Hampton Style - June 13, 2008 - Greater Westhampton

For a woman who sells some of the most innovative design pieces in the Hamptons, when it comes to peddling herself, Betsy Lepore of Jimmy's boutiques is one reluctant customer. She'll excitedly talk about fashion and collections till your perfume wears off, but when it comes to the high-end fashion stores she co-owns and manages with her delightful husband, Dominick, Lepore initially implored me, "I don't like to talk about it; it's beautiful, just come in."

Sitting prettily on the main street of West Hampton's quaint shopping village, Jimmy's Hamptons boutique is the second chapter of the family business Lepore's father started more than 60 years ago in Brooklyn.

The esteemed flagship store still holds its fashionable title in Flatbush today, and as you wander through either of the two shiny multi-leveled designer emporiums today, it's hard to imagine that it all started with a basket of bikinis.

After returning from the war, Betsy's father, Jimmy Jacobs, opened a namesake menswear store on a neighborhood shopping street in 1948. After becoming discouraged with the shifting but unsophisticated state of men's fashion in the 60s "He thought everything was too preppy; no one wore suits anymore" Jacobs and his wife, Gloria, took off on a continental tour of duty. They hit all the influential trend tableaus of Europe to prospect the "next big thing" for men, in the hopes of reinvigorating their business. Tripping from London's Carnaby Street to the French Riviera, the Brooklyn natives realized that the real trend-driven fashion pieces were for women. And it was while lounging on the sands of Saint-Tropez that a glamorous Gloria, resplendent in her Rudi Gernreich turtleneck bathing suit, spotted something scandalous and foreign to Americans: the string two-piece swimming costume. So the couple purchased a pile of bikinis, and when Jimmy put them in a basket in the front of the store, the Brooklyn housewives bought them up in a day. Overnight, Jimmy's became one of the earliest retailers of handpicked, designer fashion items for women, leading the way with Prada and early Gianni Versace.

"Fashion is in my blood; from a little girl it was the discussion around our dining-room table, and it's the same for my family today," says Betsy. Even though Gloria (famed for her meticulous eye in fashion circles) has retired to Palm Beach and hung up her bikini, she still keeps a professional interest. "Every time I speak with her she is constantly asking me, 'What about this designer, have you seen these new shoes?'"

Once you're past the unassuming shop-front and inside Jimmy's elegant interior, you soon realize there is more than a mom-and-pop business going on here. The innovative pieces, Euro styling and fostering of up-and-coming overseas designers (one of those new kids was once Esteban Cortazar, a close friend of the couple, and now the wunderkind of Emanuel Ungaro) make it clear that the couple has more invested than just running a notable boutique. Warm, unpretentious and wonderfully intuitive on the retail floor, the husband and wife team are an anomaly in their coastal quarters. "People find out about us and they come, and once they do, we're like a cult, they just keep coming. That's it."

Kirsten Montgomery's high-end children's boutique Sandy Toes, 487 Montauk Hwy., East Quogue, 631-653-9500, has everything from hand-embroidered tees for tots to silk christening gowns. For fashion-forward tots, Fahrenheit 4 Kids, 119 Main St., Westhampton Beach, 631-288-5795, has mommy-and-me brands du jour, and for comfortable cottons kids will want to wear, Baby Shock, 99 Main St., Westhampton Beach, 631-288-2522, is choice. The 305-acre Quogue Wildlife Preserve, 631-653-4771, Old County Rd., Quogue, is a great spot to take the kids for a walk through their nature trails or stop into the Distressed Wildlife Complex, which houses and heals animals rescued from the wilderness. Also on offer is a summer ecology program for both kids and adults. The Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center, 76 Main St., Westhampton Beach, 631-288-1500, offers an arts education program including acting and music camp.

New-in-town golfers may want to cozy up to current members of The Quogue Field Club, 6 Club Lane, Quogue, 631-653-9890, a par-72, Scottish-style links course that's one of the oldest in the U.S. Full-service health and fitness club Sportime of the Hamptons, 2571 Route 104, East Quogue, 631-653-6767, is equipped with four indoor and 22 outdoor tennis courts, a spa, pro shop, café and childcare facilities. While admittedly a very different genre of club, the Neptune Beach Club, 70 Dune Road, East Quogue, 631-653-8737, is a raucous nightclub overlooking a beach usually packed with bikini and board short-clad co-eds. Classy? Not so much. Someplace you'd actually go? Maybe, if you're over 21 and under 25, and have a penchant for beer-guzzling frat boys and girls in tube tops.

For floral arrangements and decorative wreaths, Roses and Rice, 481 Main St., East Quogue, 631-653-4910, has a wide range of offerings. For candles, linens and decorative ornaments, Graceful Swan, 536 Montauk Hwy., East Quogue, 631-653-9006, is one-stop shopping, and when unique pieces are in order, Excentricities, 83 Main St., Westhampton Beach, 631-288-0258, is a treasure trove of one-of-a-kind accessories, antiques, and distinctive lighting. Noteworthy items include custom upholstered furniture by LEE and hand-embroidered pillows. Antique shop gem, Alyssa's Back Alley Creations, 15 West Montauk Hwy., Hampton Bays, 631-728-1991, carries a wide range of jewelry, beads and incense, and also in the neighborhood is Good Ground Antiques, 52 West Montauk Hwy., Hampton Bays, 631-728-6300, one of the Hampton Bays' oldest commercial buildings which houses several antique dealers. The chic beds and sofas at Lucille's Beach Barn Furniture, 72 Main St., Westhampton Beach, 631-288-1880, are just the beginning when you opt for an in-home décor consultation. When it's time to spruce up your landscaping, stop by Aspatuck Gardens, 303 Montauk Hwy., Westhampton Beach 631-288-3222. For those of us without a green thumb, their full-service garden center is ready to help with any plant questions. Like Mary Poppins' carpetbag, The Open Book, 135-1 Main St., Westhampton Beach, 631-288-2120, seems to have every book you need on its shelves.

Lotus Spa, 590 Montauk Hwy., Westhampton Beach, 631-998-3436, offers massages, body treatments, facials, waxing, Japanese flower rituals, Kauai body polish, and organic products. To sate your product craving, Lavish Beauty, 132-5 Main St., Westhampton Beach, 631-288-1855, is brimming with fragrances, jewelry, bath and body products and cosmetics.

The Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center, 76 Main St., Westhampton Beach, 631-288-2350, is the town's hub for theater, music, dance, and film productions. The venue features everything from student to world-class artists, such as Donna Summer, Taj Mahal and KT Tunstall. New to the Galerie BelAge, 8 Monibogue Ave., Westhampton Beach, 631-288-5082, is the exhibit "Breaking the Walls of Bias: Art from Survivors," which will be on display until July. The show includes more than 100 pieces in diverse media by local artists of all ages and backgrounds. An educational panel discussion is scheduled for June 22 from 1 to 3pm and is to be moderated by actress and autism.org spokesperson Cathy Moriarty-Gentile.