A girl could spend hours browsing through the latest fashion trends at Island Gypsy, a new women’s clothing store located on Bay Avenue across from Bay Village in Beach Haven. Upon entering through the giant mahogany, carriage-style doors, neat displays of colorfully printed dresses; soft, lace-and-floral patterned tops; and dip-dyed and frayed, denim shorts are just waiting for someone to try them on.
The young, contemporary apparel exudes a sophisticated-beachy vibe, with a bit of West Coast flair.
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| Photo by Ryan Johnson Jill Guidice, store manager of Island Gypsy, shows off some of the popular Alex and Ani bracelets that are new to the shop this year. |
“We have some beachwear, but there’s no surf brands or anything like that,” said Jill Guidice, store manager. “Our cover-ups are dressier; you could wear them out, or you can also wear them to the beach.”
The store offers a large assortment of clothing and accessories that appeal to customers in their teens and up, including Alex and Ani bangles, which are new to the store this year.
“They’re the hottest trend out there, as far as bracelets,” said Guidice.
Unique attire from Vintage Havanna and Macbeth is also new to the store this season.
Some of the clothing is also custom-designed by the store owners, the LAJ Retail Corp.
“It’s stuff that you’re not going to find anywhere,” said Laura Toomey, a co-owner. “We go to the factories, pick out fabric, pick out body styles, and they produce it for us.”
Cute, casual sandals; statement jewelry; big, floppy hats; beaded handbags; and lightweight scarves are also available in a range of patterns and colors.
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| Photo by Ryan Johnson Island Gypsy offers a wide variety of clothing that appeals to women in their teens and up. |
“Pretty much if you forget an outfit for the night, you can come in here and get a whole, entire wardrobe,” said Stephanie Lupo, assistant manager of Island Gypsy in Lavallette, who was helping out at the LBI location during The SandPaper interview.
The LBI shop, which opened during Memorial Day weekend last year, is the store’s second location. The LAJ Retail Corp. opened the store in Lavallette in 2012.
Island Gypsy took over the site of the former Up From the Deep Shoppes in Beach Haven. Paul Maina, owner of Paul R. Maina Builders, who built the Island Gypsy shop on LBI, said town officials and residents were incredibly excited to see it begin taking form right after Superstorm Sandy. Although construction for the new building began just a few days before the storm and it ultimately suffered floodwater damage, the LAJ Retail Corp. decided not to back out on the new venture.
“We believe in the town; we believe in the concept of the business. So we pretty much just had to make all the repairs that were necessary and go forward with the season,” said Toomey. “We thought it would be a nice mix with all the other businesses in town. LBI is a great destination, especially the part of the Island that we’re in.
“We were just very, very fortunate that we were open for last year,” she added.
Despite the decrease in tourism last summer due to the storm, Toomey said the store had a successful first season, and she expects it will have an even better following this year.
“People talk about it a lot. I feel like it definitely has a name now,” added Guidice.
Island Gypsy opened for the season in April and will remain open through October. Hours will be 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week, from July 1 to Labor Day, before resorting back to 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday through Sunday, until the end of the season.
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