Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebecca Earle.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Rebecca. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I moved to the Seacoast from Seattle about 5 years ago. With no real community connections, I found myself in a run of the mill desk job that wasn’t a good fit for my eccentric personality. After a year and a half in a cubical, I hit my breaking point and decided to finally pursue my dream of having my own shop.
I’ve always had a keen curatorial eye and a knack for finding bargains so I knew I wanted to focus on re-sale. The Seacoast is a community that has a deep theater, music, and arts scene which keeps the area vibrant and interesting, yet it was surprisingly lacking any real vintage clothing store. I felt this quirky community would be a good fit for my vision!
With a passion for fashion and sustainability, I started Cotillion Bureau in a tiny space in Kittery, Maine. After a year, we outgrew the Kittery location and I found the confidence I needed to move to downtown Portsmouth, where we finally found our permanent home at 65 Bow Street.
We are in a pretty busy part of town, right by the waterfront restaurants, so we get to meet all kinds of tourists from near and far as well as like-minded locals. It’s a joy to come to work each day because you never know who will walk through the door!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road was paved with trial and error for me! The biggest learning curve was regarding inventory: figuring out what eras and styles would sell the best in this area. At one point I bought a bunch of Gunne Sax prairie dresses at a premium… I still have most of them!
Another hurdle I have encountered is how much of an education I need to provide the average shopper who might not be familiar with vintage and up-cycled retail. It’s my mission to share with my guests the merits of vintage clothing as a sustainable alternative to today’s fast fashion.
Cotillion Bureau – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Cotillion Bureau is a vintage, artisan and up-cycled boutique full of one of a kind and rare treasures. We specialize in carrying a wide range of sizes all the way from teen to 2x. We also have an entire boudoir room full of dead-stock and up-cycled lingerie pieces; bustiers, longline bras, bodysuits and much more!
We are known for being a body positive and completely inclusive space. We prefer not to assign gender to clothing and we encourage shoppers to wear garments in creative ways. Cotillion Bureau is definitely the best place to play ‘dress up’ in town.
But to be completely honest we might be best known for our shop dog, Penelope. She is a petite Boston Terrier who is always there to greet you with an adorable head tilt or impressive yoga pose. You can check in with Penelope anytime via her Instagram @penelopeoctavia where she shares her life of adventure and endless snuggles.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Opening our Bow Street store in March of 2018 was a monumental milestone for me. We tripled the physical space and scaled everything up to the next level of business. We can now offer our customers a truly unique and beautiful shopping experience.
Contact Info:
- Address: 65 Bow Street Portsmouth, NH 03801
- Phone: 603-319-6680
- Email: cotillionbureau@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cotillionbureau/
- Facebook: facebook.com/cotillionbureau
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/cotillion-bureau-portsmouth?osq=cotillion+bureau
Image Credit:
Sara Forrest
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
