Fashion, food and fun will all come together on April 17 at the Baton Rouge Fashion Council’s Spring Style Brunch.
The brunch will be held from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at The Pelican House Tap Room and Whiskey Bar located at 2572 Citiplace Ct., which specializes in southern comfort food and cocktails.
The event will feature spring fashions from more than 15 local shops and designers with products available for purchase. Vendors include The Garage 225, Beading by Treva B., Hands Producing Hope and Jaded Bliss Boutique.
“I feel like it’s going to be a great one,” Beading by Treva B. owner and designer Treva Brown said. “It’s an event that’s pretty different for Baton Rouge. It’s going to be good for retailers and consumers alike.”
A small runway show will accompany the pop-up shops, and entertainment will be provided by a local jazz trio, Capital City Project. Pelican House will also be producing a seasonal mimosa exclusive to the Spring Style Brunch.
“We haven’t hosted an event at Pelican House yet, so we’re excited to invite people to a new venue for us,” BRFC Founder Leslie Presnall said. “Pelican House has a lot of space, so we have more vendors than our usual smaller pop-up events.”
The BRFC, as an organization for local clothing and jewelry businesses, hosts monthly events and pop-up shops around town to allow boutiques and shops to grow, collaborate and network.
Since its creation in spring 2015, the BRFC has admitted more than 40 local boutiques and designers into the organization, providing them with a platform on which to expand their businesses.
One of those shops is The Garage 225.
“We’ve been working with the fashion council on other events, and we’ve found that we were very well received,” creator and co-owner of The Garage 225 Robert Wolf said. “Working one on one with the customer works best when it comes to getting people back into the store.”
The Garage 225, is a custom shop specializing in men’s clothes. The store markets itself as a place for guys who like “good music, fast machines and hate the mall.”
The clothing store has been open for a year. As a custom shop, The Garage 225 has only a few of each item — one or two of each size. He said once an item is gone, it probably won’t be back.
“I publish magazines for a living,” Wolf said. “I travel all over the country. Three years ago, my friends asked me to bring things back for them that they couldn’t get in Baton Rouge, which is how the store got its start.”
The Garage 225 joined the BRFC last year and the Spring Style Brunch is a continuation of their partnership. However, the store participates in many other pop-up shop events. Most recently, the shop was a part of the Baton Rouge Blues Festival and has teamed up with Live After 5.
“Musicians are our main customers,” Wolf said. “We deal a lot with music festivals and we do a lot of stage clothes for them because it’s stuff they can’t normally find.”
Baton Rouge native Brown turned a hobby of jewelry making into a business in 2013. Beading by Treva B. is a part of the N The Art Space studio family.
All of the jewelry in the store is entirely handmade with each beading piece custom to each customer. Brown said the store features head pieces, bracelets, necklaces, anything that can be worn on the body.
“My style is very vibrant and fun,” Brown said. “It’s for people who are very creative with their looks.”
Brown said she participates in pop-up shops at least once a month. The Spring Style Brunch will be her second event with the BRFC.

Gallery • 11 Photos

Greta Jines

The Baton Rouge Fashion Council will host its Spring Style Brunch Sunday, April 17, 2016 at The Pelican House Tap Room & Whiskey Bar. Those in attendance can enjoy brunch, drinks and music while perusing the merchandise of participating vendors. Men’s clothing store The Garage will be participating in the event.