Boutique of the week: Rumeur

Craving locally designed clothes and handbags? Rumeur has it.

By Maria Tettamanti

Biscayne Corridor has paved the way to some of the coolest shops, so it only makes sense for Miami Shores do the same, right? Well, with the recent opening of Rumeur women's boutique right next to The Village Café, the Shores is shaking things up a bit.

"I want the boutique to feel like a walk through a closet - like you're in your own house," says 27-year-old owner Ericka Saieh of the cozy digs. Take a breather on the store's comfy couch and check out the flowy dresses, sky-high stilettos, exotic accessories, skimpy bikinis and funky handbags.

The price points are worth gabbing about, too. From a set of $15 Boho-chic bangles to a $95 floral-printed frock, a shopping splurge here won't have you transferring funds from your savings to checking account. "I want Rumeur to be a place where mothers and their daughters can shop," Saieh says.

Mamas and their offspring will love the funky finds - clothing labels like Kathy Misick, Fluxus, Kersch, Frenzzi, Nikki Poulos and even one-of-a-kind handbags handmade by Saieh are in store. "Many of the designers I carry are local because I want to support the community," Saieh adds.

The only thing currently missing from the shop? Panties and bras. But word on the street says the store will be carrying the uber-edgy undergarment line Crash & Burn soon. And I promise you, that rumor is true.

Rumeur, 170 NE 96th St., Miami Shores; 305-754-9800; 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon-Thurs, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Fri, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat

Photo: Maria Tettamanti