Some of the best moments at the Oscars aren’t at the awards show itself, but rather on the red carpet preceding the event, where stars sashay in elaborate gowns and preen for the cameras.
Now you can do the same at the Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley in Upper Saucon Township. Dolly’s Boutique and Studio will open at the Promenade Pop-Up Shop location, next to Carter’s and Oshkosh B’gosh, with a vintage Hollywood dressing room that will give customers trying on gowns and tuxedos for spring occasions a taste of the red carpet.
“It’s theater inspired,” owner Rita Sharma’s daughter, Dolly Dashe (yes, the shop is named after her), said. “We wanted customers to feel the theatrics, this immersive, backstage experience, as if you were in Hollywood.”
If Dolly’s sounds familiar, you might be thinking of the original Dolly’s Boutique and Studio in Wilson. Dashe said dresses are curated by Sharma, imbibing that same old Hollywood glamor the shop aims to emulate.
Dashe had more news to share: Dolly’s is opening a more permanent, second location in mid-April at 645 Hamilton St., Suite 105, in Allentown.
“We’ve already secured our lease, we’re just waiting for a permit,” she said.
The timing isn’t accidental: Dashe said the mother-daughter duo are hoping to swoop in on prom and quinceanera season, as well as significantly more options for weddings and wedding parties.
“This store will be a little bit different,” Dashe said. “We’ll have about twice the bridal selection.”
Dashe and Sharma are also putting in a theatrical experience for their customers at this location. “We’re going to go with an old Hollywood feel and bring the history of Allentown indoors,” Dashe said about indoor decor and the inspiration behind the dress selection. (Vintage Hollywood, if you haven’t noticed, is a big draw for Dashe and Sharma, as well as their customers.)
But back to the Promenade pop-up. Dashe said she and Sharma were inspired to create the Hollywood setting in the store because they noticed that customers would often pose and preen, not unlike movie stars. There will be props, a staging area and various locations for people to take selfies and pose.
Maybe that idea sounds odd to you. Sure, trying on a gown can be fun, but posing with it and props in front of a background? For a lot of people on social media, it’s a means of expression — and it’s growing business. A similar concept is at And Pose Selfie Salon at Lehigh Valley Mall, where customers can don outfits, choose various background scenes and pose along with pals to create selfies.
In any case, Dashe said Dolly’s Boutique is hoping to get an edge in the fiercely competitive formalwear sector by making it more of an experience and less about simply getting a dress or tux for a big event.
“We want there to be something unique, to be more than the dresses,” she said.
Also hustling and trying something new in a competitive sector is Kristin Ross. On Friday, Ross celebrated the grand opening of D’Signed Beauty Bar at 13 S. Seventh St. in Stroudsburg. It’s Ross’s second business, after a salon she converted into a barbershop just around the corner from D’Signed.
Ross said she’s always been working her way up. “I’ve been in the beauty industry for 25 years,” she said.
She started her career after attending the NCTI cosmetology program in Tannersville, working at salons across New York City. But something felt wrong. “I always wanted my own salon,” she said.
Right before the pandemic hit, she decided it was time — “I walked away” — and into that mess of a year that was 2020.
But Ross said she kept at it, first opening a tiny salon a stone’s throw away from D’Signed, then setting the stage for a salon of her own that was big enough for the services she wanted to offer — and her dreams.
It paid off. She opened D’Signed late last year and is now going to be fully open, ticking off a list of services: “haircuts, chemical services, balayage, extensions for hair; facials, dermaplaning, regular facials, full body waxing, lashes, lamination and tinting brows,” she said.
That’s not enough for Ross, though: “I’m regulated to have a massage therapist, so I’m looking to hire one,” she said. “And when we do, we’ll also offer massages.”
And now, for some news on businesses in transition:
Blue Moo Ice Cream Shop, the classic American diner and ice cream shop at 2693 Community Drive in Bath, confirmed on Feb. 14 on its Facebook page that it had made the “bittersweet decision to sell Blue Moo” after nine years of operation. The Crocefoglias, who started the business, are retiring and looking for owners to continue the business.
There was such an outpouring of sadness about the decision that the Croceoglias had to hop back on the next day with a clarification post. “We just wanted to clear some things up!” they wrote. “We haven’t sold yet and [w]e are open!! We will not be closing until the business has sold.”
Another business in transition is Bell Hall, the American eatery at 612 Hamilton St. in Allentown. Social media was buzzing with posts over the past couple of weeks as fans tried to discern if Bell Hall was temporarily closed (some customers had reported a sign in the windows saying the establishment was renovating) or had shut down (Bell Hall’s listing on Google showed that it was “permanently closed”). Turns out, it was the latter. Multiple calls and emails to Bell Hall have not been returned, but more to come.
Retail Watch is a weekly column covering retail and restaurant news in the Lehigh Valley. Have a question, tip, or want to see something in the area? Contact retail reporter Tanya Basu at retailwatch@mcall.com.
