Clothing stores are coming to you this summer in Rapid City.
Taking a cue from the meteoric rise of food truck culture, local business owners are converting RV’s into mobile boutiques and parking at festivals and other summer events.
Krista Price owns Boho Betty, a store in the Fairmont Creamery Building selling new, vintage, and altered clothing, in addition to products by South Dakota artisans. The brick-and-mortar store is just a month old, however, having started inside its namesake – a bohemian rocker chic haven of an RV called Been Loved Mobile Boutique.
“I’d seen these around in Southern California and thought South Dakota was ready for this,” she said. “And it wasn’t going to put me in a hundred thousand dollars of debt trying to build my own store, building the inventory and the signage and all that. My husband and I had Betty – that’s my mobile boutique’s name – and I asked him if we could renovate this and start a store. He was all for it.”
And the customers responded. After months of gathering inventory from vintage and thrift stores all over the country, Price nearly sold out at her first event.
“I think I had 15 pieces of clothing left,” she said, laughing.
Price isn’t alone in the Rapid City mobile boutique scene. Elan Labeau, owner of Elan’s Vintage Boutique, was already established in the local upcycled apparel world when she decided to overhaul a camper, ripping out everything and installing girly wallpaper, light-up shelves, and a dressing area.
To read the full article, pick up the July issue of 605 Magazine or click here.
