Lola B - Knoxville, Tennessee

Lola B
Bearden Station
6614 Kingston Pike Knoxville, TN 37919 865.909.9059
www.shoplolab.com

“tory burch robert rod adam plus eve beautiful dresses norma kamali for everlast??? generra jersey love”

That is the text message I sent myself from the Lola B boutique today after work. I didn’t trust myself to remember all my observations but I didn’t want to like, take a notebook into the shop with me or anything because, DORK, right? To the normal person, the above message is probably pretty cryptic, but to me it makes perfect sense, and that’s all that matters. Me.

If I had to guess, Lola B is the only boutique of its ilk in Knoxville. It carries generous selections of a number of hard-to-find lines, even for Chicago, where of-the-moment designers get one rack at Nordy’s or *The Store before making into the mainstream. I was excited to see multiple pieces from one my favorite new designers, Robert Rodriguez, as well as some really interesting dresses by Everlast (yes, the boxing apparel-maker Everlast!) from guest designer Norma Kamali. I have been enamored with Robert Rodriguez since I discovered the line last year – lots of structured dresses and tops in basic, flattering black or white – with a few injections of color (think “Sprite” green and yellow) in the Spring line.

True to its ad in the Jan/Feb 08 issue of the Knoxville TravelHost, Lola B carries a huge selection of Tory Burch - more than I’ve seen carried anywhere except the namesake boutique on Walton St. in Chicago. I was heartened to see that my beloved Lucky Charms Reva ballet flats are still in style, although I still can’t get on board with the pumps. To each their own.

While I didn’t have enough money time to fully investigate the scattered jewelry and accessory cases, what I did catch a glimpse of suggested my usual modus operandi for shopping stores like Lola B: if you’re going to spend, stick to buying one or two designer pieces and try to replicate the jewelry and accessories someplace like Forever 21 or Target.

Throw in some absolutely gorgeous floral dresses by Adam + Eve on the sale rack and a lone black Generra jersey dress suspiciously similar to the one pictured below in “Blue Boots Redux,” and Lola B seems to answer what I imagine is a fairly pressing need for higher-end sportswear in a town ripe with college co-eds and a growing base of yuppies.

I left empty-handed. Even the sale rack was a bit too pricey for me, but I could definitely imagine myself shopping at Lola B in five years when my salary (and my taste – I’d say the targeted shopper is age 30 here) is a bit more mature.

I Heart Rating: 3 Hearts

*Fashion lesson – “the store” is the phrase most Texas women use to refer to Neiman Marcus, likely growing out of Vogue editor Edna Woolman Chase’s review of the department store in 1957.

“I dreamed all my life of the perfect store for women. Then I saw Neiman-Marcus, and my dream came true.”