4 minute read
Party On
PHOTO BY MARCI BEAN
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Molly Frankel of Huntington Woods
PHOTO BY MARCI BEAN
Kimi Rott, owner of Party Girls Mitzvahs
Boutique fl ourishes with a new owner in Huntington Woods.
LYNNE KONSTANTIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Last May, Amy Regal, longtime makeup artist and owner of Glamour Puss and Party Girls in Franklin, closed Party Girls — and her legions of fans were in mourning.
The boutique was created to be a fun and comfortable space just for girls, like their bedroom at home, where they could try on dresses for each other for proms, homecomings, bar and bat mitzvahs and other special occasions.
That’s when Kimberly “Kimi” Rott stepped in.
“I worked with Amy in the beauty business on and off for years,” Rott says. “When she decided to close Party Girls, she called and asked if I was interested in taking over.”
Rott jumped at the chance and then some. As a young mom of twin girls in 2005, the then-manicurist fulfilled a lifelong dream of opening a children’s clothing store, Syd & Samz in Royal Oak.
“There were no stores for tweens at that time,” Rott says. “I wanted a place that I would have shopped at. So, I went to a trade show in Chicago and opened the store three weeks later.”
Rott closed the boutique, which had quickly become a local favorite, in 2007, when she became pregnant with her third daughter, but kept her toes in the water
Details
To book an appointment with Party Girls Mitzvahs, call Kimi Rott at (248) 752-3727 or email partygirlsmitzvahs@gmail.com.
Tessa Rontal of Huntington Woods
PHOTO BY MARCI BEAN
• BIRTHDAY PARTIES • TRAINING SESSIONS • FAMILY GATHERINGS • FUNDRAISERS • PICNICS • BASKETBALL TEAM RENTALS • GYM RENTALS • FUN WITH FRIENDS
continued from page 46 of fashion, working part-time at Sundance Shoes (now in Birmingham) and other projects. Now that her twins are out of college, and her youngest daughter is 12, it seemed the perfect time to get back to her love. She opened her own version of Regal’s boutique, now called Party Girls Mitzvahs, in a private room in her Huntington Woods home last July.
“Fashion is my passion,” Rott says. “At one time, I thought about being a personal shopper for kids, because so many parents hate taking their kids to try on clothes, but I love it. My kids’ friends say I’m the cool mom — but I think I’m just real with them. I tell them the truth.
“When I had Syd & Samz, I had a little girl who would come into my store who was not a ‘typical’ easy-to-fit size. It made me feel so good to help her feel special. That’s what my life is all about — I love when I can help someone else feel good about themselves.”
Party Girls Mitzvahs fills a niche for an often-forgotten age group, that’s not an adult, but not a little girl, and, for now, Rott plans to focus on mitzvah service and party dresses.
In addition to Regal’s leftover inventory — which includes a range from sleek fitted and straight dresses to flouncy styles embellished with sparkles and tulle — Rott plans to incorporate more stock and more of her own style once trade shows reopen post-pandemic. But in the meantime, she works with a variety of designers and can special order almost anything. She has an entire back room devoted to the business with a dressing room, cozy sofa and fun touches.
“Everybody who walks in says it’s so personable,” says Rott, who books private showings by appointment. “I can personally help each girl, I can fit them, help decide what looks good on them.
“It’s a customized experience with an expert and it makes them feel special. There are no distractions,” she says. “It takes the weight off the parent, too. I can say to the girls, ‘no pressure, you have to like it.’ And we’re all happy.”
PHOTO BY MARCI BEAN PHOTO BY MARCI BEAN
Summer Morton and Bella Collins, both of Birmingham
Katelin Sills and Tessa Rontal, both of Huntington Woods
Lindsey Philko of Huntington Woods
PHOTO BY MARCI BEAN
Katelin Sills of Huntington Woods
PHOTO BY AARON RUDMAN/ BLUE PUFFIN MEDIA
