For shoppers looking for hip infant and young girls clothing that's a bit off-the-wall instead of off the rack, a new specialty shop in downtown Grand Rapids' MoDiv is the right place.
Sofia Bella Couture, a cozy 400-square-foot boutique in the Shops at Monroe Center and Division (MoDiv, 40 Monroe Center), offers delightful clothing, onesies, bibs, hats and more in bright fabrics and animal prints -- many sporting a healthy dose of frills and bling.
Owner Brandice Labadie, 28, named her new venture after her eight-month-old daughter, Sofia, who she says is the inspiration for the shop.
"When I went shopping for her, I couldn't find anything I liked," Labadie says. "I wanted girlie, and tutus, but it didn't matter what store I went to, it was the same prints, same cuts, same styles."
Labadie says she's offering fabrics that are "a little edgier than the typical fabrics for girls," for instance, "the rocker-chic look with pink guitars, and skulls and crossbones with hot pink bows."
Some of her products are ready-made and some she designs herself. Other items Labadie upcycles by adding embellishments to ready-made items, like the cute piggy banks that she adorned, adding earrings to one, a flower halo to another, and glittery hot pink crystals to another.
Other items include "cupcake" hats with "sprinkles" and a cherry, zebra-print crib shoes and baby bottle holders shaped like cats, dogs and frogs.
"I'm working on our own clothing line, and have samples in the store that can be custom ordered from size newborn up to a girls' size 10," Labadie says.
The line features fun styles: long pants with ruffles, and layered skirts that resemble flouncy petticoats. Peasant tops and an entire line of Christmas and holiday wear will be out soon, Labadie says.
Store hours:
Mon., Tues., Weds., Fri. - 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Thurs. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.;
Sat. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Source: Brandice Labadie, Sofia Bella Couture
Writer: Deborah Johnson Wood, Development News Editor
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