Having grown up in a family of entrepreneurs, Chelsea Lang knew she one day wanted to follow in their footsteps and be her own boss. She also knew getting there wouldn’t be easy.
The road to entrepreneurship began when Lang took on a marketing and event planning position for a major homebuilder in Arizona. While she found the job itself gave her invaluable experience, she felt empty inside and knew something was missing.
“I was surrounded by such innovative and creative people when I studied entrepreneurship in school,” Lang said. “And not to say corporate America doesn’t have creative people, I was just ready to start something new and take the plunge.”
Lang’s empty feelings changed when she was trying on dresses for a New Year’s Eve party. While she loved some of the pieces she tried on, Lang couldn’t see herself spending a lot of money for a dress that she would only wear once.
“With social media now, you take a few pictures of what you’re wearing on a special event and you post it on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and it’s everywhere for the world to see,” Lang said. “I thought to myself, what if you could rent a statement cocktail dress for parties and special events and then return it when you’re done?”
And thus the idea for Bellissima Boutique was born.
While she has big plans for Bellissima in mind, Lang is currently working to establish herself as a brand and putting money aside before starting the rental side of the company.
For now buyers can purchase her boutique’s clothes on her website, at popups and trunk shows throughout the valley and her store out of her home in Tempe. Lang said that while the rental side will make her different from other boutiques in the future, right now she prides herself on having lower prices than her competitors.
“People assume that quality and cost go hand-in-hand and I don’t believe in that,” Lang said. “I wanted it to be the everyday fashionista’s boutique. “
For more information about Bellissima Boutique, visit bellissimaboutique.com and follow Bellissima on Instagram and Facebook.
