To keep the offerings unique, Barba orders only two of each size with no reordering

 
  Patricia Barba
 
  The interior of Patty’s Closet at Blue Diamond

Brightly colored boutiques decked out in shabby-chic attire have become the must-stop spot for those hungry for fashions across the Valley. The likes of KLAS morning news anchor Dayna Roselli, morning show personality Mercedes from Mix 94.1, and Nicole and Natalie Albino from Nina Sky all shop at the hometown boutique with fast-fashion pieces that barely make a dent in their wallets. Now Patty’s Closet is poised to open its seventh location and expand outside the Las Vegas market.

Owner Patricia Barba always had a dream of owning a clothing store, but her mother, a seamstress who made casino uniforms, wouldn’t let her move to Los Angeles to learn the trade. When she finally got her family’s blessing, she found out she was pregnant with her son, who was born with Down syndrome. “I had to put everything on hold,” Barba says. For 13 years, she worked as a medical assistant and waitress, where she met her future husband and copartner in the business, Juan, who convinced her that his business savvy and her eye for fashion could turn the concept into reality. “I wanted to be creative,” she says. “To me, that was my main concern.”

A Fashionably Expanding Empire
Five years later, the dream that started as one Patty’s Closet at Rainbow Boulevard and Windmill Lane has grown into major expansions to new locations. Just six months after opening their first store, the Barbas jumped at the chance to open a second at Blue Diamond and Cimarron Roads, again stocking the boutique with fashionable items hand-picked by Vegas’s favorite local fashionista.

“We had such a hard time opening our first store,” Barba says. “We didn’t have a lot of experience. We were going on our gut and our drive. When you’re the only one who believes in it, no one is going to give you money.” After being offered a spot near Mountain’s Edge, the couple jumped. Even in this recession era, the chain has continued to expand with a franchise at Eastern Avenue and St. Rose Parkway in Henderson, another in Summerlin, and three new franchises in the Northwest, Town Square, and Portland, Oregon.

Former KLAS reporter Melissa Duran opened a franchise location in the Northwest on October 22, and by 2 PM, 180 people had walked through the doors. “They don’t have anything like this up here,” Duran says of the turnkey operation that she purchased stocked to the brim with outfits and a coral shabby-chic décor. Barba says each franchise store comes with the same Patty’s Closet feel, with a different color scheme. She stocks the store to start but leaves the buying afterward to the new owner.

Barba describes her customers as “women who love to have something they won’t see someone else in.” She stocks only two of each size of each garment with no reordering, no matter how popular. Handbags, denim, tops, sweaters, shrugs, dresses, and shoes line the shelves, renewed every Tuesday and Friday. “Patty’s personal touch really makes each store her own,” says frequent shopper Annie Nguyen. “I feel like I’m not going to walk into a room and everyone else is wearing my outfit.”

Because of the constant influx of items, Barba has been taking advantage of the only type of advertising that can keep up: social media. When new merchandise arrives, she Tweets (from @pattyscloset) something like this recent message: “New dresses at northwest to get you all ready for the weekend,” and adds a photo. Other Tweets read, “Gearing up for colder weather with new jackets & vests at northwest store!” or “Love these chunky necklaces paired with all of our new dresses at Blue Diamond.”

“We all like to have that unique piece,” Barba says. “I love it when I hear someone say, ‘I got these shoes at Patty’s Closet; I love that place.’ I just want to tell them that I’m Patty!”