2008 Woodie Awards
Chic clothes for that soon-to-be-graduate
Bella Luna offers high-class apparel without the long drive to the big city
Katee Stearns
Issue date: 4/28/08 Section: Style
Upon graduating this year, many University of Maine students will be faced with major decisions. Some will remain at home in their own apartment or move back in with mom and dad. Others will be launching careers in and out of state. Either way, a major change most graduates will face is that they will not be able to roll out of bed, throw on a baggy pair of grey sweats and a T-shirt and stroll in to class five minutes late.
Graduates will be accumulating a more professional and perhaps fashion-forward wardrobe to help them land their first internship or job. It's also natural to assume women, more so than men, will place more emphasis on finding the perfect outfit to wear to an interview or meeting. Rather than turning to expensive online sites, letting the gas tank take a major hit by driving down to Portland or even Boston for the latest trends, female graduates need look no further than downtown Bangor for fashion at their fingertips.
In the mix of storefronts on brick and granite buildings in downtown, a boutique called Bella Luna still glows just before closing time.
At 8 p.m. on a Wednesday night, the warmth of the shop filled with chic collections of designer fashions, trendy shoes and handcrafted accessories remains welcoming and friendly. Sitting amid the racks and shelves of items that didn't find a new home that day, a woman previously engaged in an intricate project looks up and smiles. Her head is wrapped delicately in a hijab, that frames her youthful, freckled face.
It is clear now that she is working bits of metal and wire around elaborate beads that will soon become a new pair of earrings.
"It keeps my hands busy," says Heather Van Frankenhuyzen, the owner of the boutique.
Stopping for a moment, she extends one of her small pale hands in greeting, adding that she has been making jewelry since she was eight.
Van Frankenhuyzen has always loved fashion. Even growing up in the small town of Bath, Mich., where pajama pants and T-shirts were a common trend in her high school, Van Frankenhuyzen appreciated dressing up. She has come to the realization women don't dress up for men, a commonly perceived notion, rather they dress up to compete with other women.
Graduates will be accumulating a more professional and perhaps fashion-forward wardrobe to help them land their first internship or job. It's also natural to assume women, more so than men, will place more emphasis on finding the perfect outfit to wear to an interview or meeting. Rather than turning to expensive online sites, letting the gas tank take a major hit by driving down to Portland or even Boston for the latest trends, female graduates need look no further than downtown Bangor for fashion at their fingertips.
In the mix of storefronts on brick and granite buildings in downtown, a boutique called Bella Luna still glows just before closing time.
At 8 p.m. on a Wednesday night, the warmth of the shop filled with chic collections of designer fashions, trendy shoes and handcrafted accessories remains welcoming and friendly. Sitting amid the racks and shelves of items that didn't find a new home that day, a woman previously engaged in an intricate project looks up and smiles. Her head is wrapped delicately in a hijab, that frames her youthful, freckled face.
It is clear now that she is working bits of metal and wire around elaborate beads that will soon become a new pair of earrings.
"It keeps my hands busy," says Heather Van Frankenhuyzen, the owner of the boutique.
Stopping for a moment, she extends one of her small pale hands in greeting, adding that she has been making jewelry since she was eight.
Van Frankenhuyzen has always loved fashion. Even growing up in the small town of Bath, Mich., where pajama pants and T-shirts were a common trend in her high school, Van Frankenhuyzen appreciated dressing up. She has come to the realization women don't dress up for men, a commonly perceived notion, rather they dress up to compete with other women.
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posted 7/29/08 @ 5:08 PM EST
I actually kind of like the style they are making, it is unique and it saves us a drive all the way to the city.
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