New Store Offers Affordable Handbags, Accessories

Just in time for the holiday shopping season, CiCi, on Maple Street at Union Place is open for business. The store, which sells women's handbags and accessories, opened two weeks ago and is already seeing its business grow, mainly due to word of mouth. CiCi is the first storefront for owner Vivian Servello, of Mountainside, although she has bee present at street fairs and corporate events in the past. Servello said that she spotted the store's location while in town for Girls' Night Out, and decided to seize the opportunity. "The truth is every time I went to Lord and Taylor and Macy's I saw that I couldn't afford a simple bag… I was like 'wow, you can't even afford to switch up a bag if you want at the end of the season," Servello said of her decision to start her own store. "I want to be able to provide women with affordable handbags that are stylish but you could switch in the spring or with an outfit or, you know, and have fun." The small store is filled wall-to-wall with purses and jewelry, which gives shoppers the comfortable feel of shopping inside a friend's walk-in closet. Servello picks these items from accessories shows in New York, such as Moda and Fame. CiCi is currently open Monday through Saturday, although Servello noted that after Thanksgiving she will be open seven days a week through the holiday season. Servello's current lease is for four months, which she will be using as a test period to see how the store does. If it does well, she said that she would be interested in expanding to a larger location.