It’s only been six months since they launched and BàusNoir.com is the talk of the fashion circle. First-time visitors get hooked and are glued to the screen as they load up their virtual shopping cart. The designs are high-end, unique and you will find quite a bit of few-of-a-kind fashions.
What exactly is Bàus Noir?
“To be Bàus is to exemplify confidence, style, luxury, sophistication, and edge. Bàus Noir is here to service that state of being by visually developing your imagination and giving an inside glimpse into the ever growing fashion industry,” according to the site.
“In addition, we present a unique shopping experience that consists of bridging independent designers and established labels with fashion enthusiasts throughout the world. We aim to provide a Bàus experience across all platforms while keeping exclusivity and quality in the forefront.”
Rolling out caught up with Bàus Noir brand ambassadors Jasmine Lynch and Ashley Hendrick, accountants-turned-high-end-boutique-owners who first met in an intermediate accounting class and are now really close friends.
How did you come up with this concept?
Ashley Hendrick: It started with our love of shoes. We’d often send each other photos. We had the same taste and were fond of certain designers. A friend of ours opened a boutique in another city and on the road trip home we decided to go into business together.
How old is your company? Is there a brick-and-mortar location?
Jasmine Lynch: We launched in April 2016 and are based primarily online and have a studio in Houston that sees customers via appointment-only.
Walk us through the process of being accountants to adding fashion merchandisers to your wheelhouse.
JL: Accountants are seen as conservative. Ashley and I are the accountants who break that mold. We have always expressed ourselves through style and fashion. I remember I’d wear three different colors in my hair, wore a nose ring and dressed very different from most Houstonians. We had a professor, Dr. Gamble, who told us no on would ever take us serious because the field of accounting is very conservative. I questioned why can’t you express yourself and still be smart? Why can’t you be an accountant and be fashion forward and stylish? Why do you have to be limited to wearing all black, wearing stockings and wearing your hair in a low ponytail? Who makes that case for you to be successful.
What sets Bàus Noir apart from other fashion merchandisers and boutiques?
AH: We bring our personal identities to the brand: sophisticated mixed with bold. We choose designers who are classic and have unique pieces. We want to be trailblazers.
JL: We have unique pieces that are basic in terms of a tee, but it may have shoulder pads, or a pencil skirt will have a high slit.
Your reach expands beyond Houston, but I am curious to know how has the market received fashion option?
AH: It has been a learning curve. We have traveled to multiple cities since our launch. Most of our sales come from the New York market. In terms of Houston, I’ve noticed that once they had the chance to feel the clothes and hear our vision, they were quite receptive. There’s a transplant population here that is open to this new fashion.
Which designers do you work with?
JL: We carry labels and designers that aren’t known to mass consumers. Industry professionals and stylists know these designers like Alice McCall. We are the gateway for the mass consumer.
AH: We are a platform for established designers and we also introduce emerging designers. We have an eye for the fashion and utilized feedback from our customers. For example, before Kylie and Kendall Jenner were seen in Zhivago, it was a designer that we had our eye on.
