By Miranda Koerner
Staff Writer
 
According to Nursery Couture, San Antonio’s hip baby boutique, everyone can have style – even if they’re 3 months old. Whether you’re expecting, a proud new mom or a doting aunt or grandma, Nursery Couture on Loop 1604 near Stone Oak Parkway offers contemporary clothing and nursery couture at affordable prices.

“We make sure we have the stuff no one else has,” owner Katy Mimari said. “We try to be the hub of baby and maternity stuff in San Antonio. I go to Los Angeles and New York City and there are all these cool baby things. The biggest compliment I get is that (the store) is so not San Antonio.”

The walls of the Nursery Couture are designed to look like several different nurseries, with painted murals on the walls embellished with rhinestones and intricate designs. There are no toy trains and princess figurines at Nursery Couture.

Instead, shoppers can choose crib bedding in pink and brown stripes, blue and green geometric patterns, colorful polka dots and vintage-inspired prints.

“There are no themes here,” Mimari said. “No trains, no fairy princesses. (When I was pregnant,) I wanted a hip diaper bag – no theme nurseries and no Winnie the Pooh. We were the first to use pink and brown.”

Determined not to lose her sense of style as a new mom, Mimari designed six diaper bags that fit her requirements of being stylish, functional and playful. Eventually, her designs evolved into her own design collection of crib bedding, accessories and diaper bags called Caden Lane. Caden Lane is now sold in 800 stores in more than five countries and is operated out of San Antonio.

From there, Nursery Couture started as a Web site. After celebrities such as Tori Spelling, Samantha Harris and Brooke Burke began to covet the fun designs, business took off. Mimari joined up with the owner of Chic Mama Maternity and opened up Nursery Couture’s store.

Brands such as Kissy Kissy and Pedipeds offer fun, chic clothes and shoes for little ones to adorn. There are “onesies” with sayings such as “My dad is a geek,” and stylish clothes for little boys, which is something Mimari made sure to have on hand.

Customer service is also a big part of Nursery Couture. Mimari personally helps expectant mothers shop and design their nurseries. The store also uses several contract artists that can create murals for customers in their home.

“(My favorite thing) is interacting with the women,” Mimari said. “Whenever a mom’s pregnant, it’s an exciting time. It’s very cool to be there when they find out whether the baby is a boy or girl and we can plan the nursery.”

Mimari also strives to make products of all prices ranges available in the store. She said many of the moms appreciate the quality of the goods Nursery Couture offers.

“You can get a $20 gift and (have it) be the coolest one at the baby shower or you can get a $1,000 pram (like Jennifer Lopez),” Mimari said. “You don’t have to spend $500 here.”

For more information, call 494-2627 or visit www.nurserycouture.com. For more information about the Caden Lane line, call 687-1919 or visit www.cadenlane.com.