Female-first fashion boutique opens

A new storefront hitting downtown Bay Shore is in the business of supporting women first.

Fashion boutique Origin of Era, owned by Renee Goldfarb, opened its doors at 90 West Main Street in Bay Shore on Nov. 25.

Goldfarb, 47, said downtown Bay Shore was always her “first choice” for the location of her boutique, which sells women’s and children’s clothing, accessories, gifts and other trinkets.

But the current Amityville resident first opened Origin of Era — formerly called SlapBack — in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in 2013. When she saw a vacant space available in the village of Port Jefferson, she uprooted the business and moved there in late January 2019.

When the Port Jeff store reopened in June following the COVID-19 shutdown, Goldfarb said the influx of tourists was difficult to handle. She wanted to ensure that new and repeat customers had a safe shopping experience.

“When you have that amount of people coming to an area and then wanting to just filter through the store, sometimes it’s just not a safe environment,” she said.

It’s part of what prompted the South Shore native to migrate the shop to Bay Shore – where Goldfarb earned her retail roots.

At age 19, Goldfarb was associated with former Bay Shore clothing store Special Sauce. She eventually opened the Fire Island location before pursuing film and fashion for 15 years.

Though much time has passed, the mission of the business has stayed the same, Goldfarb said: Sale items are selected from small, independent and female-only designers, which shifts the focus away from mass production. Brands are exclusive to the downtown Bay Shore area, she said.

“We are extremely focused on offering small batch and sustainable products,” Goldfarb said. “We want to make sure when you shop with us, you’re not only supporting women-owned brands and designers, and ethically sourced makers in the industry, but you’re buying something exclusive to this store.”

The store follows a strict protocol for safety, Goldfarb said. All returned items are cleaned and clothing is steamed.

Goldfarb began construction on the space with her family in October. She’s looking forward to meeting Bay Shore residents and visitors.

“Coming into an area that’s progressive, that’s still moving forward, even during a pandemic... it felt like the right thing to do,” she said.

“Rustic,” “bohemian” and “classic” were words Goldfarb used to describe the pieces on display in the shop, which are also available online at https://www.originofera.com/. Men’s clothing may be coming to the store in the future.