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Sarah Bahrenburg has always been around clothes. And not just her own.
The Islip Terrace native got her first job working at a dry cleaner at 14 years old.
“So that was really my start in the clothing world,” she said.
She went on to work in retail, including management positions. She earned her MBA and then began studying fashion law, which she’s still pursuing part time.
What she’s also pursuing is her long-held dream of running her own fashion boutique, which was mostly born out of her ability to design and make her own clothes at home.
She has zeroed in on downtown Bay Shore as the site of her future store.
“For a few years Bay Shore was more of a bar town, but then it really blew up with all the new restaurants that are really upscale, and now it has that downtown vibe that I really identify with at this point in my life,”Bahrenburg said. “I absolutely love it and a place like this needs a fashion boutique.”
Of course, she needs money — enough to make the jump from the e-commerce shop she’s built up at hausvonhaute.com to a brick-and-mortar store around Main Street.
To help those efforts along, Bahrenburg — also a Fire Island fan — has booked the big room at FatFish Bistro in Bay Shore for a Sunday afternoon fashion show on the bay July 17.
“I think it’s hard for people to envision themselves in something by just seeing a picture of it,” she said. “So I decided to do a fashion show, so people can touch the clothes and try them on and see if it actually works for them.
“And, I chose a place in the water in Bay Shore, because this is my life, a beach life.”
Tickets are $30 for the show, brunch and brunch drinks, such as mimosa’s bloody Mary’s.
Like with her online shop, Bahrenburg will be showcasing a mix of her own creations and items she purchased from other companies.
She said she’s spent the past few months working feverishly to get all the clothes she’s making finished in time.
The word she uses to describe the style of her Haus Von Haute collection is “eclectic.”
“I don’t like to necessary stay with what’s trendy,” she said. ‘I like to do vintage-inspired but still modern. Really sleek. Clean lines. Simple but with some bold splashes of color, or even a bold detail. Something that’s like eye-catching from a particular angle …”
One thing she hasn’t done is zero in an a retail space.
“I’m taking one thing at a time,” she said.
click below for fashion show details
http://greaterbayshore.com/event/haus-von-haute-fashion-show/
