Red Bag Boutique: A Shop for Mothers and Daughters

Raising a supermodel for a daughter definitely has its perks.

Just ask China Robinson, the mother of Victoria Secret model , who—along with business partner Candance Simmons—has turned her fashion-centric life into a career as the owner of Culver City’s Red Bag Boutique. At just one year old and located at 10754 Jefferson Blvd., the Red Bag Boutique is a fashion lover’s paradise that—according to Robinson—caters to a trendy yet sophisticated shopper.

Simmons says that she enjoys the process of painting a client in style, beauty and confidence and at an affordable price. “Once they are in our dressing room, they become our canvas.”

The store is arranged into two rooms. The front houses the more modern, retro pieces and showcases new pieces from popular designers. In this room, Iman has a rack of clothes that she selects to accommodate the trendy, early 20s age group. In order to provide customers with an additional purchase incentive and to signify her personal stamp of approval, Iman autographs the sales tags of the clothing on her rack.

In addition to extensive wardrobe options, the front room showcases a variety of belts, hats, jewelry, as well as additional accessories laid out on racks.

The boutique's back room is a treasure chest full of vintage attire. The layout resembles the interior of a fancy walk-in closet, complete with a dressing area, comfortable loungers and a fancy chandelier. According to Simmons, the vintage area is fully stocked with items from Oscar De La Renta, Armani and Christian Dior. In addition to antique wear from top-notch designers, there are racks full of pre-owned and never-before-worn pieces from Iman herself.

The Red Bag Boutique is centered upon the premise of creating the ultimate mother and daughter shopping experience: “Being the mother of Chanel Iman, we wanted to have a place where both mothers and daughter can come and shop together," explains Robinson, who goes on to say that having Iman’s named tied to the boutique has piqued the interest of the fashion world as well as admirers of the model.

“Chanel’s fans can find her personal pieces here, come in and shop with us, and she has styled them personally,” says Robinson.

As for the 21-year-old model, she has been very busy these days with her work with Victoria’s Secret, and is also the new face of DKNY “Be Delicious” fragrance.  But according to Robinson, that doesn’t stop her from making time for the boutique. “When she is in town, she stops in, greets and styles her fans,” Robinson said.

Since the store opened last year, the ladies have accumulated an arsenal of customers. “We meet and greet as many as 10 to 20 customers daily, with our monthly events bringing in as many as 150 attendees,” Robinson said. Simmons and Robinson work hard to create a friendly relaxed day of pampering for women of all ages and to provide personal stylist assistance based on the individual needs of each and every one of their customers.

As for future goals, the ladies are working hard toward making the Culver City location the place that everyone thinks about for their fashion and gift giving needs: “We never say no to creating or responding to opportunities and as we grow, we will look to open up another location,” Simmons said.  Robinson tells Patch that the boutique also looks forward to branching out and styling clients from outside of the Culver City district.

Robinson and Simmons encourage women of all ages to pop in to see what the Red Bag Boutique has to offer. If you plan your visit right, you just might see Iman herself behind the counter, ready to bestow her style advice upon you.

 The Red Bag Boutique, 10754 W. Jefferson Blvd., Culver City, CA 90230, 310-559-7331