Kirna Zabête in the Wall Street Journal

Beth Buccini and Sarah Easley bonded during college over a love of fashion. Ms. Easley (near left, above) went on to work at Dior and Christian Lacroix; Ms. Buccini to Mirabella and New York magazines. They launched Kirna Zabête in 1999. "We wanted to curate a store that had the most important designers of the day ... in a setting that's not intimidating," Ms. Easley says.