Looking for cozy clothes? New SLO County shop specializes in yoga gear, loungewear
A new San Luis Obispo County store is selling yoga clothing, activewear and loungewear in a cozy setting.
The shop, formally known as ser-en-dipi-ty, is located at 734 Main St., Suite B, in Cambria.
Serendipity held its soft opening on Dec. 5, but the shop wasn’t fully finished and stocked until its grand opening nearly a month later on a rainy, windy New Year’s Eve day, owner Nicki Gould said.
Fortunately, she said, the community immediately embraced the comfy, casual concept reflected in the products she offers.
“Everybody who came in for the opening, bought something,” Gould said, and the wet weather didn’t deter shoppers.
“Sleeting rain was coming down in buckets,” she said, “but the place was still packed. It was a madhouse!”
Sisters move to Cambria from Palm Desert
Gould, 64, co-owns Serendipity with her sister and housemate Dianne Greenstein, who just turned 60.
The women, who are both divorced, moved to Cambria from Palm Desert in Dec. 1.
“I wake up in the morning and say to myself, ‘I can’t believe I live and work here,’” Gould said, calling Cambria “such a magical, beautiful place.” “My heart is overwhelmed.”
Before moving to Cambria, Greenstein had been visiting the North Coast community for 40 years.
When Gould first came to the area, “I immediately fell in love with it, too,” she said. “Cambria was magical, very special, a beautiful, quaint little town.”
Gould’s career has included all aspects of the ladies clothing trade, she said, from buying and managing to merchandising. Most recently, she worked in three high-end clothing stores in Palm Desert and Los Angeles.
It took just two months for Gould to lease the long-vacant shop location.
In the same time period, she said, the sisters bought a home “surrounded by trees and lots of deer” in one of Cambria’s hilliest neighborhoods, listed their Palm Desert house, ordered stock for Serendipity and moved.
Gould was overseeing the installation of the shop’s new flooring surface on the same day the moving van was delivering their belongings to their house.
It was a frantic time, she said with a grin, “but it was serendipity.”
Greenstein, meanwhile, is working as an accountant for the Cambria Community Services District.
Their household includes four dogs — including Mick Jagger, who is on his way to being Serendipity’s occasional shop pup.
“But he has more fun at home,” Gould said, “where he can play with the others.”
Cambria store offers activewear, casual clothes
Serendipity is located in between the Central Coast Sotheby’s office and The Love Story Project. The latter business will soon be moving less than a block away to 766 Main St., where Teresa Belle Gallery was for many years.
The 750-square-foot women’s clothing shop is tidily tucked into the spot vacated by the Bank of America ATM in October.
The sense of happiness, calm and peace that Gould wants to provide for Serendipity’s customers is symbolized by a sculpture of a young elephant in front. It’s surrounded by succulents.
Serendipity offers more than yoga gear and workout attire.
The store’s mix of products includes casual sportswear, sweats, pajamas and blankets. It also carries socks from P.J. Salvage’s Live Life Cozy line, which one customer described on Facebook as being “the most comfortable socks in the world.”
Most of the apparel is available in sizes up to extra large.
Soon, Gould also will be exhibiting the work of local artists.
Serendipity is open seven days a week at 734 Main St., Suite B.
Gould usually opens at 10 a.m. Thursday through Tuesday, but she doesn’t unlock the door until noon on Wednesdays because she’s at her weekly yoga session.
For more information about Serendipity, call 805-935-9000 or email serendipity.cambria@gmail.com.
This story was originally published January 31, 2023 at 10:00 AM.
