Comfort, style is goal at maternity clothes shop
Being pregnant means putting up with heartburn, swollen ankles, backaches and bizarre cravings.
But nothing says you have to be unfashionable.
That is the mantra of Mindy Guyer and Beth Bendheim, the women behind Posh Belly Boutique in the Gayton Crossing Shopping Center.
The store in western Henrico County opened in September.
In addition to maternity clothes ranging from T-shirts to gowns, the boutique carries a small selection of baby toys and clothes.
Guyer said the store has clothes across several price ranges.
Guyer, a former teacher, began developing the idea for the store last year while pregnant with her daughter. She felt the timing was right to try something new in her life.
As she thought about what she wanted to do, Guyer started seeing a pattern: She couldn't find maternity clothes she calls "cute and comfortable."
The places with a large selection of maternity clothes, she said, were few and far between.
Bendheim, whom Guyer has known for years, joined up.
While the market they've jumped into is limited, Guyer thinks it is one that never runs out of new customers.
"There will always be pregnant women," she said.
Guyer dismissed concerns that Posh Belly was limiting itself to a clientele that need its services only for a few months.
"Before we started, I did all kinds of research and talked to manufacturers," she said. "These are clothes that can be worn anytime."
She said manufacturers are making clothes with materials that conform to women as their bodies change during pregnancy and afterward. Many clothing lines include drawstrings and no longer have panels, so the clothes can be worn after their babies are born.
Because of this, Guyer said, women who aren't pregnant are coming and buying clothes.
FastSigns moving
The FastSigns in The Shops at Willow Lawn will move to a bigger location Nov. 24.
It will relocate to the 6200 block of West Broad Street in Henrico.
The new store will be 1,600 square feet, one-fourth larger than the current store. The extra space will be dedicated to product displays.
The store is owned by Ed Fagenson, who operates four Richmond area FastSigns, which cater to the business community's needs for banners and other signage.
Women's clothier opens
Cato will open its fifth Richmond-area store at The Shops at White Oak Village in eastern Henrico on Wednesday.
The store sells women's shoes and accessories as well as clothes.
The chain, which also includes It's Fashion and It's Fashion Metro stores, has 1,300 stores in 31 states. Cato has 57 stores in Virginia.
Airport-area hotels
Shamin Hotels will open two properties near Richmond International Airport this month and a third in the spring.
The Richmond-based hotelier plans to open a Hilton Garden Inn on Nov. 18. A Holiday Inn will open Nov. 22.
That will bring the number of hotels Shamin has opened in the past three months to four.
The company opened a Holiday Inn and a Hampton Inn in Colonial Heights in September.
It hopes to open a Hampton Inn near the airport next year.
Shamin is developing 16 additional properties, including a Courtyard by Marriott near Virginia Center Commons, and a Hilton Conference Center and Spa in Short Pump.
Advertisement