In The Raw Clothing & Fashion Boutique in Capitola, California

Samuel Dong Coat

In The Raw Designer Clothing Boutique

A clothing store with trendy designer clothes for ladies is inside the Capitola Mercantile, offering California fashion at reasonable prices. The Capitola Mercantile is a mini-mall just a stone's throw away from the beach at 115 San Jose Avenue in Capitola, California, and is a fabulous find for travelers who love to shop. In The Raw is across from Nazar, a small emporium selling beautiful Turkish imports that shoppers may also want to check out.

Cheap Designer Clothes at In The Raw

In The Raw sells sunglasses, beaded jewelry, bathing suits, and handicraft dresses, jackets, skirts, pants and tops. The selection includes sleeveless tops and sun dresses by Santiki from Indonesia, stunning jackets by Double Zero with studs and extra zippers for $48, and Samuel Dong coats for $120. Designer tops sell in the thirty dollar range and 100% cotton art jackets from Nepal for $48. Some of the artwear is inspired by trends arising from Burning Man.

The store offers goods from about thirty suppliers, including Wow Couture, Up & Coming, Street wear, Jayli Designs, Solitaire Fashion by Ravi Khosia and a favorite from New York, Samuel Dong. "They're more like artists than designers," says owner Harleen Rana. "It is charming to deal with people like that. Dong is an engineer and a designer together, and the result is definitely a work of art."

Rana cheerfully demonstrates three ways a piece can be worn, explaining how his clothes fit today's eclectic lifestyles. "A particular genre is not enough for us anymore," he says.

Fashion Boutique in California

Rana has been the sole proprietor of In The Raw since 1996. Originally from India and then New York, he has traveled around the world, picking up unique wearable art along the way for his lucky customers. He attends trade shows several times a year, getting first dibs on styles before other retailers, and his financial savvy enables him to offer beautiful clothing at very fair prices.

Rana's exotic flair extends even to the store's decor, with driftwood dragged in from the beach used for hanging rods and other staging.

Rana said a turning point in his business came when he decided "to get out of the way and let the customer decide what looked best." Still, he has a great eye for styling on women's figures of all shapes and sizes, from full figured matrons to shapely teenagers, helping all to find outfits that maximize beauty and hide flaws. Camouflaging sarongs made of 100% rayon sell for just $10.

Within seconds Rana can size up a lady and choose a piece that will complement her dimensions perfectly. "I want to see the fashion show!" he will quip as he sends her off to the dressing room. When she reappears he is honest in his appraisals. "That looks amazing." He will also tactfully say what doesn't look good and suggest an alternative outfit, but he has a talent to choose styles in the first place that are flattering. "If you're happy in a dress, your body will feel it," he says.

In The Raw hours are 11 to 6 daily, but since Harleen Rana is chief cook and bottle washer of his shop, he sometimes has to close the store during business hours to run an errand. If he's not there, wait fifteen minutes for him to return. If customers want to call before driving over, the phone number is (831) 477-1291.

photos by Janelle McKellar