Charity Book and Linda Perdichizzi have been planning an unusual marriage of style for a long time. The Orange County, Calif., natives, who have known each other since kindergarten, harbored a lifelong dream to open a clothing boutique.
“We’ve been best friends our whole lives, and ever since we were little we’ve wanted to open our own business,” Book said.
When the two decided to bring Southern California style to downtown Eugene it seemed like a good fit, but the day they moved to town they realized that some things would have to change. It was snowing in February, and they quickly realized that their style might be lost in translation.
Accordingly, Perdichizzi and Book spent the next several months taking in the city’s culture and observing local style before opening Shag Boutique last month.
“Style-wise I think we’re really trying to pick things that are versatile for Eugene,” she said. “We try to think about the people here, what they might wear, and also things that maybe they wouldn’t wear – things that are different.”
Perdichizzi said they chose Eugene as their destination because of the city’s unique feel and sense of community.
“I felt that Eugene has sort of the big-city charm and style without being a big city, so we moved here based on that,” she said.
The Shag Boutique offers mostly women’s apparel and accessories, though there is a smaller men’s section as well. Book said the goal of the store is to provide Eugeneans with a place to find unique items they might otherwise have to go to a larger metropolitan area to find.
University geography professor Susan Hardwick, who said she has visited the store several times, said Book and Perdichizzi have handled their store very well since its opening.
“I felt like these women were just so capable, and to see them doing what they were doing was just so inspiring,” Hardwick said. “The other thing that caught my attention was how it looked in there.”
The store boasts an elaborately painted and decorated interior, which greets customers with a hanging disco ball, rotating lights and two couches in the center of the store as they walk in.
Hardwick said the downtown area, which has been studied by her own urban geography classes, would benefit from a store that could use the University’s economic contribution to the city by bringing in customers from campus.
“By shopping in our downtown, it would just be one more step in building a connection,” she said. “We’re not very connected with the downtown area, and I think we could do a lot better.”
Perdichizzi said the first step is simply strengthening the sense of community downtown she has already felt with other stores. By opening Shag Boutique in downtown Eugene the pair hope to gain a foothold in a part of town that is already known for several other privately-owned small businesses.
Book said the local community has been very supportive of their project so far.
“I can’t tell you how nice the people are, especially compared to southern California,” Book said.
The Shag Boutique has also hosted two performances of small acoustic bands as an effort to promote both their store and the musicians.
“It’s just getting people to come downtown. Once they get in here they love our store and they love everything that we have. It’s just having people make the effort to come downtown and check us out,” Perdichizzi said. “We’re trying to promote downtown as much as possible, not just Shag Boutique. It’s important to us that downtown is revitalized.”
Perdichizzi said the store’s biggest problem connecting with campus and other areas outside downtown so far was simply getting the word out, especially as people prepare for the holiday shopping season.
“We’re like David and Goliath against the mall,” Book said. “Every Thanksgiving, everyone heads to the mall.”
Book and Perdichizzi began preparing the store to open this fall after acquiring the space on Willamette Street that formerly housed Android, a used-clothing store. The whole process took about six weeks, they said.
“It was us, family and friends,” Book said. “We didn’t hire one person.”
Perdichizzi said most of the manual labor took place at night, after Book and she finished a full day at their former jobs in Eugene. Perdichizzi worked at the Levi Strauss and Co. corporate office, while Book spent her time as an office assistant in the local District Attorney’s office.
“There was one night when we slept for about two hours,” Perdichizzi said. “I would have to be up at work at 6:00 a.m., and we would work at night, so we’d get here in the evening and didn’t go to bed until 4:00. It was really hard work, but it was really rewarding.”
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