Ooh La Shoppe, in Locust Valley, New York

The town of Locust Valley, New York has two main intersecting streets, Forest Ave. and Birch Hill Rd. Along the two streets are multiple shops and restaurants, mostly small and individually owned. There are a few restaurants which serve as meeting spots for locals. The shops are limited, but those that exist thrive due to the large number of customers and little competition. One store, in particular, is located in one of the shopping complexes off of Birch Hill Rd., along with the town’s famous Italian restaurant, hair stylist, interior design store, and more. This boutique is called “Ooh La Shoppe,” specializing in women’s fashion and run by two sisters, Aileen and Ashley. The two girls started this business a couple years ago for their love of fashion. Their business has been off the charts since they opened, catering to the style of the women in town. A big part of their success is that they can relate to their targeted clientele. They buy clothes that they would want to wear and then they sell them in their store. Aileen states, “Our goal is for every woman to feel glamorous at all times, whether that means buying a pair of earrings or an entire outfit, a woman should always feel fabulous and gorgeous.” What woman wouldn’t want to feel fabulous and gorgeous? The two sisters are in the store everyday, forming close relationships with their customers. I, myself, shop in their store all the time and have become very close to the sisters. I always find it easier and more rewarding to shop in stores that are individually owned, as opposed to large commercial stores.

The many shops and restaurants in Locust Valley can be connected to a specific case study in the book Global Cities, Local Streets. In the chapter “Tokyo’s “Living”  Shopping Streets,’” an example of a shopping street called Shimokitazawa is brought up. Earlier in the chapter, the authors state that the stores in Shimokitazawa look a lot like those in New York’s East Village. The town shops in Locust Valley also are like the shops in New York’s East Village, with a small but trendy boutique feel. However, I specifically link Locust Valley to Shimokitazawa because of a line mentioned towards the end of the chapter, about how “the majority of the businesses, 67 percent, are small and individually owned. Most of the restaurants and bars are individually owned, and the grocery and clothing shops as well.” This fact is true about the businesses in the small town of Locust Valley, and because of that I feel it gives off a very traditional, intimate consumer experience. A photo of the Ooh La Boutique is shown below:

Katherine Kelter ’18