Retail fashion can be a fickle business: tastes shift all the time, constantly driving interest to new styles and products.

That’s why Dorothy Pearson and Traci Norris get their fashion 411 from the source: local teenagers.

“We look for what kids want,” Pearson said. “A lot of teens come into the store and we ask them what they’re looking for. What’s got bling? What’s in style?

“Right now, it’s dark, dark denim.”

Pearson, Norris and silent partner Cheryl Reynon are the proprietors of House Of Denim, a 900-square-foot jeans boutique that opened on the state Route 410 stretch of Bonney Lake in May.

Designer denim pants for men, women and children are the business’s bread and butter, but the shop also deals in belts, purses, hats, scarves and locally vended jewelry. Two primary jewelers supplying the business are Sara Jane of Edgewood and Karalee Rich of Bonney Lake.

The store is the first for the owners, but none of them are lacking in experience or gusto. Pearson came in with seven years experience in retail. Norris’s background is in financial consultation, and she acts as House Of Denim’s bookkeeper.

Reymon acted as the linchpin, pushing Pearson and Norris to act on their business ideas.

“I had worked in retail before and had ideas for how to run a store,” Pearson said.

“And I wanted to do the accounting and be far in the back room,” Norris said. “Cheryl said, ‘Why don’t you put your ideas together?’ All three of us came together to start this business.”

Everything came together in the space of a few weeks; hardly enough time to dwell on research into similar businesses, Pearson said.

“We didn’t have time to think about it,” she said.

The response to the store has been overwhelming and amazing, Norris and Pearson agreed. They are most often frequented by students.

“The high schools have really welcomed us here,” Pearson said.

House Of Denim is located at 19421 SR410 in Bonney Lake.