What: Belle Boutique
Where: 22 S. Ninth Street

Upon entering the store, the first thing I noticed was the large sign hanging over the purchase counter. Emblazoned on the sign is Coco Chanel’s famous catchphrase: “A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous.”

At Belle Boutique, the motto is the fundamental of the business. Belle is the latest shop to join the Downtown District area at 22 S. Ninth Street.

At first glance, I wasn’t entirely impressed by the exterior of the store because the shop window is small compared to the other businesses along Ninth Street. Once inside, my first thought was “wow!”

The inside of the store is decorated simply, but done in a tasteful manner. Racks of clothes are placed strategically throughout the shop to give the customer enough room to move and to take a good look at the clothes. There is a huge variety of clothes ranging from dresses, jeans, t-shirts and jackets. Belle specializes in couture dresses without the outrageous prices. After looking through all their selection, the price range of the clothes goes from $35-$80. That’s not bad, when comparing prices to Elly’s Couture or Swank.

On the second floor is the accessories area with handbags, belts, shoes and scarves. I was disappointed with their accessories department because the bags looked the same and there was little offered, unlike Britches.

One drawback of Belle is that there are only a few sizes of each garment. If you want a dress or shirt in a different size, sorry. What the store has is what’s out on the floor.

Overall, I was impressed with the huge variety of dresses and styles. I also loved that the prices weren’t bank breakers. On the website there are instructions to text a number to receive a discount!