of hammering as several stores prepare to open across from what will be Andre Balazs’ The Standard hotel.
“We felt it was important to have a physical presence, so customers can relate to a real live place,” said Eisman, who launched the Web site in 1998 when Lands’ End was one of the few retailers selling apparel over the Internet.
She said the store is likely to attract tourists from the hotel, who can shop the Web site once they’re home. Girlshop has a mailing list of 30,000 in the New York area, and the site has a loyal following. The site’s unusual viewpoint and tone has spawned shopping tours, a personal shopping service, designer sample sales in its corporate offices and a book called “The Girlshop Guide to NYC Shopping.”
“It’d be great to have our store in our fabulous book, right?” Eisman laughed.
Eisman and Richter, who are married, expect the store to do about $1 million the first year, or $900 a square foot. Girlshop Inc., which also includes sister sites Totshop and Guyshop, pulled in $4.7 million in 2004, up from $3.8 million the year before, said Richter. Ironically, Girlshop’s inability to attract venture capital during the boom years probably saved it from closing down, and it became profitable in 2000.
The store’s merchandise won’t be identical to the Web site, but both focus on up-and-coming designers. “It’s our duty” to find things under the radar, said Eisman, who added that she doesn’t believe in dictating trends. As on the Web site, most of the clothes will be sold on consignment. Prices will range from $80 for a T-shirt to $800 for a coat; prices on the Web site are lower, from $30 to $400.
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The store, which was filled on Tuesday with embellished tops and dresses and ornate jewelry from lines such as Kenneth Jay Lane, Plenty, Lotta Stensson and Cigana, also carries a selection of men’s and children’s clothing.
One of the areas in which the store distinguishes itself is its approach to denim. Instead of carrying every style of ubiquitous lines like Seven and Citizens of Humanity, buyer Candace Mohr, a veteran of Patricia Field and Bond 07 by Selima, has picked a few key silhouettes, such as trousers, pegged and cropped jeans styles from newcomers Nudie, Lowfli, Fins and Pam Capone.
“Denim at this point I think is overwhelming,” said Eisman. “I can’t go to Barneys or Bloomingdale’s because I feel overwhelmed by the selection. I feel our job is to edit. I would like to present something different.”
Lucite fixtures, vintage pineapple and silver Mylar wallpaper from Secondhand Rose, mirrored tables, and plenty of mix-and-match damask-patterned upholstered pieces lend the space a tongue-in-cheek glamour. Eisman tracked down most of the furnishings on eBay, including a gigantic Lucite chandelier that once graced a Lane Bryant store in a Tennessee mall. The chrome and turquoise Plexiglas counter was an entertainment center from ABC Carpet’s warehouse that Eisman customized. The clothing racks are inexpensive, standard “black beauties,” usually used in back storerooms, to which Eisman added copper paint and shelves.
Eisman and Richter had a daughter in August. Their next project will probably be another store. They are eyeing Las Vegas and hope to sign a lease this year.