Larie Marie

Larie Marie opened shop in early September on Campus Corner. Owner and manager Brooke Wood wanted to create a version of the Edmond Larie Marie that would fit in with the Norman campus lifestyle.

“I always loved the University of Oklahoma and Norman,” Wood said. “I was looking for a way to grow my business and Campus Corner was my dream.

“My goal when I was creating the store was to make it have a vintage Hollywood glamour feel.”

Located between Victoria’s Pasta Shop and Crimson and Whipped Cream Bakery on White Street, the store boasts some architectural accents from back in the day.

“I loved this space as soon as I saw it,” Wood said. “I loved the high antique ceiling, the stucco walls and everything about it. I walked in and I saw the store in my head, I saw the chandeliers and drapes and huge mirrors and tried my best to create that image.”

The paintings of vintage Barbie dolls that line the walls are made by a local artist and the hair accessories are designed by Chinh Doan, a journalism junior at Oklahoma U.

The bulk of the items in the store are clothing, with an emphasis on designer denim. Popular denim brands such as 7 For All Mankind and Rock and Republic are promoted in the store, but if one isn’t ready to shell out some serious cash for a pair of jeans, there are more affordable lines like Costa Blanca and Urban Behavior.

Wood plans on getting involved in the community with a holiday fashion show that would feature other campus merchants.

With the addition of Larie Marie, there are now seven shops on Campus Corner that offer women’s clothing or accessories.

Wood is hoping that customers leave her store with a little more confidence than they came with, she said.

“I want them to feel like they are glamorous and beautiful while they are inside our store and trying on our clothing,” she said. “I want customers to enjoy their experience.”

Stash

Rebecca Bean and Della Patterson spent a lot of time traveling the world and seeing the sights, but now they have come home to share their experiences with Norman.

Just east of the corner of Main and Classen, Stash offers Norman shoppers a mix of things old and new.

“We want to encourage people to buy new things that are really old things re-purposed,” Bean said. “We want all of our items to be both beautiful and practical.”

Stash strives to only sell fair trade or sustainable U.S. products.

They have clothing and purses made in Norman as well as beadwork from South America and soap from Portugal.

“People are always welcome to bring their ideas to us; we would love to some day have a flea market that would resemble the traditional Parisian flea market with artisans and designers, as well as people selling baked goods and fresh flowers,” Bean said.

The choice to locate Stash in Norman was an easy one for the two owners.

Inspired by the popularity of the once-monthly Art Walk, they wanted a location that was close to downtown and offered them a lot of room to grow, Bean said.

“We are just a little part of the movement that is going on here,” she said. “We see the other stores like us in Norman as our sisters and brothers — stores such as Roxy’s, Birdie and Native Roots Market.

We don’t want to be the only store like this in Norman; we just want to be one great little shop that people can come to.”

Focused on making their store a benefit for everyone involved, Bean and Patterson do their best to keep their items moderately priced.

“The problem with stores on the coast is that you can rarely find anything there under 20 bucks because they increase the prices of their imported items by as much as 200 percent,” Bean said.

“We know that the dollar goes a long way there, and the more we sell the more they get to make.

“We look at our items as things that people can treasure for a long time.”