New Orleans is famously where the world comes to celebrate. It is also where revelers leave 2.5 million pounds of Mardi Gras trash each year in the days leading up to Fat Tuesday.
A new clothing and accessory rental business aims to reduce some of the waste, albeit with a local “lagniappe” flavor.
Enter The Closet by Saint Claude Social Club, a jewel box of a boutique located inside the Michelin key hotel, The Columns, on St. Charles Street. Founded earlier this year by Margaret Sche, a former L.A. stylist, merchandiser and trend forecaster, The Closet aims to fill the gaps in closets of locals and visitors alike with ruffles, sequins, beads and high-end one-of-a-kind pieces.
Related Stories
Dressing the part is part of the New Orleans experience, Sche said.
“New Orleans is just such a celebratory city. The people here do what they want. They dress for themselves, they dress joyfully. There are just so many different reasons to celebrate here, from Friday lunches to theme parties to everything going on during Mardi Gras. There are tons of charity events and galas,” she said. “Everybody really wants to go all out with their fashion, but the closets here are ridiculously small.”
Consumers can rent accessories, a full look or bring something from home that they want to style and spruce up. Rental prices start at $40 for earrings and go up to $500 for a gown that traditionally retails for $2,000. Pieces can be rented for 5-7 days during most seasons. A range of sizes from XS to 1X can be found, though Sche said she is looking to offer an expanded size range.
Sche attends European market weeks and scours fleas to nab unique pieces from designers that are otherwise difficult to find in New Orleans. Highlights that are currently available for rent include Hannah Shin’s feather-trimmed cocktail dresses, chainmail jewelry, handbags and vests by Silvia Gnecchi, ruched skirts by Celia B, Discount Universe’s sequin mini dresses and a leopard print bias dress by Corey Lynn Calter—which Sche said has been rented twice in as many months.
Accessories range from metallic-coated socks by Maria La Rose and dome hats by Bagtazo to Kroon’s crystal headpieces and necklaces and chain necklaces by Pearl Octopussy. Imaginative and surreal hats and headpieces by local milliner Parrish Lee are also available.
The new pieces are merchandised with an eclectic mix of unexpected finds like metallic trousers Sche sourced at a Paris flea market, a vintage beaded caplet from her closet and vintage dresses and jackets that Sche worked with a local designer to add feathers, bows and other fanciful trims.
When Mardi Gras ends on Tuesday, Sche will rotate the boutique’s inventory to include more pieces appropriate for weddings, graduations and luncheons. The summer will bring more resort pieces, while fall will focus on statement coats.
One step into The Closet, which is filled to the brim with abstract art, leopard carpeting and marigold-colored walls, can awaken creativity and personal style, but Sche said she is particularly motivated to provide an elevated and sustainable alternative to the cheap and poorly produced fast fashion that consumers often buy for one-off occasions.
The Closet is an evolution of Saint Claude Social Club, a popular Garden District boutique Sche and former business partner Sarah Killen opened in 2017. “It was a global mixture of designers,” Sche said. “We carried all woman designers from around the world that, to us, represented New Orleans style.”
Though it had a loyal following of locals with packed social calendars looking for unique pieces, the store closed last April when Killen decided to focus on her jewelry line. Simultaneously, Sche was feeling burned out by the traditional retail cycle and missed her styling days.
“Being in retail and pushing goods for so long, after a while, it doesn’t feel great,” she said. “The consumption factor and having to sell things that consumers will ultimately discard after they wear it once or twice—especially in these times of Instagram and social media—was becoming tiring.
However, Sche knew she wanted to keep the Saint Claude Social Club moniker and bold aesthetic alive. When a space became available at The Columns, Sche saw an opportunity to step back into the fashion business with a fresh perspective that better reflects the state of retail. “Retail has changed so much in the past 10 years,” she said, adding that the idea of opening a traditional store felt stagnant.
Instead, she kept coming back to the idea of rentals. “With Saint Claude Social Club, we kept losing customers to Rent the Runway. And that’s really when it first started entering my head that like, hmm, this could be an interesting thing to do in person. But my business partner said no way, so I kind of put it to bed,” she said.
“With The Closet, I’m offering a better service by being more on the forefront of where things are going and being more tuned into what the customers are wanting.”
A rental-meets-styling concierge concept also made a lot of sense for the 20-room hotel, which names Le Labo toiletries, Parachute linen, lush green gardens and a stately front porch overlooking the iconic St. Charles streetcar line as some of its amenities.
“It really clicked that a hotel would be the best way to go,” Sche said. “It’s like a new amenity. You don’t have to pack to pretend you’re a New Orleanian. Just come here and we have these amazing things that you can wear to a Friday lunch at Galatoire’s.”
