If you’ve visited the Village of West Greenville lately, you may have spotted a trendy white building along Pendleton Street. You know, the one with the two garage doors that used to be a photography studio, a floral shop, and way back in the day, an old filling station. This Pendleton staple is now home to Ro & Co., a unique boutique from Greenville’s own Katie Robrids. By day, Katie runs a sales team in North and South Carolina.
Also by day, Katie runs Ro & Co. with general manager Pam Warnock, formerly of the shuttered North Main boutique PSquared. From casual looks to elevated brands like Dèluc or Zadig & Voltaire, Katie hopes to offer Greenville women of all shapes and sizes an approachable shopping experience.
I’d love a little background on you.
I am born and raised in Greenville, so I am a true Greenvillian. I’ve always worked in sales. I worked for The Greenville News for many years in print and media sales and then a technology company. I run a sales team of seven and then I also own the store. My husband and I, we are both either crazy or just really driven people. We both have our personal careers that we are very dedicated to. We also have a daughter, and she is eight.
Let’s talk fashion. Has opening a boutique always been a dream of yours?
I’ve always had a love of all things fashion. I think that clothes can make you feel really good, but I’m also a big believer that clothes don’t have to be super expensive. I think a lot of people don’t know how to wear clothes; they let clothes wear them. At the end of the day, truly helping people understand what is the right clothing for their body and how to pair things is our biggest goal.
What does Ro & Co. offer the Greenville fashion scene?
When you think of Southern boutiques, there’s a lot of consistency—a lot of florals, a lot of bright bold colors. I like to be different . . . when we talked about what we wanted to be, we wanted to have your good solid basics. Our biggest focus is streetwear, meaning you could literally wear it every single day. We have a lot of stay-at-home moms, and they’re not dressing up every day.
Who is Ro & Co. for?
Our goal is we can dress a high school girl, and we can dress somebody in their seventies. We are truly buying for all stages of life and all body types. Not everybody is a size zero. We want to make sure they are comfortable in finding the right pieces for their body.
What is your go-to item or outfit?
[laughs] What my go-to item is versus what everyone else’s go-to item—it’s going to be very different. I walk into our store, and I think, “I want it all!” But my go-to item is jeans. I live in jeans . . . and our Perfect White Tee blondie tanks. I will throw on a Lucy Paris jacket; that’s my go-to these days.
What is trending right now?
We’re seeing a lot of white denim. Everyone is having an event. So I feel like our casual dresses that we have, whether it be our sundresses or our maxi dresses, those are what everyone is wanting right now. Skirts. And travel wear. A lot of clients are going on vacation.
Ro & Co. 1172 Pendleton St, Greenville. (864) 243-8540, @shop_roandco
