In less than a year, the storefronts of this Orchard City thoroughfare have changed, with an influx of small, fashionable women's shops moving in. Shop owners are hoping that women throughout the South Valley will patronize their locally owned businesses and turn their purses away from the shopping-mall experience.

Crossing the railroad tracks at E. Campbell Avenue immediately opens the gateway into the boutique experience, with shoppers greeted by feather boas and spring dresses at Simply Smashing! a funky, "girlie girl" boutique. Owner Deb Rohzen, who moved her shop to 428 E. Campbell Avenue in September 2003 from its former location in the Courtyard, says the Orchard City's boutique trend will work because shop owners are united behind it.

"We all wear each other's clothes and have something different to offer," she says. "We work together to offer different things; we don't want to step on each other's toes."

Rohzen says if she doesn't have something to offer a customer, she sends them to a nearby shop that can. And, she says many other boutique owners have done the same for her. She says a customer will often buy a complete outfit after shopping at three or four boutiques on the avenue.

"We get excited when we see each other's bags in our stores," she says. "And people appreciate our willingness to direct them to another store."

Rohzen, 44, has a sign on her boutique door that says, "Welcome to the Quintessential Boutique Experience." Inside, the shop is a veritable ode to fashion, with mid- to higher-priced items from well-known lines along with a few more obscure brands.

"I offer specialty items, not what you'd find in a discount store," she says.

She admits she wasn't initially sure that Campbell could handle so many boutiques, but she has come to believe that historic downtown Campbell is becoming what Los Gatos was 20 years ago, before more corporate stores moved into the Los Gatos community.

LuluBelle owner Tiffany Tomakin, 29, says Los Gatos has become too big, and many of her customers have decided to turn to Campbell boutiques, where the stores are more eclectic and less like The Gap.

After scouting locations, she decided to open her urban shop in Campbell in June 2003 because of its "homey feel." She likes being able to live in the same city she works in, forming relationships with regular customers.

"I like the idea of being in a downtown community," she says. "I try to keep my prices lower than the malls and understand than women can't always spend money on expensive things."

When she founded the store, she wanted to create a place that had price points every person could afford and felt like "your best friend's closet," a place that always seems to have more desirable clothes than the ones in the closet at home.

Despite a down economy, her business—college-age women to women in their 40s—is thriving. She estimates about 80 percent of people that visit her store are return shoppers.

"People here have been so supportive," she says. "I think they've been waiting in Campbell for something like this for a long time."

Fellow E. Campbell Avenue boutique owner Laura Jaeger, 58, who owns The Toastshop, opened her shop in June, right before LuluBelle.

She had looked at different locations, including her hometown of Willow Glen, but heard that Campbell was an up-and-coming community. After she visited her store location for the first time, she was instantly sold.

"I love Campbell," she says. "People are so real, and it feels like an urban center. My husband and I were even thinking of moving here."

A lot of the fashions inside the shop are designed by her daughter, Jessie, 34, who began her line of "wearable basics with a twist" called Toast four years ago.

The boutique and brand name originated from Jessie's late nights in art school in San Francisco. She remembers staying up with her roommates in their apartment, drinking tea and eating toast while exchanging good fashion tips.

"She has a whole following, it is amazing," Laura says. "She is the trendsetter."

Along with Jessie's designs, the store features more brands of versatile clothes and accessories, with almost every item priced between $40 and $100.

Jaeger likes the fact that her shop is surrounded by other boutiques, especially since each one offers a different type of clothing aimed at different styles. She is also excited about the block's newest addition. The brand new boutique, Rouge, opening in the empty space kitty corner from Orchard Valley Coffee Company.

Rouge owners Teresa Huggett, 40, and Keikilani McKay, 33, opened their first Rouge store in Santa Cruz in 2001 and had a lot of Campbell customers, who made the drive over the hill specifically to visit their store. After experiencing success in Santa Cruz, the duo decided to open a second location, and their loyal customers are glad they did.

"We've had a really good response here so far," McKay says. "With the other boutiques already here, we have a good amount of foot traffic here, too."

McKay likes Campbell because it is "more like a neighborhood, not mall driven or chain-store driven."

"We cater to the middle-class working girl," she says. "We aren't dependent on the Los Gatos or Saratoga shopper."

Like McKay, each boutique owner says they view their efforts as a labor of love and want the downtown to become a must-go-to place when looking for a unique outfit, a trendy style or something classy and different to wear or buy as a gift. And they hope all their hard work pays off, with local customers saying no to the super stores and yes to their local boutiques.