Highland Village shopping center made its latest addition Friday Nov. 11, after the grand opening of Edge Boutique.
Laura Kehrer, the owner of Edge Boutique, brought the shop to Baton Rouge to be close to the ideal female college shopper. In addition to Edge Boutique, Kehrer owns Change Clothes Boutique in Hammond, Louisiana.
Kehrer bought her first boutique the month before she graduated from Southeastern Louisiana University in 2011. She was working as an intern at a local boutique when the owner decided to sell his business. With a background in fashion merchandising, Kehrer took out a loan and bought Change Clothes Boutique.
“It was very scary taking out so much money I didn’t have,” Kehrer said. “I had never done that before, but without [the loan] I wouldn’t be able to accomplish my dream. I was confident I would be able to pay it back in time, which I did.”
Before purchasing Change Clothes Boutique, Kehrer had experience in a variety of jobs. During high school she was a lifeguard, a swim coach and a server at Qdoba. In college, Kehrer worked a tanning salon, then at JCPenney as a visual specialist.
While consistently working to make money in college, Kehrer spent her free time finding items at thrift stores and garage sales to sell on eBay.
Five years and two boutiques later, Kehrer’s work experience proved to pave her way to owning two successful businesses.
With nearly 10,000 followers on Instagram and new looks posted daily, Change Clothes Boutique has largely expanded since Kehrer’s ownership began.
Offering everything from trendy pieces to gameday wear, Edge Boutique does not only target college women, but is staffed by them as well.
“Students can expect Edge to be a boutique with all of their fashion needs with an awesome staff waiting to help them pick out the perfect outfits,” sales associate and Psychology freshmen Valencia Cade said.
Edge Boutique’s Instagram and Snapchat feature fun, lively photos and videos of Edge staff wearing Edge Boutique’s latest garments.
“We’ve received several compliments on the selections of clothes we carry and on the helpful attitudes of the student stylists,” sales associate and Microbiology sophomore Madi Burke said. “All suggestions for next season’s items are considered, so I’m really excited to get to influence what other students can purchase from the store.”
In addition to lively staff and social media, Kehrer’s Sphinx cat “Nair” can frequently be spotted at their store.
In the near future, Kehrer plans to have pop-up shops for sororities and continue hosting Instagram giveaways.

Gallery • 15 Photos

Haskell Whittington

Edge Boutique displays a variety of shoes around its store on Monday Nov. 14, 2016, on Highland Road.