New clothing stores are opening soon at Mayfaire Town Center, including Blush Clothier and Isa Roe Boutique.

A grand opening for Blush Clothier, which offers trendy and classic teen and women’s clothing, is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. Friday, while the celebration of Isa Roe, a clothing store for young teen girls, is expected to take place around the first week of April.

Although they have separate owners, both stores started out online.

Gianna Democko, owner of Blush Clothier, started her business online during her senior year at East Carolina University, where she studied fashion merchandising.

“It was actually a project for one of my fashion classes,” said Democko, who graduated from ECU in 2020. “I said, ‘Well, let’s try it,' and it blew up.’”

Her first brick-and-mortar location was on Oleander Drive, but she wanted more foot traffic. To that end, Democko leased about 1,300 square feet in a prime Mayfaire location – 1001 International Drive, near the entrance to Mayfaire next to Drift Coffee & Kitchen. The spot was previously home to Red Bank Wine. 

Mayfaire Town Center already offers national chain women’s clothing stores as well as locally-owned boutiques, but the owners of the new stores said they offer unique options.

“The way that I look at it is that our brands are exclusive to our store and a lot of our brands are from Europe,” said Democko, who studied fashion trends abroad in Spain, Portugal and Morocco while at ECU. 

While she said she feels her store is different from others at the center, “I love being around other boutiques because it’s great that we can support each other.”

For Britany Rivera, owner of Isa Roe, solving a clothing problem presented the former Marine with a challenge she wanted to meet.

The store and its name were inspired by her 13-year-old daughter, Isabel, and Isabel’s friend, Monroe. 

“What we noticed is that with young teens, it’s hard to find clothes for them that are age-appropriate and that are something they want to wear,” Rivera said. “I feel like it’s a struggle for teens and moms.”

Shoppers at Isa Roe, she said, won’t be feeling the pressure of a fashion industry that, at times, might offer nothing but crop tops to young girls.

“I want her to feel comfortable in the clothes, but I don’t think that it’s something that needs to be revealing or make a 13-year-old child look like an 18- or 19-year-old,” Rivera said.

Construction has been underway this week for Isa Roe, which is occupying 868 Inspiration Drive, the space formerly occupied by Fuzziwig's Candy Factory.