By Abigail Wilt | Photography by Angelina Aragon
When Sara Peterson was a kid, she loved dressing for a theme and designing matching outfits for her and her friends. In college, she did costume design as a theater major and quickly fell in love with how clothing told a person’s story. “How we are feeling inside and the story that we’re living, we see that story on our clothing,” Peterson says. In 2017, she started a business customizing denim jackets and trucker hats out of her dining room.
In 2023, Peterson opened Gorgeous Things, a custom denim boutique in Old Town Scottsdale. At the boutique, customers can purchase clothes to customize or bring their own. Although Gorgeous Things is most known for denim jackets, people are also able to personalize bags, sweaters, T-shirts and other accessories. The customization process starts with a questionnaire to guide a customer in curating their individual stories through patches. The store has a 10-foot wall filled with thousands of patches, but if someone wants something different, they can design their own. “I sort of get bored with what I see on the racks. I always think it’s more interesting to have something personalized and customized to you,” Peterson says.
“What makes us unique is the experiential part of it, how the client is so involved,” she continues. “It’s something you can do with your friends, your daughter, your sister, your grandmother. It’s something very interactive you can do with the people you love.” Eventually, Peterson wants to expand Gorgeous Things to other cities, tailoring each store to the spirit of its city, whether it’s school pride in a college town or the rich country and rock n’ roll scenes in Nashville.
Gorgeous Things
7088 E. Fifth Ave., Scottsdale
480-550-5557, shopgorgeousthings.com
