THE FASHIONABLE LIFE

Shelia Carroll’s life in fashion never took her far from Delhi, but then again, it didn’t have to

By Michael DeVault | Photographs by Brad Arender

Shelia Carroll has spent most of her time carving out a special place in the heart of Delhi. The pair of vintage houses she envisioned together, renovated, and transformed into a growing fashion concern have become destinations for women, of all ages from throughout the Delta region, in search of that certain something that pulls it all together.

The business she operates is New Attitude Hair Design and Boutique La Cour, a pair of businesses that are at the heart of how many of Shelia’s clients define themselves. For more than 30 years, Shelia has reshaped how women buy fashion and create their styles. “You don’t have to live in a big city to get great care,” says Shelia, who adds that her customers come from as far as 200 miles away. “You can still have a sense of great style in a small area and have people come to you for that.”

Speaking to her as she tells her story, it’s easy to assume she’s from Delhi, born in the Delta and just never left. But that would be an incorrect assumption, as one soon learns. She’s been here a long time, and the region is home – it’s where she attended school, started a business and raised her son, after all – but her story begins like many others, far away.

Shelia was born on the windswept prairies of Lubbock, Texas. Economic mobility in the Texas panhandle frequently meant relocation, and that’s exactly what her father did when she was still an infant, moving the family to Mississippi for a job as a cattle truck driver, a job he held for 50 years.

Cattle was big in Mississippi then, but it was even bigger in Louisiana, and so when she was three, the family moved again, this time to the rural farming community she’s remained in ever since. Ironically, as Louisiana natives, the job also put both parents closer to their family. Her father was a hard worker, and like many in the field, he held down two jobs for a long part of his career. “He worked for a company here locally and also one out of Jackson, Mississippi,” Shelia recalls. “In those days, it was a great living.”
She recalls Delhi as a quiet community full of people, who took an interest in one another. However, she also credits her mother with much of that sense of community. “This is a quaint little area where everyone of course knows everyone,” she says. “But my mother was the kind of woman, who took care of everything from A to Z. Plus, she made it a point to look after the elderly and the young in the neighborhood.”

THEIR HOME WAS FULL OF PEOPLE, and their yard was a beehive of kids’ activities. It was a time when children in rural communities could still “free roam” in relative safety. The worst thing that might happen was a scraped elbow or banged knee. “It was a unique, fun, safe time,” Shelia says. “We could walk anywhere, go anywhere, do anything.”

When it came time for Shelia and her friends to attend school, they all enrolled at Delhi Elementary, one of three schools on the single, parish-wide campus. Early on, Shelia felt she was different than most of her classmates. She was drawn to beautiful things; such as color, texture, make-up, hair, and fashion. She exhibited a keen interest in creativity, which was not always suited for most class-room settings. “From first grade till graduation, I felt as though I was a square peg in a round hole,” she says. “Certain things really caught my attention. Like finding an innate pleasure in flowers, a particular smile, the kindness people exhibited to one another.”

After graduation, early Fall, Shelia married. A move that cemented her commitment to the community and placed her on the path that would lead to New Attitude. She was employed by the Hopson Brothers at their local drug store, where she learned the ins and outs of working a small business. And while she found the work at Hopson Brothers rewarding, her entrepreneurial spirit longed for something more. What that “more” was, however, was anybody’s guess. So, she did what any God-fearing individual would do. She prayed about it. “I was like, ‘God, what do you have for me? I’d like to teach. I’d like to be a nurse. I love makeup and hair. You just show me the way,’” she recalls praying aloud. “Within a week and a half, I was enrolled in Bastrop Beauty School.”

In the 1970s and early 1980s, Bastrop Beauty School was the premier cosmetology program in Louisiana, known far and wide for producing cosmetologists of exceptional skill. Perhaps that’s why Polly Rundell, a Delhi hairstylist, approached Shelia less than two months into her training. “She told me that, when I finished beauty school, I had a job waiting,” Shelia says. But Shelia told Polly she was still working while attending beauty school, which meant it was going to take her longer to graduate. That didn’t matter. “It took me 18 months to finish school, then I worked for Polly for two years.”

