Review by Breanne Gratton
Photos by Tess Jewell-Larsen
While driving to Cold Stone Creamery for a pint of something delicious to bury the terror that has been winter term, I saw it: trellis clothing boutique. I’ve always found shopping in Eugene to be more difficult then it can be worth. But, fear no longer, trellis offers fashion-forward looks for a reasonable price. Located at 20 Oakway, the store’s reasonable prices and fashion-forward merchandise are sure to make the winter blues flee.
Tawnya Ellis and her husband opened the boutique in September 2010. After graduating from Oregon State University and working in the fitness industry, Ellis suffered a severe neck injury, causing her to leave her original field. Already interested in fashion, Ellis was inspired by her two young daughters to open the store.
Since the initial opening, “business has been amazing. . . . I can’t even explain how happy I am here,” she says.
The target audience for the store is girls from the ages of eighteen to eighty, Ellis says. Being the primary buyer for the store, she tries to stock a variety of styles in her store to cater to the diverse nature of Eugene. A clear example of this was the large supply of the impeccably made Dean leather bags, which were contrasted by equally fashionable vegan bags.
As far as brands go, two of the lines that trellis carries are from designers that formally worked at Anthropologie. This shows through the use of delicate fabrics, feminine details—all in a French countryside style. One of these was a lavender cardigan that featured small flowers around the collar. Think Roman Holiday meets Blair Waldorf.
Other lines include VeronicaM, Suzebelle, and BB Dakota.
“Suzabelle is one of my favorites. It has a great vintage feel to it,” Ellis says holding up a coat. “This is even machine washable!” The coat that Ellis describes is in a style that conjured up the image of the ladies of Mad Men due to its classic fit and neutral coloring.
A Seattle-based brand, Suzabelle offers incredible outerwear and dresses, one of which was recently worn on ABC’s reality TV show, The Bachelor.
The store also features the highly popular brand of jeans Dish. Ellis calls this Canadian label “the sisterhood of the traveling pants” referencing the popular book series by Ann Brashares where one pair of jeans fits virtually every body type. Not to mention, Dish jeans look great paired with a simple T-shirt and accessorized with some of the jewelry trellis carries, all of which come from Northwest designers. For a more contemporary look, trellis features dresses with a high neck and simplistic cut, reminiscent of the looks that Karl Lagerfeld put down the Fendi fall 2011 ready-to-wear runway.
For each style, Ellis only stocks two smalls, mediums, and larges, and if extra-small or extra-large sizes are available, Ellis orders one of each. The pants in the store range from sizes 2–16. However, once the items are gone, they won’t be reordered.
With the limited number of boutiques in Eugene, trellis offers a more personal experience over online purchases, making it is a welcomed change to the local shopping scene.
Breanne Gratton is a type-A fashion enthusiast with an obsession for creating her own defining style. She spends most of her time devoted to Style.com, and reading the numerous magazines and books that cover her coffee table, as well as numerous blogs. In addition to this she is constantly updating her own blog, Tweeting and learning as much as she can about culture and fashion. Currently, Breanne is an interning editor with CollegeFashionista U.S. and is the interning editor with CollegeFashionista U.K.. Someday she hopes to pursue a career in the fashion industry.
