Cousins open 'judgment-free zone' Brick House Chic Boutique in Tarentum

When Anna Mayhood and Kristen Farringer couldn’t find styles to suit their size, they did something better — they opened their own boutique.

“Everyone should love themselves, no matter their size,” said Mayhood, 46. “We want to provide a fun experience for us girls who typically don’t have luck in little shops.”

The cousins, Verona natives and Penn Hills graduates, opened Brick House Chic Boutique on East Fourth Avenue in Tarentum.

Inside the bright-blue building is a plethora of plus-size exclusive fashions, from open-back T-shirts to skater dresses to the internet-famous Judy Blue jeans.

“We cater to curvy girls,” said Farringer, 43, a Cheswick resident who said she grew tired of having to order plus sizes online.

“My cousin and I both would order stuff, and then you have to wait to get it, and then half the time it doesn’t look right and you have to return it,” she said.

“We want to offer a shopping experience in a brick-and-mortar store where people can try stuff on and have fun picking their clothes.”

Their judgment-free shopping zone aligns with today’s rising body positivity movement, which both women said is long overdue.

The pair said they chose Tarentum for its charm and accessibility. The store comes on the heels of another boutique, 4 His Glory, that opened recently in the Murphy Building on Corbet Street. There also have been two new restaurants announced in the borough and a live podcast venue that opened in the old Harrison’s men’s store on Corbet Street.

Mayhood said she believes efforts toward revitalization will draw clients to the boutique, despite its location tucked away from the main business corridors.

“The day we opened, it was jam-packed in here,” she said. “We are so happy with the support, and we believe plus-size girls are happy to have a place to shop in person. It stinks when you go to a store that sells larger sizes online but they don’t carry them on-site.

“Nobody wants to walk into a store and hear, ‘We don’t have your size.’ ”

The shop’s name is a comical nod to the 1970s Commodores hit in which the band sings about curvy girls.

In addition to shorts, tops and dresses, the boutique carries a limited variety of jewelry, handbags and candles. Most are handmade by local female artists.

From a quirky taco-shaped purse to coasters etched with Tarentum landmarks, the tchotchkes make for fun shopping.

As both women work full-time jobs, Brick House hours are evenings and weekends. But that hasn’t appeared to slow traffic, Farringer said.

“I have been working really hard to build a Facebook following,” she said. “I post new items every day.”

Prices start at about $20 for tops and climb to $65 for the favored Judy Blue jeans.

Shipments of clothes arrive about three times a week, so a visit to the boutique is never the same.

The ladies also are spicing up the inventory with mystery boxes, where items are revealed live on social media at bargain prices.

“No matter what’s in there, it goes for 20 bucks,” Mayhood said. “It’s a lot of work, but we want to make it a lot of fun.”