Belle brings West Coast fashion to Columbia

Hongsuwan opened shop last spring on Ninth Street.

By Kyle Daly

Published July 7, 2009

Natasha Hongsuwan describes herself as a spontaneous person.

"When I'm thinking about whether or not to do something -- I just do it," the MU senior said.

Last spring, the Thailand-born student from California said she experienced one of those moments. During a visit to Sparky's on Ninth Street, Hongsuwan spotted an empty store space for rent across the street. Two months later, Hongsuwan filled the empty space with beauty.

Belle, the name of Hongsuwan's new boutique is the French word for "beautiful."

The store, which opened May 24, gives Columbians something they might not be familiar with -- a taste of West Coast fashion.

Store manager Cynthia Holmes, said West Coast fashion is "more breezy and more relaxed" compared to East Coast fashion.

"It usually involves more cotton and silk than East Coast," Holmes said.

Holmes, an MU graduate student who worked at a high-end boutique in Memphis, said shoppers there were conservative, buying clothing from more established designers.

"You would see a resemblance of Jackie Kennedy and Audrey Hepburn," Holmes said.

She said West Coast designs, such as those found in Belle, are mostly from up-and-coming designers with a more modern edge and high fashion twist.

"It depends on your city and population," she said. "It fits into the native of Columbia."

Customers who enter Belle are greeted by an arching white ceiling and an array of vibrant colors jumping off each piece of clothing. The wooden floor leads them past handbag-adorned show tables, perfectly posed mannequins and comfy red couches positioned outside fitting rooms.

A staircase at the back of the store takes shoppers to a mezzanine level, which is where customers will find dresses designed by Hongsuwan.

Hongsuwan, who never liked clothes shopping in Columbia before, said one reason she decided to open the store was to introduce the city to West Coast style.

"People always asked me, 'Where did you get that?'" she said.

After renting out the space formerly known as Columbia Books, Hongsuwan was involved in designing the look of the shop. She contacted award-winning designer Jim Faris to help with the store logo. She designed the lighting of the store and helped with decorations.

Hongsuwan also committed much of her time to finding store employees. She put up fliers around the MU campus and received about 60 responses.

"A lot of people applied," she said. "I could not interview them all."

Hongsuwan was forced to scan through the resumes and interview only those who were most qualified for the positions.

One applicant, MU sophomore Andrea Lewis said she was planning on staying in Columbia after the spring semester to gain in-state tuition. Lewis said her friends brought the job opportunity to her attention.

During final exams, Hongsuwan said she worked 17 hours a day -- studying for her tests and preparing for the shop's grand opening.

The MU senior, who is studying electrical engineering, has business in her genes. Both her mother and father own Vietnamese and Thai restaurants back in Thailand. She is the oldest of three children.

Hongsuwan said she originally came to Columbia to visit friends and ended up liking the city, which led her to MU.

"I like small towns," she said. "It's charming."

Hongsuwan has many future plans.

She is fluent in three languages, including Thai and Laos, and said she plans on adding French to her list. Although she is not majoring or minoring in French, she has taken classes at MU.

"I want to go to France," she said.

Hongsuwan said she visited the country when she was little and wants to make it her future home.

But before then, she hopes to have her own clothing line, which she plans to call "Natasha." The MU senior, who has never taken any design classes, designed some of the dresses in her store.

Hongsuwan said she has also thought about opening another Belle store in Rolla but isn't ready to work on the project.

"I don't know yet," she said.

Belle is located at 22 S. Ninth St. next to Lakota Coffee Co. It is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.