The postcard announcing Intoto's annual clearance sale featured the headline: "This is it."
They weren't kidding.
One of the most influential fashion boutiques in the Twin Cities will close at the end of July. A retail champion of fashion-forward designers, the Uptown icon stocked rare labels such as Dries van Noten, Alexander Wang, 3.1 Phillip Lim and Marni for women and Paul Smith, Etro and Rogan for men
While the shuttering came as a surprise to customers, it has been in the works for a while, said owner Karen Heithoff and her partner, Michael Pickart. "I've known for some time that I was moving toward leaving the business," said Heithoff. "After celebrating 20 years in business, we had a moment when we realized we built this image and we had to figure out where are we going from here."
Although Heithoff said the closing was not driven by the economy, Intoto is just the latest high-end Twin Cities boutique to shut its doors. Others include Ivy, Belle Reve and the Edina location of Stephanie's.
"It's sad that [Intoto is] closing," said Ini Iyamba, owner of Ivy, which went out of business earlier this year. "Consumers are still really longing for smaller boutiques and intimate atmosphere to go shopping," he said. "There's a huge void in the market now."
But reports of the death of boutiques would be greatly exaggerated.
Some of Intoto's lines will be picked up by other stores. Bumbershute owner Kathryn Paulsrud hopes to add 3.1 Phillip Lim, which she was prohibited from carrying at her 50th and France location because it was too close to Intoto.
