Ke’Chic Fashion Boutique opens in downtown College Park.
With funky tops and dresses lining the store’s hot pink walls and flashy accessories and Seven brand denim strewn across its tables, Ke’Chic Boutique could be the next hot destination for fashion-conscious students — if they can find it.
The boutique opened its doors on Route 1 a year ago and relocated further south in May to the corner of Lehigh Road and Yale Avenue, where it sits tucked behind the empty storefront that once housed Cluck-U Chicken. Lesley Sedgwick, the store’s owner, said she made the switch to draw in a larger campus crowd. But some students, such as senior hearing and speech sciences major Hana Fudala, said the store’s name didn’t ring a bell.
“I’ve never heard of it,” Fudala said.
Lifetime College Park resident and Catholic University junior English major Marian Donahue said she has seen a number of local businesses come and go. Although Ke’Chic may provide a fix to quell fashionista cravings, Donahue said being seen is crucial for any local shop’s survival.
“Unless there’s a big sign or it’s in the line of sight, they don’t really do well,” Donahue said.
College Park Planning Director Terry Schum said she’s noticed this trend.
“In general, businesses need to have visibility,” Schum said. “I would have no idea a clothing store is there.”
Sedgwick said some students probably don’t know about the store because it opened near the end of the spring semester. But once school starts in the fall, she said she plans to advertise heavily, offer student discounts and provide a 30-day layaway program for Terps on a tight budget. Sedgwick added she hopes to reach out to the university’s Greek community.
Though Fudala was unaware the store existed, she said she thinks it could still do well.
“A lot of younger students don’t have cars and can’t go very far,” Fudala said. “And I’m always looking for more clothes.”
Fellow downtown boutique owner Carol Gowling, who runs the shop On Cloud 9, said she welcomes Ke’Chic.
“It’s great having another boutique downtown,” she said. “It brings more people to the area, which means more shopping.”
Gowling, who also targets college kids with an eye for fashion, said she doesn’t see Ke’Chic as direct competition.
“The more the merrier,” Gowling said. “We don’t carry the same lines.”
Sedgwick described the style she sells at Ke’Chic’s style as trendy with a modern edge.
“It’s not for the shy fashionista,” Sedgwick said. “A lot of our items are edgy and unique.”
To ensure customers have an original look, Ke’Chic carries a limited number of each style.
“Nothing’s worse than walking into a place and seeing someone else wearing the same thing,” Sedgwick said.
The store is an extension of Ke’Chic’s online presence, which caters to an international audience, and the business goes beyond clothing sales by hosting art and fashion-focused events and fashion shows.
news at umdbk dot com
