By Stefene Russell
Photography by Frank Di Piazza
La Belle Histoire, located in Soulard, is old French Quarter with a twist. The shop has created a niche for itself with an unusual, ever-evolving inventory and an exotic Victorian atmosphere. Diaphanous fabric is draped from doorways or windows, and items are arranged in little vignettes, rather than rigidly placed into sections. Tiny embellished picture frames are placed near jeweled hat pins or glass perfume bottles; books might be juxtaposed with pillows or glittery fleur-de-lis ornaments.
When the shop first opened, it was confined to the front room. The back area served as work space where proprietor Sally Moehle and her mother poured candles, sewed kimonos and otherwise made by hand most of the store’s inventory. But it’s tough to run a shop and make everything, so Moehle is ordering more and sewing less these days. She’s also opened up the shop to include both rooms, stocking them with an eclectic inventory, with an emphasis on imported goods from Asia and the Middle East. We saw hand-painted fabric lanterns, “gypsy lamps” dripping with strands of colored beads ($90) and sconces made of black iron and tinted glass ($48); painted mesh curtains ($28), handmade Australian light catchers ($17) and glass “witch balls.” These marbled glass globes, made for Belle Histoire by a couple in Canada, are reproductions of the ones glassblowers once made from leftover glass to place in windows (they were thought to catch evil spirits before they could enter the house). The wall hooks are jewelry for the wall, including black, wrought iron hooks with Victorian curlicues ($8); etched mirror hooks ($12); and rusted star hooks, reproductions of the cast-iron architectural stars that are Soulard’s trademark ($8).
“A family makes these for me,” Moehle says of the stars. “You get the feeling that it’s totally a family operation, that Grandpa’s out back hand-distressing these one at a time.”
Moehle still offers her hand-poured candles, as well as handmade Carnivale masks and throw pillows, though she’s always rotating merchandise to keep the store fresh, deciding what to put out based on holidays, weather or her own fancies.
“People have asked me why I don’t go online,” she says. “That’s beside the point for me—it’s not just about shopping. I love having the store, because I want to create an experience.”
where is it?
La Belle Histoire
2501 S. 12th
314-865-4590
Hours: Wed–Sat 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
