Ladies know the feeling.
At a formal event at Penn State on a Friday night, donning her best formal dress bought from a store downtown, she has the dreaded and unthinkable happen: some girl wearing the very same dress.
Elegant Affairs, 121 E. Beaver Ave., a new designer dress shop, aims to stop this from happening to State College fashion lovers. Marina Shvenke, buyer for and partner of Elegant Affairs, said the store doesn't carry many sizes of each piece in order to prevent this problem.
"The designers want to make sure they're not selling to more than one store in the area," Shvenke said. "A lot of people will ask if we'll get more sizes in of a certain style, but no. If I buy something and spend a lot of money on it, I don't want to see someone else wearing it."
Elegant Affairs opened about four weeks ago and will have its grand opening today and Saturday, she said. The store will offer 10 percent off of any purchase.
"The people we've talked to about it are very excited. We have a lot of great pieces," she said.
The idea for Elegant Affairs came when Shvenke and her partners -- her mother Julia and her friend Renata Glon -- decided to finally pursue their interest in fashion. They began by holding trunk shows for people in the State College area before traveling to New York City to meet designers.
"Me and my mom have always loved fashion, but we never had the opportunity to open a clothing store," Shvenke said. "We started going to shows in New York City, meeting designers and contacting them."
Some of the designers sold in the store include Ali Ro, Voom, Vera Wang and Elie Tahari. When choosing pieces to sell in the store, Shvenke said she and her partners aim for what's unique and stands out.
"It's something they've never seen, which is something State College needs -- items that stand out, that you look at and say 'That's amazing' and looks different," she said. "That's what we go for."
In addition to sophisticated dresses and tops, Elegant Affairs sells other exclusive luxury items, including consignment sunglasses and jewelry, and plates from 2000 Degrees, 202 W. College Ave., Shvenke added.
The interior of Elegant Affairs contains a modern-looking couch, magazines and a flat-screen TV situated away from the racks of fancy clothes -- a retreat for the men who accompany their wives and girlfriends to the store.
"We want to give them a place to go so they don't get bored," Shvenke said.
The partners of Elegant Affairs are aiming to cater to women of all ages in State College, she said.
"What we choose to buy is a combination of all three of our styles," she said. "The more people hear about our store, the more customers we get. It's been going well."
Students said they agreed that a store like Elegant Affairs is needed in State College.
"I think it may end up doing well," Alex Verch (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) said. "Although we already have a few stores that sell some dresses, there's nowhere really where girls can go to buy formal dresses or clothing for special events."
Erika Gershowitz (freshman-public relations) said she thinks the new store will be convenient and is a good addition to a college town.
"For formals and special events, I always have to take care of dress shopping at home," she said. "It will be very convenient to be able to shop right in town."
