Baltimore Fashionista Flows With Elm Style

Maya McFadden Photo

Kimberly Sewell-Poole inside More Amour.

In New Haven, women favor wearing sneakers, not heels. But they love their sequins.

Baltimore transplant Kimberly Sewell-Poole got up to speed on all that, as she hits round two of trying to launch a retro-chic boutique on Whalley Avenue during a pandemic.

Sewell-Poole, 38, is the owner of More Amour Boutique at 43 Whalley Ave. on the periphery of the Shop at Yale Broadway district. She moved here with her husband, local real estate investor Gerald Poole. She brought her Baltimore boutique dream with her, looking to introduce unique apparel and edgy accessories to women.

Sewell-Poole had to make some adjustments — not just to launch amid the Covid-19 pandemic, but to learn New Haveners’ preferences.

New Haven differs from her hometown, she learned. For one thing, New Haveners opt to wear sneakers more often than heels. In Baltimore, we wear heels all the time,” she said. So now, when ordering from vendors, Sewell-Poole chooses pieces that can be worn with both sneakers and heels.

More Amour Boutique had its soft opening March 7. Sewell-Poole’s vision was to create a shop that gave customers a fun experience when entering.

The shiny lights and dark floors made a statement while being inviting at the same time,” she said. With fashion comfort is important.”

The shop has an open floor with a private office for Sewell-Poole and a fitting room.

During the third week of March, only ten days after she opened, Sewell-Poole got a call from her landlord, Yale, telling her that her shop had to close as apart of the city’s Covid-19 stay-at-home order.

At the time the shop did not have a website or enough time to build any clientele.

It was like being stuck,” she said.

Nearly all of Sewell-Poole’s vendors had paused doing business.

It wasn’t until around April that Sewell-Poole was able to being working with a handful of vendors to get new summer pieces into the shop. She readied round two, a June reopening.

It was a standstill, but there was no way I was going to give up,” she said.

From Baltimore to New Haven

Originally from Baltimore, Sewell-Poole moved to New Haven in January with her husband after annual trips to visit her in-laws. She developed a love for fashion because of its ability to make women feel good about themselves. I love to see their smile after putting an outfit together,” she said.

Sewell-Poole worked as a sales associate for Neiman Marcus for six years and Saks Fifth Avenue for four. The combined 10 years of experience introduced her to a number of name-brand designers. She developed a talent for coordinating styles for clients.

Sewell-Poole learned as well from family members in the fashion industry. Her parents owned a clothing store for six years. Her uncle was a fashion designer for Beyoncé‘s House of Deréon. Her cousins have their own fashion businesses.

Growing up, Sewell-Poole admired her parents’ sense of fashion. I remember my eyes lighting up when my mom wore these bright outfits in the 80s to the club,” she said.

Sewell-Poole always knew she would own her own clothing shop. Last year, while visiting New Haven, Sewell-Poole went shopping in search of a statement piece for an outfit for a fashion show in New York. The pickings were slim. I’m going to open a shop here,” she decided.

She began looking for a storefront. A frequent shopper downtown, Sewell-Poole found the Whalley space and fell in love. It was perfect,” she said. I wanted to be downtown to get the foot traffic.”

Sewell-Poole took a class while in Baltimore to learn more about the process of getting the required permits for a business. Sewell-Poole learned in a roomful of designers with popular brands like Milano Di Rouge.

As a sales associate, Sewell-Poole would tell the designers she met, I’m going to contact you one day.” Now she’s doing just that. Her shop carries more than 30 different designers’ women’s clothing items.

Next year, she is looking to open a second location in Maryland to bring more love to her home state.

Reopening

When the shop reopened in June Sewell-Poole kicked off with an indoor pop-up display of her newest seasonal pieces.

The shop restocks weekly with new pieces including from high-end designers. She noticed a high demand for sequin pieces.

Many customers come to shop with Sewell-Poole with incomplete outfits ideas for big events like birthdays, anniversaries, or photo shoots. I don’t know what to wear with this,” customers tell her as they show her shoes or a top.

Sewell-Poole works with them to figure out their fashion inspirations and comfort zones. It’s like a game of, Do you wanna be flashy, subtle, or simple with a pop?’”

To avoid any fashion dilemma,” Sewell-Poole orders only three to six copies of each piece. I know what it’s like to go out and have someone wearing the same thing as you. I don’t want that happening to my shopper,” she said. 

Soon Sewell-Poole will stock her racks with bold and trendy holiday pieces. She expects the shop’s website to be completed and up-to-date pieces in store by December.

Currently the shop’s hours are 11 a.m to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Sewell-Poole is making plans in case the store must close or adjust to regulations as local Covid cases increase. The shop may operate on an appointment-only basis, as Sewell-Poole styles one customer at a time in the store. You can call the shop at (203) 859‑5266.

Tags:

Sign up for our morning newsletter

Don't want to miss a single Independent article? Sign up for our daily email newsletter! Click here for more info.