by Cynthia Robertson | Downtown News
Owner Ellie Lotfi, who first opened the shop in Little Italy just two months ago, has a knack for drawing attention. She knows what her clients like and makes it work for them without the hefty price tag. Lotfi fills the elegant, light-imbued shop with racks of trendy women’s wear.
“It’s sort of retro-80s,” she said. “Think low-hem with high-hem, big chunky earrings, asymmetrical cuts, and bright neon colors. It’s hard to go wrong with this look, since you can mix and match.”
Janelle Rivera, who works next door at RFA Financial Center, is a loyal customer of Shopaholics. “I’m always stopping in. I bought this blouse here,” she said, modeling a sheer chiffon top with an embellished neckline.
“Now I’m interested in this purse,” Rivera said, holding up a lace-covered clutch with a snap-top made of big flashy rings.
“It’s a knuckle-box purse,” Lotfi said. “These purses are really big now.”
Customers from all over the United States and even Greece look to Lotfi for her fashion statements.
“I am so excited that so many of the looks for spring and summer are inspired from the 80s era,” Lotfi said. She recalls her obsession with fashion began when she was a young girl shopping with her mother.
“She was very simple and I was always over the top,” said Lotfi, who grew up in Houston, Texas. “I remember her telling my father that she wanted me to concentrate on my studies, but the fashion gene was in me and there was no escaping it.”
By the time Lotfi was in her early 20s, she was already filled with the vision of having her own boutique, but was afraid to take the leap. She also felt a duty to follow her parents’ dream for her to become a doctor or lawyer. She did graduate pre-med, went on to law school, but knew it really was not her style. She did event planning for a while and even had her own floral business, but eventually, she had to follow the call of fashion.
Initially, she started her own swimsuit company called The Bling Bikinis by The Bling Collections, a business she still works on the side. “I have visions of The Shopaholics Boutique hopefully expanding and being all over the US and am looking to open my next location in Houston,” she said.
When she first moved to Little Italy in 2004, Lotfi loved the neighborhood for its eateries. “But there was nothing else to do,” she said, remembering there had been maybe two boutiques, but both located far away from the neighborhood’s main area.
In 2007, Lotfi opened up a traveling boutique. She staged shopping events in different venues, but soon tired of the constant loading and unloading for each event. Last year, she ran across the shop’s current location on a fluke, and the boutique’s name came to her easily, because she feels all women have some sort of shopping fixation.
The live mannequins will appear once in a while at the shop’s special events. She brainstormed with Desi V, a hair stylist friend from nearby Inga Bezio Salon, on ways to team up with Art Walk. Desi V suggested the live mannequins, which were a hit with the crowds.
“The shop is something completely out of the ordinary. It adds a little spark to Little Italy,” Rivera said.
The boutique hosts monthly events and can even be rented for private events, like a client’s special afternoon or an evening with friends. The parties come complete with catering, cocktails, and clothing.
The next big fashion event Lotfi is ramping up for is the Del Mar Races. She plans to have accessories and outfits for women who want to feel like a million bucks at the racetrack.
A newlywed of just eight months, Lotfi sees this year as one being dedicated to the business. “But we are looking forward to starting our own family of shopaholics in the near future,” she said.
Shopaholics Boutique is located at 1506 India Street in Little Italy. The shop is open Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Phone 619-339-6818.
