Saturday 4 July 2009
Pittsburgh mural (detail) by the Pittsburgh Technical Institute. Photograph by Brian Cohen |

Development News


August 9, 2006

Pittsburgh natives open JUPE boutique, bring an eye for style to Carson Street

JUPE Boutique, located at 2306 East Carson Street, bridges the historic business district with the expansive South Side Works, and blends its owners combined international fashion and independent business sense.

“The South Side is becoming a destination. It is absolutely working out with the new development. We are in the middle of it all,” says Cara Moody, who researched the area’s demographic before starting Jupe with Amanda Plesco. Both women are 29 and native Pittsburghers.

“We looked all over Pittsburgh, even in Cranberry. But there are more people coming here, more residents and more business opportunities,” says Moody, who cites the free South Side shuttle as a business booster.

Moody studied fashion design in Paris and worked for French label Sharagano in NYC. She plans to create original products within the 600 square-foot boutique. Plesco juggles Jupe and a marketing job at Ketchum.

Due to the shop's success since opening in March, Jupe is adding a new line of prestigious purses and will host “handbag parties” featuring Jennifer Velarde, whose 1154 LILL custom-designed products are taking the nation’s fashion circles by storm.

Named for the French word for skirt, Jupe features designers such as Kenzie, To the Max and Indigo Six. Jupe carries cotton-knit camisoles, stretchy dresses, skinny-leg jeans and jewelry.

Writer: Jennifer Baron
Source: Cara Moddy, co-owner, Jupe


Photograph copyright © Jonathan Greene

Neighborhoods: South Side