In Ames it can be hard to find a place to buy new trendy clothes. This is in part because our mall is beyond subpar and we only have a few local stores to shop in. Whenever a new clothing store opens, its an exciting experience for all.

Grey Elephant is a locally owned boutique on main street. It’s been open a little over a month and has a steady flow of customers. The owner previously worked at Lylas as a co-buyer. Then she eventually bought the store and renamed it Grey Elephant, and now she does all the buying. Tara also has a twitter account @tarasuehat which she updates with some of their newest items and important information about opening and closing times.

In Grey Elephant it is very quiet and calm with a few people milling around. The inside of the store is set up almost identical to its predecessor Lylas. In the front there are tons of cute clothing pieces, ranging from shirts to pants and from rompers to dresses. To the back there is a sale rack and a plus size section. Over on the wall, there is also a whole section of accessories.

The owner helped me find a few items of clothing to try on, and I walked away with a cute new dress. Overall I found the store to be geared more towards women, but many pieces would work well for teens. The style of the clothes in Grey Elephant leads-towards a very contemporary look, with clean lines and bright colors.

Since it is a local boutique the merchandise quickly moves around, the next time you stop in, it will be like walking into a whole new store! In other words, if you like it you better buy it because it won’t be there for long.