A downtown boutique moves fashion forward
By Ashley Stewart
Photographs by Katherine Bish
Marcia Masulla, owner of the Masulla boutique on Washington Avenue, is settling quite nicely into her newfound career in fashion retail. It may seem a dramatic change from her previous incarnation as a financial broker, but even then she preferred working with small-business owners. She identified with their entrepreneurial spirit. If you probe deeper into her past, it becomes clear that she’s ended up right where she was meant to be. From flipping through Vogue at age 5 and designing at age 7, to interning at FIDM (Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising) in California (not to mention her brief flirtation with the designer’s Mecca—Parsons School of Design in New York, where she was accepted but which she did not attend), it seems only natural that she’d find her way back to fashion.
Since its opening in early February, Masulla’s namesake women’s boutique has experienced great success. As she notes, “The city has a tendency to be conservative, but it’s in transition, becoming more open-minded.” And Masulla has no intention of squandering the new opportunities created by this attitude shift. She is painstakingly analytical, a habit left over from years spent analyzing the financial market, and insists on researching each potential product before welcoming it into her store.
The boutique offers brands you probably won’t find anywhere else in the St. Louis area, like Sofada, reasonably priced and tailored to perfection, and Nina Aurora, who creates only a few one-of-a-kind pieces each season. The store reflects Masulla’s personal style, which she describes as “eclectic, but versatile. Flirty and sexy, but not in an obvious way.” She also features local designers like Lesley Timpe, whose Squasht by Les clothing line offers hats, hoodies and bright colored jumpers, and Jennifer Ouellette, whose headbands have been worn by the likes of Jessica Simpson, Jessica Alba and Oprah (these don’t last long at the store, for obvious reasons). Masulla even dabbles in design by creating her own T-shirt motifs.
The store’s atmosphere is vintage homey. While browsing, you’ll come across an armoirefilled with a variety of dresses, ranging from a cobalt silk three-quarter-length-sleeve number to muted shifts, plus a bookcase that displays beauty products such as lip butter and body spray and the tiny but impossible-to-miss resident Chihuahua, Chico, who wanders around in a spiked collar and a rock-band T-shirt. Look beyond the beautiful clothing and you’ll find jewelry, shoes, hair accessories, handbags and hats—oh my! As Masulla points out, “Fashion is for everyone. It should be fun and relate to your lifestyle. Know your limitations, appreciate and accentuate your features ... own what you have.”
The boutique may be Masulla’s first venture, but it certainly will not be her last. She plans on expanding the Masulla name (think Masulla Men or Masulla Kids), creating ane-store, designing more T-shirts, creating a fashion consulting firm and working in the music industry. Oh, and she’s also heavily involved in the community. The current president of Metropolis St. Louis and a Young Friends board member for Big Brothers Big Sisters, Masulla is not the type to sit back and relax. So plan on seeing much more of her in the near future—and try to get in on the party early.
Masulla / 1301 Washington / 314-241-7467 / masulla.com
