Rows of exclusive reptile skin handbags by B. May line the shelves of Rue, a new boutique on the second story of the Mira Mar building. In a room next door, resort wear by Vineet Bahl hangs on clothing racks. Located above street level and surrounded by professional offices, Rue isn’t the easiest store on Palm Avenue to find, but those who do will discover merchandise not seen anywhere else in town. “Everyone who comes here just says this is so different,” owner Natalie Rue Morgan boasts. “It’s not like other boutiques, which I’m happy to hear.”

Morgan opened up the small shop on Dec. 3, just over a year after moving here from Indiana. This marks the second time Morgan has started a fashion boutique. She ran N. Rue and Company in Indianapolis from 2009 through 2011, but closed that store after some admitted business mistakes. “I thought I was going to be in that space forever, thus I spent money as if I had forever to make it back,” she jokes. Unlike the vintage merchandise she would buy in Indiana, Morgan keeps a small inventory in stock at Rue filled with contemporary lines, many with small designers. A few of those designers she has met, including womenswear designer Sean Monahan, who keeps a showroom in his New York loft where Morgan has visited. She also has spoken with line like B. May that have been in Sarasota before but needed a new exclusive retailer in the market.

Her first foray into retail was actually as a buyer for convenience store chain Crystal Flash Petroleum, but fashion has dominated her professional life for several years. Between the openings of N. Rue and Rue, she covered fashion for Indianapolis Monthly, and she has visited fashion shows to build a network of industry contacts and to stay up on trends.

As she gives a tour wearing a Hemand and Nandita dress also available for sale, Morgan explains that she would someday like to be in a traditional first floor shop but feels she can build a loyal customer base where she is at. To bring guests in, she has held special events with local women’s clubs and other organizations. Rue now operates Tuesday through Saturday—hours are posted on a ground level sign by Caragiulo’s.