It’s always shopping season on Newbury Street in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood, and with the hundreds of shops that have taken residency in the brownstone buildings that line the one-mile stretch of city real-estate, it’s easy to see why Newbury is a world class destination. Since the early 1970’s when Newbury Street began its’ retail renaissance, until now, the international flair of fashion houses, bookstores, coffee, gelato, sushi, art galleries, and an ongoing variety of restaurants and shops, continue to draw crowds.
One shop that helps bring global style to this part of the city is fashion boutique, Soodee, and on a recent trip to the boutique, we were able to photograph some of the store’s clothing, and later we talked with store founder and owner, Diane Agoun.
Agoun grew up in Asia and has lived in Paris and now here in the Boston area, and has traveled to many of the world’s leading cities including London, Rome, Barcelona, Madrid, Tokyo, and Toronto. She’s always loved fashion and wanted to have her own business, so in 2007 she combined her passions and opened Soodee, carrying lines of clothes inspired by her travels.
The boutique carries pieces that are described as classic with an avant-garde edge. Says Agoun, “Every country’s fashion showcases its’ unique culture and inspired me to pick those pieces with an international flair which you don’t see anywhere else in Boston. Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto is one of the most influential designers that I look to for inspiration. Elie Sabb is another favorite designer. His clothing highlights and accentuates the best attributes in each woman that wears his clothing.”
Regarding fashion in Boston, she explains, “Boston has an up and coming fashion scene. It has become a much more fashion conscious city compared to when I arrived in the early 2000s. With all the international students’ influence, I believe in the near future, Boston can be a major fashion hub.”
With its’ first store opening in 2007 on Newbury Street, and a second location that opened on Charles Street in 2012, the boutique is a leader among the Boston fashion scene. “Soodee will continue to bring innovative, unique, high fashion from all over the world to this city. For the New Year, we are looking to expanding our business to serve the greater Boston area.”
Visit Soodee at 170 Newbury Street, Boston, MA, phone: (617) 266-7888, and at their Charles Street location, 63A Charles Street, Boston, MA, phone (617) 248-3866
Model: Julianne Laplante
Photographer: Aaron Leclerc
Words: Aaron Leclerc, Julianne Laplante, Boston, USA
Studio 12 