While growing up in Jamaica, Latoya Brown felt inspired to join the world of fashion by her mother, a well-known seamstress.

After her family moved to New Jersey in 1998, Brown followed in her mother’s footsteps and started working in retail at Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus.

Brown, 31, founded online clothing store StyleSurrender in October 2012 after moving to Mount Rainier. Now seeking to bring stylish clothes directly to her community, as her mother did, she opened a physical StyleSurrender store on College Avenue on March 29.

“She gave me this love for young people’s fashion,” Brown said of her mother, Georgiana Higgins. “I really [wanted] to do the business of fashion.”

Brown stocks her online and physical stores with clothes from designers and vendors she sees at shows and throughout New York, Las Vegas and Atlanta, she said, and she prides herself on the high quality of the clothing she sells.

Working for Neiman Marcus and selling its high-end designer clothing influenced her to select pieces of a similar quality for her business, she said.

Brown’s mother would not sell clothing until every detail was perfect, according to the StyleSurrender website. With her own enterprise, Brown aims to put the same amount of effort into selecting the clothes she sells.

She also said that her attention to detail and striving for perfection will bring StyleSurrender success in the restaurant- and bar-heavy business climate of this city.

“What I think really gives me my advantage is the style of clothing that I offer and the quality,” Brown said.

Selling clothes at an average of $30 to $40 per garment, Brown said she has received “a very warm welcome” from the city so far and she believes the positive reception will continue.

If the business has as much success as Brown hopes for, StyleSurrender could change prospective business owners’ perceptions of the city’s market for non-restaurant options, said Michael Stiefvater, the city’s economic development coordinator.

“There isn’t much in the way of competition for StyleSurrender at this time,” Stiefvater wrote in an email. “Clothing stores like to be near each other, so establishing a success story or two would be helpful in attracting more.”

StyleSurrender is the first clothing store to open in the area since On Cloud 9 closed in May. In previous interviews with The Diamondback, Steifvater said clothing stores in the area tend to struggle with seasonal drops in business. On Cloud 9 maintained its space for two years before closing, further cementing Rugged Wearhouse’s legacy as the only long-standing clothing store in the city. Stiefvater said a shoe retailer has expressed interest in coming to the city, although that vendor’s location is to be determined.

“It’s exciting to have another thing to do on Route 1,” said Ronit Zelivinski, a freshman nursing student.

Zelivinski expects the store to appeal especially to out-of-state students who are unable to travel home to their usual shopping malls. “I think it’s going to be really nice,” she said.

The location of Style- Surrender, in On Cloud 9’s former space next to Fraternity Row and near many other fraternity and sorority houses, will make the store an especially popular option among sorority members, Stiefvater said.

The possibility that Style- Surrender could become a popular venue near campus excites Brown, she said, and she hopes to become involved with the community beyond selling clothes.

By raffling a dress for Alpha Epsilon Phi’s second annual Slimefest on Friday, Brown is trying to do just that. She said she will continue to offer items for philanthropic raffles.

Brown also hopes to hire one or two part-time workers. Taking after her mother, she said she might begin to design her own clothing, too.

Retail might pay the bills, but Brown still draws inspiration from her mother’s work in Jamaica.

“I was more fascinated by the things she made,” Brown said.