At this time last year, Natalie Colosimo, now a sophomore in elementary education, was enjoying herself at a party when a stranger asked her to ride with him to a model casting the next weekend.

“This guy, Kyle, asked me if I modeled and I said no, dude, I don’t know what you’re talking about, and then he said he had this casting thing and that I would be perfect for it,” Colosimo said.

The casting was to be the brand ambassador, or personality, of Matilda for the upcoming store Matilda Muse. Six months ago, Matilda Muse started as an online store and has evolved into a brick-and-mortar with the location a block away from its sister store, Aimee, in Des Moines.

The official store opening is from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 9, at 350 E. Locust St. Suite 102, the store’s location. 

Owner Amy Hassebrock once had a ‘look’ for her other store, Aimee, ten years ago when it first opened. After some time, the woman who portrayed the personality moved away, and Hassebrock never found anyone else that struck her as a replacement.

“She was the image or look of my vision, and there wasn’t anyone I wanted to share Aimee with after that,” Hassebrock said.

Hassebrock wanted to bring back that same idea but for a younger target market. She began to create Matilda, the personality for the store she would open named Matilda Muse. This is where Colosimo came into action.

“I’m there to be Matilda,” Colosimo said.

She is the store’s personality, and the only person to model the merchandise. Colosimo takes the job very seriously, promoting the brand as a positive influence and informing people of the personality.

“I take it as building a character instead of just wearing the clothes,” Colosimo said.

Besides spreading the store by word-of-mouth, Colosimo wears something from Matilda Muse almost every day and runs its Instagram account where she posts photos of herself in the pieces.

Sara Kinderknecht, senior in apparel, merchandising and design, also had an involvement with the launch of Matilda Muse.

Kinderknecht was an intern for Aimee this past summer and was informed of the new store before the public. While she was the intern for Aimee, Kinderknecht did a lot of promotional activities for Matilda Muse like handing out flower crowns at the Des Moines music festival, 80/35 and building awareness through social media.

As for going back and forth between the two boutiques, Kinderknecht said Matilda Muse’s aesthetic is similar to Aimee’s, just offered at a lower price point. She is still actively helping both stores, especially leading up to the premiere party.

“The people are going to get really excited,” Kinderknecht said. “I haven’t seen a lot of these clothes available at this price point for people our age.”