Buffalo Rising Online

Aug 15th 2006, 9:46pm By queenseyes

Emwood Avenue is becoming synonymous with fashion. In the last year a wave of clothing boutiques has turned the street into a whose-who of designer labels. Once, hard to find cutting edge clothing could only be found by making an excursion to Toronto. Now a trip to the city is all that it takes to fill up your shopping bags with the hottest clothes from sought after designers. Buffalo is making a name for itself, and with every new store opening there is an added element of surprise to be found when walking the strip.

And now we can chalk up another ladies boutique to the mix. Enter anna grace, a clothier whose owners, Joanne Dina and Gordon Scherer (102.5's Air Gordon) are busy finishing up the last minute details as they make ready for next week's grand opening. The wife and husband team is planning on hitting the road running by introducing such lines as Shelly Siegel, Girl Friday, Spoken Clothing, and TAG Jeans. Fashionistas - prepare yourselves for a shop that is reminiscent of the ever-so-quaint Soho boutiques.

I bumped into Joanne earlier today (sensing that an opening was around the corner), and she told me that she had just returned from the New York Show, and the Chicago Show before that. She explained to me that Anna Grace was an idea that she had had for a long time and a simple walk down Elmwood last year signaled to her that the time was now to follow her dream. And now she finds herself exploring the world of fashion in preparation for unleashing some of her favorite designers upon Buffalo. "I owe it all to the many shops on Elmwood that paved the way for Anna Grace. Without the initial wave of retailers I would never be where I am today. The shop owners in the area have been wonderful. I already feel that there is a family-like bond between the retailers."

anna grace (named after Joanne's motherOe kinda) is carrying a variety of hard to find lines that all types of shoppers will find appealing, and Joanne wants to be sure that the prices follow suit. "I want to offer a few different price points. There's a lot of fashion out there that is affordable. We're going to be carrying some accessories, and there will be a few bath and body options as well. Did you ever hear of a bath and body line called Cake, or lip products from Lucy B? We're even going to carry some jewelry from The Strand Bead Shop next door."

Speaking of help from the locals, Joanne and Gordon would like to give a shout out to Edreys at Gallery 51 who helped out with their logo, as well as Michael and David from Room who designed the layout for the shop. The 800 block of Elmwood is about to add another fashion forward element to its already effervescent chemistry.

anna grace will open its doors next week. You can find the boutique at 818 Elmwood Avenue across from the Lexington Co-op. 716.332. 7069.