Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
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Years ago, when sisters Melissa Nieberle and Drea Ranek were naming their store, they wanted a moniker that would spark curiosity. After some linguistic research—to ensure the name wouldn’t be lost in translation, as some carmakers have infamously experienced—they decided on Lusso, the Italian word for “luxury” or “good thing.”
Now owned by the sisters and their friends Maeghan Moeller and Kristen Zivic, Lusso (165 Carondelet Plaza, 314-725-7205, lussohome.com) is a Clayton shop where you can find home decor, jewelry, clothing, and more. Here, you might come across champagne-scented candles, pillows with curt messages like “Be Nice or Leave,” brilliantly hued stationery, paper party favors and decorations, and black-and-silver sequined dresses.
It’s the kind of place you might want to spend an afternoon exploring—and customers do. Since the store opened in 2000, the owners have come to know many of the regulars well. Besides browsing after work, patrons sometimes stop in just to chat or ask for advice, such as local restaurant recommendations. As a result, the owners know what their customers want.
The owners handpick every piece in the store, right down to the greeting cards. They take turns going to markets in other cities—but they often consult each other before making purchases. “More than one of us has to be on board if it feels a little risky,” Nieberle says. The four won’t stock the shelves with anything they wouldn’t buy for themselves: They wear the clothes and jewelry, and they’ve “Lusso-fied” their homes.
Because each of the owners has her own style, the merchandise stocked here doesn’t appeal to just one set of tastes. You might find a set of silver-plated champagne flutes next to mustache coffee cups and tortoise-and-hare bottle stoppers. (Items at the boutique run from $4 to more than $800.) And for those who like a little sugar boost while shopping, customers can cruise by the candy bar—stocked, of course, with the owners’ favorite varieties.
