Brenda Feldstein is a firecracker. Everything about her exudes vitality; from her slender, curvy frame to her warm, energetic chatter. Her new boutique, Fofa Brazil Jeans, is equally vivacious.
Feldstein, who grew up in Brazil, completed her undergraduate degree there before moving to Miami, Florida. It was in Miami, she said, that she noticed the extreme style differences in American and Brazilian fashion.
"In the U.S. you have five-pocket jeans, and that's it," she said. "In Brazil, jeans come in all different cuts, fabrics, colors and designs."
After settling in at UB to pursue her MBA, Feldstein noticed her friends agonizing every weekend over what to wear on Friday and Saturday nights. They desperately wanted cute, fun clothes to wear out and were having a hard time finding them in Buffalo.
Feldstein decided to do something about it.
She opened the doors of Fofa Brazil Jeans seeking to bring something unique and beautiful to the greater Buffalo area.
Located at 5732 Main St. in Williamsville, Fofa Brazil Jeans is a boutique nestled among a row of quaint little shops. Its sun-drenched showroom is adorned with delicate dried flower arrangements and pretty modern furniture. The d?(c)cor's understated beauty maintains the patron's focus on the clothing that is neatly folded in stacks or hanging from the butter-cream colored walls.
In Portuguese, fofa means "cute or beautiful," according to Feldstein. She thought the word appropriate to describe her store and the type of clothing she carries there.
A look around reveals rack after rack of bejeweled jeans and off-the-shoulder tops. While Fofa boasts funky, multi-colored jeans and sparkly jackets, it also offers fitted cotton tees bearing the Fofa logo, as well as the traditional five-pocket jeans Americans tend to be so fond of.
Feldstein said the jeans in her store are meant to flatter women. They are designed to hug curves and silhouette shapely figures.
While most American jeans are made from everyday cotton, Fofa's jeans are made with a variety of textiles, all of which come straight from Brazil.
Most popular right now is an extremely stretchy fabric called moleton. Moleton is designed to allow for a lot of movement, which makes them perfect for dancing. With their beautifully embroidered sequins and jewels, these jeans beg to be worn for a night on the town.
"The jeans are very high quality. They are sensual, which reflects the Brazilian culture," said Feldstein.
Another popular fabric at Fofa is something called liocel. It is an extremely soft denim material made from, interestingly enough, wood fiber. The liocel jeans come adorned with beautiful hand-embroidered designs that are fancy enough to be worn for a dressy night out, but comfortable enough for sitting through a day of classes.
Feldstein believes the clothes are reasonably priced, given the high quality. Jeans range from $60 to $140. Tops can be had for $20 and up.
But there is more glitter at Fofa than just what can be found in the jeans.
The jewelry in the store is bright, colorful and made mostly of rhinestones. The handbags reside on the cutting edge of fashion and are perfectly suited to be mixed and matched with Fofa's stylish outfits.
The leather belts are all hand-made and hand-painted.
Not wanting to leave the men out in the cold, Feldstein has begun carrying Fofa jeans for men.
"It's something I'm trying, to see if there's interest," she said.
Feldstein said she is always on the lookout for trendy Brazilian clothes to offer to those in her neighborhood.
"If there's something that a lot of people are asking for, when I go to Brazil I will try to find it," she said.
She said she visits Brazil several times a year to keep her boutique stocked with unique and eye-catching fashions.
Feldstein said she expects her store to prosper because her eclectic selection is far superior to that available at any local mall.
She plans to expand her company in the future by opening more Fofa locations.
"I didn't open a [company] for just one store," she said.
Feldstein believes her dressy, hip clothing is a perfect fit for Buffalo's booming nightlife. She said her jeans especially appeal to UB's diverse cultural community, whose members might have a hard time finding the type of clothing that best fits their bodies.
"In Brazil, women are very curvy and want to show it," said Feldstein.
