New Boutique “Clairvaux” Spices up Fairway Fashion

Filled with everything from colorful backpacks to Italian sneakers, senior Elle Karras feels the new boutique “Clairvaux,” which opened on Sept. 18, has everything East students need to branch out from their typical Urban Outfitters and Lululemon shopping route. And that was co-owner Joni Johnson’s goal — she wants to spice up the typical Kansas City fashion scene. 

“I think you want to come here because you’re going to see things that you haven’t been exposed to,” Johnson said. “You’re going to see designers from all over the world and be in an environment where we actually do care about you versus just getting you to the register. I think when you have that kind of environment it’s a fun place to come and be inspired.”

After working with the boutique Standard Style for 15 years, Johnson and her business partner decided to branch out and start their own business to fill in the gaps of what they felt the Kansas City area was missing — so they brought “Clairvaux” to Fairway shops.

Johnson noticed that Kansas City was missing representation from foreign fashion designers. Since the prices tend to be on the higher side for the designer pieces, Johnson felt it was important to also include pieces that fit a more affordable budget.

And since puffer coats from Copenhagen aren’t for everyone, she filled her boutique with a mix of casual items and designer pieces. 

“We came up with Parisian Chic and California Cool and really merged those two concepts together,” Johnson said. “So then it was really going and seeing what brands weren’t represented, what were new and upcoming ones and really working with our vendors to bring in what we felt was the best.”

Some of the vendors include Yuzefi, a London-based handbag brand, Ganni, a Copenhagen fashion brand and Misa, a bohemian fashion brand. 

After shopping at the store when it opened, Karras feels as though Johnson paid very close attention while picking out each individual piece, which can easily spice up the normal attire of East kids. 

“[I loved] the different patterns with the sweaters and all the vibrant colors,” Karras said. “There was this one pattern that I would’ve never picked out if I were the owner, but that definitely shows she did a really good job of representing [Parisian Chic and California Cool].” 

After COVID-19 brought a nationwide surge of online loungewear orders, Johnson feels it’s necessary to bring her unique fashion concept to KC to inspire the community to step up their style. 

“We definitely want to make fashion fun again for people,” Johnson said. “I feel like everyone is so watered down, especially after quarantine. It’s like a fast food version of fashion, so we definitely want to give people fun, casual things that they can wear, but it’s cool and it’s a little bit more fashion oriented.” 

Karras agrees that it’s important to have the mix of casual with classy in a boutique like this one, and she feels that they’ve successfully provided the community with a range of everyday staple items, as well as fancier designer pieces. 

“You can’t really have this culture of great restaurants . . . and great art if you’re wearing Lululemon all the time,” Johnson said. “So you have to put your value system in what you want in your community, and that was a big part of even my business partners’ idea — she wanted a great local business that gave something cool to Kansas City.”