Annabelle LaRoque In Columbia, tailor- made clothes are not a rarity, necessarily, but they are somewhat rare due to expense and supply. To find someone reasonably priced who both designs and makes clothes and does it with quality and style is a challenge. To quote Annabelle LaRoque, who successfully does both, "Sewing is a dying art."

Annabelle LaRoque was born in Lexington Hospital. Her father Rick was a regional salesman for National Chemical. She has an older sister, Brittan, who lives in Charleston. LaRoque attended kindergarten at the Little Red Schoolhouse in downtown Lexington. Her father died while she was in kindergarten.

LaRoque moved with her family to James Island, near Charleston, to start the third grade at Stiles Point Elementary. Growing up on James Island afforded all the Lowcountry amenities: crabbing, fishing, sailing, and the like.

The whole house on James Island was an open art studio of sorts. LaRoque's mother was always designing, painting, sewing, assembling, even renovating and expanding.

At Ft. Johnson Middle School, LaRoque began her French lessons and her tennis lessons, and she joined the cheerleading squad.

She continued her middle school interests well into high school, where she also developed skills in fashion design and dressmaking. In high school she was the captain of the cheerleading squad and president of the yearbook staff.

Her family kept a small Sailfish at the James Island Yacht Club, and LaRoque was often on the water Sunday afternoons. Sunday mornings she was at the Episcopal Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul, just off Warren Street above Calhoun.

LaRoque entered the freshman class at the USC Columbia campus on an academic scholarship intending to major in business. She learned business in the summers at Moo Roo, a custom purse operation run by Mary Norton on Charleston's King Street.

The most disorienting aspect of living on the USC campus was the absence of navigable water after a lifetime, so far, of always being near the water. LaRoque graduated in four years with a BA degree in public relations and a minor in retail.

LaRoque started out in medical sales, but she spent her nights sewing for women in medicine. She worked with the M Boutique on Devine Street. The USC sorority houses were a huge source of business, particularly in the few months up to the Carolina Cup.

LaRoque also sewed for Tickled Pink, a children's clothing store on Devine across from the fire station. Her work station was her house on Woodrow Street, and LaRoque was getting tired of never having a house free of work and never having a house free of customers. She moved into a 12'X12' space next to where she is today at the corner of Woodrow Street and Devine Street, one door down from Devine Foods. Shop LaRoque takes up what used to be Tallulah's lingerie shop.

She recently held her second anniversary at the Shop LaRoque location, and looking back on her start- up, she wonders why she wasn't any more scared at the outset. LaRoque thinks that she was just too young to be scared.

The Carolina Cup this past spring was good for about 200 custom dress orders at $300 each on average, all within a threemonth time frame. LaRoque had a busy spring. Summer was crowded with bridesmaid dresses and bridal gowns. For the past 12 months,

LaRoque has done more than 20 weddings. And now football is starting, and soon the fall social season comes into play followed by the pre- Christmas cocktail calendar, all which feeds business to Shop LaRoque.

As busy as she is, LaRoque brags about the quality of her four employees while she complains about their scarcity. Again, she says sewing is a dying art.

LaRoque was recently visited and interviewed by

Southern Living, but she doesn't expect that to come out for several months, maybe a year from the interview.

To recharge her batteries, LaRoque loves to take advantage of the weekend cheapies on Delta and US Air, flying to NYC roundtrip for maybe $150 and staying with friends in Manhattan. While she's in NYC, of course, she's at fashion headquarters, picking up ideas and styles all the while.