From Austin to its 2nd location in Houston, comes Kick Pleat, designed by Austin architect Michael Hsu to be an easy shop-able space incorporating natural elements that feels so right for the sophisticated, stylish women, this new boutique is known to attract.
In the ever-growing retail world of Houston, Texas enters Wendi Koletar’s Austin-based, Kick Pleat, the newest addition to find its niche for the fashion forward woman looking for a curated collection of designers that they have not found locally before. After chatting with Wendi, I found a very determined, focused woman who knows her customer, knows her place in the fashion industry that thrives on emerging designers that, while not ‘household names’, have that level of quality and style that her followers have looked to her for since she opened her doors in Austin 13 years ago. She works hard to comb the web, magazines and the market places of New York, Paris and now recently added, Milan, to look diligently for those up and coming designers that other retailers do not have. She takes pride in partnering to build their brand and yet continue to evolve by moving on once they have become saturated in her trading area. It was evident to me as we spoke, that, aside from servicing her customers, this is where her passion for her business lies and it shows in her ‘wearable and easy’ clothing that hangs in her store.
Her uncanny ability to search for and secure rising design talent has given Wendi enormous industry credibility in her niche of the fashion industry. She is in the enviable position of not only searching for new talent but because of her reputation for her willingness and openess to newness, has made Kick Pleat a destination that new talent seek out as well. Her boutiques have become home to many of the industry’s most sought after brands such as Rachel Comey, Creatures of Comfort, Issey Miyake, Jill Sander, Lemaire, Nehara, Common Projects, Apiece Apart, Dusan and a few new lines that she is very excited about for Fall……Boboutic (Italian knitwear) and Mehera to name several of the brands she has purchased for both stores.
Some of the design elements that make Kick Pleat a very sophisticated, yet comfortable, easy place to shop are found in many of the small decor natural elements such as seagrass, wood, cement and neutral textiles as shown here.
Accessories are also a nice part of her business. She takes great pride in her shoe selection which when I asked her what she felt was a difference in her Austin and Houston customer after this first month of being open, she pointed to the shoes which she says are ‘on fire’ in Austin but have not quite taken off in Houston…….I say, it’s only been a month and that will come. At the moment, the women, using myself as an example, are most smitten by the apparel selection dominated by a soft, neutral palette that are right up my alley. When I asked her about Jewelry and if that was mostly locally purchased, she commented that she just buys the best she sees and it doesn’t really matter where it comes from……a theory that Wendi echoes throughout her store’s product selection.
About Wendi Koletar: She bit her teeth in the business world at Dell several years ago and just knew that the corporate world was not where she wanted to be. She had always had a love of fashion, knew she wanted to be her own boss and came up with a plan and a small bank loan. She opened her first store in a small house on South First Street, later expanded to her current location on West 12th Street in Austin which I visited and loved a few years back and has just broken ground on an Austin expansion and new location on 6th and Lamar. She has a robust online business at kickpleat.com, as well as many Houston customers that have encouraged her to open in their home town. So here she is, recently opened at the intersection of Kirby and Westheimer, next door to Local Foods and is committed to spending one to two days a week here to get to know her Houston customer and ensure that they are serviced properly!
Wendi Koletar, Founder, Owner of Kick Pleat
photos by: Dagny Piasecki
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