There’s another fashion truck on the road, and this time it’s pink, it’s loaded with the latest fashionable finds and it’s called Ooo la la. 21 year old entrepreneur Crista Botticello made her first fashion appearances with the truck last week at the Mercedes Benz of Buffalo Fashion Week photo shoot at Niagara Square, and also at LUX Nightclub on Chippewa for the swimwear fashion show. That’s the beauty of the fashion truck – Crista can hit up the fashion hotspots or take the show on the road in search of fashionistas who don’t have time for regular shopping sprees.
Crista also happensto be the owner ofOoo la la Boutique, a brick and mortarlocated in East Aurora. “I wanted to expand my business, but I was trying to think of a new,innovative way to do it,”Botticello said. “I was really inspired by the food truck revolution in our city, so I decided to take fashion to the streets.”
Having been a retailer on Elmwood for thirteen years, I find it interesting, this new concept of fashion on four wheels. Just as the restaurateurs looked on with wonder as the first food trucks hit the road, so too are the retailers [looking on]… to see where these trucks end up selling and to whom.
“My goal is to have more fashion trucks open, and not just food trucks,” Botticello (pictured inset) laughed. “Basically, I just wanted to find a way to expand my business, save a little bit of money and have a fresh concept that people would love and embrace”.
Now it’s easier than ever to host a shopping party or a fashion show. Ooo la la can be booked for all sorts of occasions, both at home and at work. The truck also supplies the models and the music for the ultimate shopping experience or personal runway show. Ooo la la even has a dressing room onboard, and why not?
I’m sure that we’ll be seeing a lot more of these sort of niche, specialized ventures hitting the road in coming years. On a street like Chippewa where there are no fashion retailers, it could be interesting to see how open people are to shopping, especially at later hours of the day, evening and night. Maybe test the waters at Canalside next summer and see what sort of response the truck gets from visitors? There are a lot of ways that this sort of retail truck could test the market in Buffalo – the 500 block of Main Street, Larkinville… places where there are no clothing and accessory boutiques.
Now that there are a couple of fashionistas hitting the road, it might be time to launch a fine dining food truck to accompany the ladies.
Tomorrow you will be able to find Ooo la la at The Mansion on Delaware as part of the Mercedes Benz of Buffalo Fashion Week. On Thursday the Crista and her truck will be attending Statler City at 7pm for the Main Runway Event.
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