DEBUT: A yoga demonstration at the opening for Graced by Grit boutique. The teacher and class wear Grace by Grit. Annie Adams, the label’s sales director, is shown sticking her tongue out at right. Photos courtesy graced by grit.
GRACED BY GRIT
New Boutique for Line Mixing Fitness & Safety
The Graced by Grit activewear line has been doing business in a crowded market, and on May 29 it opened its first branded boutique. Co-founders Kate Nowlan and Kimberly Caccavo believe their 2-year-old line, headquartered in San Diego, has a big point of difference. It is looking to place a woman’s personal safety into the label’s design.
Each garment comes with a flat plastic whistle, placed in a pocket or hanging on a lanyard, that can be used to scare attackers and alert others for help.
The whistles honor the memory of Chelsea King, a teen who was killed by a convicted sex offender while she was jogging near Lake Hodges in San Diego County in 2010. Caccavo said that King might have escaped from her murderer if she had a whistle to scare him off and alert others to help her. Pockets in the line’s bottoms and long-sleeve tops also have sleeves to carry phones.
Graced by Grit started business in January 2013, and the co-owners also believe that their line is made unique by the Italian, compression and UPF 50+ fabrics used to make the line’s garments. Nowlan said that the colors used on the clothes often make use of jewel tones. “We created a rise on the pant,” she said. “It accentuates a woman’s curves.”
The Graced by Grit duo opened the first namesake boutique in the Solana Beach neighborhood of San Diego. Located at 153 N. Highway 101, it’s a five-minute walk from the famous Belly Up Tavern, where the Rolling Stones performed a private show a couple of days before the debut of the boutique.
The boutique is surrounded by businesses that serve the neighborhood’s fitness ethic, such as studios for dance, pilates and yoga as well as bike shops.
The 700-square-foot Graced by Grit shop was designed by JPS Designs of Costa Mesa, Calif., Caccavo said. “I think of the boutique as a SoHo art gallery, but the clothes are the art,” she said. If the store is deemed a success, the two will explore opening other stores.
