When Anna Mayhood and Kristen Farringer couldn’t find styles to suit their size, they did something better — they opened their own boutique. “Everyone should love themselves, no matter their size,” said Mayhood, 46. “We want to provide a fun experience for us girls who typically don’t have luck in little shops.
” The cousins, Verona natives and Penn Hills graduates, opened Brick House Chic Boutique on East Fourth Avenue in Tarentum. Inside the bright-blue building is a plethora of plus-size exclusive fashions, from open-back T-shirts to skater dresses to the internet-famous Judy Blue jeans. “We cater to curvy girls,” said Farringer, 43, a Cheswick resident who said she grew tired of having to order plus sizes online.
“My cousin and I both would order stuff, and then you have to wait to get it, and then half the time it doesn’t look right and you have to return it,” she said. “We want to offer a shopping experience in a brick-and-mortar store where people can try stuff on and have fun picking their clothes.” Their judgment-free shopping zone aligns with today’s rising body positivity movement, which both women said is long overdue.
The pair said they chose Tarentum for its charm and accessibility. The store comes on the heels of another boutique, 4 His Glory, that opened recently in the Murphy Building on Corbet Street. There also have been two new restaurants announced in the borough and a live podcast venue that opened in the old Harrison’s men.