Women's Personal Shopping Boutique Opens in Stony Brook

Longtime friends Laurie Lederman and Robyn Lion enjoyed shopping at Carrie's Closet in Plainview so much that they partnered with its owner to open a new location: Carrie's Closet East, located at 1239 North Country Road in Stony Brook.

Right away, customers will be able to tell the shop is different from a traditional boutique: it's located in an office building rather than a typical retail space.

Lederman, of Stony Brook, and Lion, of Melville, are aiming to provide more of a personal shopping experience for women than they would get, for instance, in a store in the mall. The hours are Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and by appointment.

"Being unique is the key," Lion said. "It's trendy. I would say the whole concept is every week the products change. You won't have the same clothes as everybody."

Lederman said she received many compliments on her wardrobe after shopping at Carrie's Closet.

"We really had nothing like this out by us," she said. "We just have really fun clothes."

Owner Carrie Needleman opened her original store in the spring of 2012. She said when Lederman and Lion approached her with the idea, she thought it would be a great opportunity to expand using her fashion buying skills. 

"It's growing quite big. ... It’s a different type of a design as far as people coming in off the street," Needleman said. "People enjoy coming in for their own private shopping experience where we can dress them."

Lederman and Lion use Facebook to not only post photos of new arrivals, but also to interact with customers who want to put items on hold and come in later to try them on.

The co-owners are also getting help from their daughters, Ashley Lederman, 13, and Samantha Lion, 16.

"The bonus of doing it with our daughters is a wonderful experience," said Lederman, who formerly worked as a human resources professional.

"The nice part about the girls is I've seen them help kids and I've seen them help adults. They're excited and I think it shows," added Lion, who has a background in computer training and the banking industry.

There are challenges to running the business, they said, but so far, the business is working.

"We're really, really enjoying it," Lion said. Part of it, she said, is her long and treasured friendship with Lederman.

"It's awesome. She's one of the few people that I knew I could actually do this with," she added. "We work so well together. We just complement each other."