“Susan Curtis opened Briefly Beautiful, a vintage gift boutique, earlier this year as a homage to the clothing and accessories of her past. The University City shop stocks colorful women’s clothing, as well as collectibles, fragrances, and accessories. On any given day, a customer may walk out with a dress in a bold ’70s print, a vintage apron, a chunky bracelet, or a bottle of perfume from Demeter Fragrance Library.”

Briefly Beautiful” Boutique Looking to Make Permanent Mark in U-City

At 8149 Delmar Blvd in University City, MO, a new boutique opens featuring vintage clothing, jewelry, soaps and body products and candles, fragrances, cosmetics, sarcastic cards, collectables and an array of other merchandise from discontinued companies and hard to find items.

The store which proprietor Susie Curtis describes as a “whimsical boutique and wonderland tapestry of vintage charm and modern allure” will open in May of 2024.

The store is colorful without being gaudy, and playfully bohemian but tasteful. You can definitely sense an artist’s and writer’s touch. Susie Curtis, who graduated Eureka College in English in 2002 (and is certified to teach high school English in Missouri with graduate work at UMSL and Arkansas State), is a former teacher who has also made her mark as a visual artist. Susie won several Central West End Storefront Awards as a retailer in 2012-2015 and her vision is one of blending retail acumen with a poet’s and artist’s sensibility.

When Susie moved to Saint Louis in 2003, she started as a teacher but found the bureaucratic structures stifling as she was more interested in inspiring students with art and beauty than being bogged down with turgid lesson plans and stultifying committee meetings. After splitting time between teaching jobs and retail moonlighting, this year she decided to forgo the school environment completely and make her mark on University City.

The store is splashy and feminine. She designed her store with “an appreciation of and for innovation, elegance and a touch of rebellion.”

“If you seek a touch of retro nostalgia or a glimpse into the trends of today, our boutique offers a kaleidoscope of memories, sights, scents and sartorial eye candy; come see how ‘briefly beautiful’ a day in our store is,” Susie glowed.

Susie is a blonde, feminine, youthful appearing 42-year-old but well-travelled entrepreneur. Having travelled to 18 countries and 35 states, she seeks to blend her joyous demeanor with an aesthete’s refinement. This blend of simplicity and sophistication she seeks to express through her store. “Briefly Beautiful” is an expression of the Shakespearean notion of fleeting dreams.
Shakespeare famously said, “Our revels are now ended. These our actors as I foretold you, were all spirits and are molded into air, into thin air. And like the baseless fabric of this vision, the cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces, the solemn temples, the great globe itself. Yea all which is shall inherit, shall dissolve. And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, leave not a rack behind.”

It is in this spirit of Shakespearean transience where Susie’s love of art and literature and her retail vision meet. She wants her store to be -in her words- “a living embodiment of authenticity, creativity, and strength embracing new memories and finding beauty in the old ones.” Whether it be a scented candle, a vintage dress, a necklace, cosmetics, irreverent cards or a unique fragrance, Susie hooes the store offers a personal touch missing from stale shopping malls and and often bland franchise experiences and meaningless online shopping.

Susie finds inspiration from icons such as Patricia Field, Iris Apfel, Lilly Pulitzer and even Ruth Bader Ginsberg. She loves to blend eras, brands, textures, and colors in wardrobes. She has a penchant for vintage designs especially 1960s colors and fabrics but not limited to it. Jokingly a self professed stereotyped New Yorker, she loves the minimalism of all black ensembles, but accentuated with colorful jewelry and metallic accessories.

Her website says, “Come step into our lightbulb door, and into a world of nostalgia and celebration,” Susie exclaims, “ Let us help you find that perfect outfit, that signature scent, or that special something that will transport you back to a moment that was briefly beautiful, if only in your secrets. Embrace the magic of memories, and let us illuminate your life with the light of fleeting beauty.”

By Paula Tredway
Apr 29, 2024 at 6:00 am

On the corner of Delmar Boulevard and Old Bonhomme Road sits University City’s newest boutique, Briefly Beautiful (8149 Delmar Boulevard). It’s full of bright colors and vintage pieces — think Carrie Bradshaw’s closet.

Owner Susan Curtis wanted to create a place where people would come in and say “I remember this.”

“I kind of wanted a store that was more like a memory store,” she says. “Either memories you’ve had or memories to me.”

Over the last few years, Curtis’ house burned down, she lost her job and broke her ankle. The house fire cost her basically all of her favorite items including clothing from her late mother. It was especially hard for someone who describes herself as “really sentimental.”

“I knew I needed a new start, and it was like, what about a store where people would be like, ‘Oh my god, I used to have that,’ or ‘I remember that,’ or ‘This reminds me of this.’ I was just like, ‘Maybe there’s other people who want stuff that they lost too.’ So I was just trying to find different brands, items and clothes and try to make a nice cohesive experience.”

The eclectic vintage boutique offers guests a welcoming shopping experience with color walls, seating, candy and plenty of fun finds to enjoy.
Briefly Beautiful offers a curated collection of vintage clothing, but it’s also full of jewelry, soaps, candles, fragrances, cosmetics and collectibles, as well as discontinued items from vintage brands.

“I tried to bring in brands that we used to have growing up,” says Curtis, who moved to St. Louis in 2004. “So like Kissing Koolers, Kissing Potions and Crabtree & Evelyn. Everything is kind of a limited edition, so you might just get the last one. Along with that I’m also trying to blend in a few modern things as well so that it’s like a complete shopping experience.”

In order to find these pieces, Curtis hunts through thrift stores, estate sales and also has a buyer in Georgia who sends up unique pieces featuring classic Southern prints.

“I have to approve and sign off on every single thing,” she says. “When I pick everything I try to get it as in the best condition as possible. Especially the vintage pieces. Some of them haven’t been worn and still have the tag, so I’ll just try and sanitize and spot treat them. Everything else is fully clean and steamed and everything so it’s ready to use.”

Briefly Beautiful is full of vintage clothing, jewelry, soaps, candles, fragrances, cosmetics, collectables, as well as discontinued items from vintage brands. –

With almost 500 pieces of clothing, Briefly Beautiful is preparing for its grand opening on Wednesday, May 1 at 11 a.m.

“I’m very excited to finally just be working and just talking to people and stuff like that,” Curtis says. “People have been coming in and knocking on the windows, and I’m like, ‘Oh, we’re not quite open yet.’”

But they will be soon! To stay up-to-date on hours and new vintage finds, check out Briefly Beautiful’s Facebook page.

This article originally appeared in the Saint Louis River Front Times…