Candice Wagener
Velvet Button Boutique owners Rhonda Dittberner (left) and Karen Graeve.
Born out of a lifelong friendship and a mutual love of shopping, Velvet Button Boutique has been keeping things stylish on Monroe Street since February 2013. Co-owners Karen Graeve and Rhonda Dittberner carry unique fashion lines shoppers won’t find anywhere else in Madison.
Clothing from the brand Neesh (which describes its original looks as “whimsical clothing for grown-up girls”) is designed and produced in Chicago. Other favorites are wraps, tops and dresses by Angelrox of Maine, and international lines Angels Never Die and Mado et Les Autres. Clothes are unfussy without being actual sportswear, and look contemporary without seeming like they came direct from the mall.
Velvet Button also carries upcycled pieces, such as clothing, bags and accessories made from used saris — these are from Indie Ella, a Texas company that sources saris from Bangalore, India, where these garments are often worn only once by affluent women.
The boutique also has a collection of handbags created out of recycled tire tubes, bike tires, seed and other burlap bags, all with a cross-body strap made from bicycle tires.
Jewelry is often Wisconsin-made and customizable.
While you can spend as much as $300 for an item, there are affordable pieces in the $30 range. The boutique also offers a rewards program — VBB Bucks — that earns regular customers 5% back.
Private parties can be booked in-shop too, with wine and hors d’oeuvres.
Graeve and Dittberner grew up together in Sun Prairie and found themselves returning to an early dream of owning a boutique together. Graeve left the interior design field and Dittberner quit her job at a nonprofit to take the leap into a new business. “We want to support small and indie designers and local artists,” says Graeve.
Shoppers can bask in one-on-one attention. Graeve and Dittberner have helped many women find clothes that match their true style.
“We don’t like to be over-the-top, crazy-different,” says Dittberner, “but just enough to stand out a little bit.”
Velvet Button Boutique: 1925 Monroe St., Madison, 608-285-5959
10 am-6 pm Mon.-Fri., 10 am- 5 pm Sat., noon-4 pm Sun.
