Gilian Hancock and Jason Hodges opened a fashion boutique in the Village on November 20th. The location is 6263 Carrollton Avenue - just north of the post office in a spot last occupied by Haus. When they invited me to the grand opening party, I thought, "A clothing boutique with a party on a Saturday night in Broad Ripple. Most people will be at the clubs and bars, so maybe a few customers and friends will come by to snack on hors d'oeuvres and drinks." I was wrong! This was a spectacular event - probably an indication that Profile is not your average store.

I knew something was up when I arrived and a red carpet extended the length of the store with rows of chairs neatly lining it. A runway show! Very cool. A first for Broad Ripple? It is the first I know of.

I will get back to the party. First, let me tell you about Profile. Gilian comes from fashion retail and studied fashion merchandising in college. Jason comes from a music background at Yamaha/Steinberg, most recently in the recording studio software field.

"Why a clothing store?" I asked. "We both have a love for fashion," replied Jason. "We found ourselves going to Chicago to shop in the little boutique districts, like Wicker Park and Lincoln Park, because we like the unique, selective style of clothing." Unable to find what they wanted in the department stores, Jason and Gilian often did their shopping in Chicago, LA, NY or South Beach (Miami).

"One of the first boutiques I went to that opened my eyes to what a boutique could be," said Jason, "was in South Beach. There was a boutique called Hum. That is the first place where I ever purchased a pair of premium demim. I bought the jeans at 11:30 P.M., ran back to the hotel room, switched them out, and wore them out to the club that night. You're not going to go in to a Macy's, or something like that, at 11:30 at night. At Hum, the vibe was pumping, they had the music up, you're getting ready to go out with your friends - you're on vacation - it's cool, you know?"

"Gilian and I agreed that Indianapolis needs more boutiques like that - introducing Indianapolis and the Midwest to more fashion."

Gilian and Jason took the ideas from the shops they liked and put together the plan for Profile. After several months of observing shoppers around the city, they decided on Broad Ripple. "If you look around Indianapolis, everyone has it in their mind that Broad Ripple is that area where people hang out, grab a drink or grab some coffee, take your dog on a walk, what ever."

Profile has sofas and a drink cooler at the rear of the store. "We got that idea from a time in Chicago shopping at Soft Core," said Jason. "We were hanging out with the guys that work there. They had a little dorm refrigerator and offered us Sprites. It was really cool. You felt more relaxed; they were hip people that you could talk to. We talked to them about skateboarding and clubs to go to. You don't get that at a department store. [Department stores] don't care what you are in to - what you are about. Untitled [in Chicago] has live DJ's on the weekends. There is a vibe there. It is fun."

Profile carries a diverse blend of men's and women's clothing and accessories, including t-shirts that someone in a band would wear and shirts and thermals for DJ's and people into hip-hop. Profile is the only boutique in Indiana that carries jeans popular with "indie bands/hipsters/rocksters" - Cheap Monday. For the Harley fan/biker there is a line of shirts from Pure Venom. The more conservative shopper can choose from many styles of tops by Le Tigre. Accessories available at Profile include messenger bags, hats, belts for guys and girls, wallets and jewelry. They try to have a little bit of everything, without focusing on any single demographic.

In addition to Gilian and Jason, you will find Niko and Remy in the store every day. Niko is 2 1/2, and Remy just turned 1. These youngsters are the store mascots - French Bulldogs. Gilian dressed them in their Profile t-shirts for my photo shoot. The dogs came alive when the shirts went on, rolling around and chasing each other, eventually coming to rest on their Profile-logo'ed doggie bed. "That is what they do, said Jason. "They get all rambunctious, run around, then pass out."

Okay, back to the runway show. It was 9 P.M. on Saturday, and Profile was standing room only. Everyone was dressed up. The DJ changed the theme of the music and announced the fashion show. The models streamed down the red carpet, posed for the photographers at the end, and returned for another outfit. The styles varied from t-shirts with fashion denim to wild attire for a night at the club. The audience responded to each new outfit - especially to one that was conservative on the way down the runway, but was converted to provocative for the trip back. (Come see me if you want to see those photos!) It was a fun evening in Broad Ripple. The Gazette welcomes Profile to the Village.