Pipe & Row’s tagline is “Not your average staple” and that certainly fits. Owner Kayla Boehme said, “We want to push someone to the edge of their comfort zone, but not over it.” The boutique, which opened June 17 in Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood, aims to make high fashion accessible to everyone. The store carries brands like Miista. Ampersand as Apostrophe, Wren and Sam & Lavi.
“You might walk in and see some bold prints or a really different style of shirt, but it’s things that you’ll wear over and over again,” said Boehme.
Boehme strives for wearability — the idea that the clothes can be dressed up or dressed down, and that they fit the buyer’s personal style. The idea for the store came from Boehme’s 15 years of retail experience, where she realized that the most fulfilling styling experiences weren’t always the easy ones.
“It was always fun to help super high-end people who are always into fashion, but my most rewarding times were helping someone who couldn’t figure out their style, or wanted to look a certain way and didn’t know how to do that.”
While the boutique offers a variety of different clothes for a variety of different tastes, it takes trust to get someone to try on a piece of clothing from the store. “It takes a little while to
build that close relationship, to have somebody trust you to be able to be like ‘just try this on.’” Once that trust is established, Boehme can help them find pieces that fit their style.
While Pipe & Row is new to Fremont, it isn’t going anywhere soon. Instead, Boehme has plans to expand their online content, and also wants to make the boutique more than just a place to buy clothes. “We want someone to be able to go to the store and not only shop, but also be inspired personally, whether that be online, through social media, or going into the physical store.”
