Brown Fox Boutique is no newcomer to Milwaukee's boutique scene. In fact, owner Lolita Dorsey is something of a fashion forerunner, opening her small yet savvy store at 3475 N. Oakland Ave., in the summer of 2004.
Three years later, as the city's style sense continues to make significant strides forward, Dorsey finds herself smack-dab in the middle of one of our biggest -- and fastest-growing -- shopping districts. Brown Fox boutique officially made the move to the Brady Street neighborhood in October 2007.
The relocation to 1698 N. Humboldt Ave. wasn't planned, per se, but the move turned out to be the right one for Dorsey.
"It's bigger," she says of her new, roomier digs just south of Brady Street. "I have space in the back to sew more, which is what I wanted to do at my last location. I also have space to do vintage, which is something I really wanted to get into."
Because of the size of her last store, she wasn't able to venture out into the stylish world of vintage attire as much as she'd wanted to. Her new store is still on the small side, but she makes efficient use of every inch, displaying her thrifty, ultra feminine finds as well as samples from her own clothing and jewelry lines, Brown Fox and Vintage Glam.
"Vintage Glam consists of vintage fabrics and vintage re-dos," she says. "And Brown Fox is my own take on fashion -- maybe it's what's in style or maybe it's something that I think should be in style."
That's just the thing. If you ask Dorsey what makes her a fashion expert, she'll humbly tell you that she's not one, that she just a self-taught artists learning and honing her craft on instinct -- a sure sign of a natural, to be sure.
"I make and sell cloths for women that have an eclectic style -- that want to be sexy, but in different, non-traditional ways," she says. "(Brown Fox) is for people who like to shop at thrift stores and vintage stores and who like to combine a little bit of new and a little bit of old into their style."
So what's hot for spring, according to this woman of fierce, feminine fashion?
"I look at colors," she says." "Mustard yellows and blues are going to be big -- aqua is really coming back. Baby doll dress and shorts are still going to be in this season as well."
Prices here range anywhere from a modest $28 to $300 for rare, one-of-a-kind or handmade items. Dorsey projects that, eventually, roughly 25 percent of the items in Brown Fox will be her own designs and handiwork.
OnMilwaukee.com staff writer Julie Lawrence grew up in Wauwatosa and has lived her whole life in the Milwaukee area.
As any “word nerd” can attest, you never know when inspiration will strike, so from a very early age Julie has rarely been seen sans pen and little notebook. At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee it seemed only natural that she major in journalism. When OnMilwaukee.com offered her an avenue to combine her writing and the city she knows and loves in late 2004, she knew it was meant to be. Around the office, she answers to a plethora of nicknames, including “Lar,” (short for “Larry,” which is short for “Lawrence”) as well as the mysteriously-sourced “Bill Murray.”