Polly’s salon was situated in the shopping mall in Delhi, one of the busiest retail areas in Richland Parish. Being a young, driven, and talented hairstylist in such a location proved to be a boom, and with those first two years at Polly’s Shelia’s popularity grew. Her career was well on its way when Polly offered her another unmissable opportunity. Within a few months, Polly and her husband planned on relocating. “She had been doing hair for a very long time, and she was getting ready to retire and move away with her husband,” Shelia says. “I’d already built a really strong clientele in that first two years, a real blessing.”

Polly offered Shelia the opportunity to purchase the salon when she left. Shelia leapt at the opportunity. Now just two years out of beauty school, she owned a thriving salon in a busy retail center. For four years, having as many as five stylists, she continued to grow the salon from its spot in the mall. But, she could see, the space was reaching the end of its time. That’s when a small house came up for sale.

By then, a lot had changed for Shelia. She had divorced and four years later, remarried. Her son was growing up quickly, and it was time to take the next step professionally, as well. She also had a vision of what she wanted her salon to look like and what the future held for her brand. She and her husband purchased the house and set about transforming it.

“We completely gutted it, inside and out, so that it would be more conducive to what I wanted,” she says. The new facility provided state-of-the-art stylist amenities, a spacious atmosphere for her and her team and it also offered her something else. Shelia explains.

“I’ve always had a love of makeup and clothing from early on inspired by my Mother’s sense of style and attention to detail,” she says. “I always knew I wanted to own my own business — whatever that was. And since I loved working with people, with fabric, makeup, and hair, I started my clothing and jewelry business in one room of my salon.”

That one room, filled more than 20 years ago, was the nexus. She put in a jewelry cabinet and four antique chifforobes filled with fashionable clothing and accessories. Two years later, the boutique was doing a brisk business, and Shelia knew they needed more space for her clientele. The house next door was vacant and available, and she began to ponder the possibilities. “I remember knowing that, if I bought the space beside me, we could move it, attach it and make the boutique,” she says. “Within a week and a half of buying it, we had movers coming to move the house and connect it.”

The renovation doubled her square footage and also increased her parking by more than double. With the new square footage, Shelia set about building a boutique unlike any other in the Delta region. She named the new clothing and accessories shop Boutique La Cour, after her mother’s maiden name. “LaCour meaning a gate, like a gate opening up,” she says. “I took that as your heart, opening up and showing you what you can do for others.”

Boutique La Cour and New Attitude Hair Design are service businesses that “make people feel good,” Shelia says. And she’s worked hard to make sure the space itself extends that inviting atmosphere. “My clothes cabinets are from back in the 1930s, and they’re absolutely gorgeous,” she says. “Most everything back there is antique, vintage and has that wonderful feel.”

The “feel” she describes — inviting, warm, gracious, comfortable — is a vital part of the business’s longevity. It helps that Shelia has an eye for clothing and fashion trends, and she manages to accomplish what few other small boutiques can. She stays current with the times and does so without falling into the “every other boutique” trap. “It starts with what catches my eye,” Shelia explains. “It’s not just the normal run of what’s popular. It is great to be inspired by others, although it is important to add your touch to create your own unmistakable style. I knew I had to hone in and make my boutique different, in all aspects; clothing, jewelry and shoes! They just had to be unique, something unexpected in a small town.”

Shelia explains her style selections further, adding that she’s worked with sales reps to ensure both selectivity and exclusivity. On top of that, she selects each piece in the lines she carries. “I like to choose classic looks, as well as fun unique pieces that aren’t on every shelf in every store,” she says. “Then, how you pull them all together is really key, as well.”

Over more than 30 years in business, Shelia has learned a thing or two about women and the styles they choose — and the styles they’re hoping to choose. “Nothing should ever wear you,” she says. “You should wear it.”

The person defines the clothes, not the other way around. Shelia and her staff specialize in honing in on each individual personality that walks through the doors, learning about them and then helping them move just beyond what they’re used to. “You give them the space to step outside the box a little bit, with gentle recommendations, without being pushy,” she says. For some, that means stepping into something they’ve never considered wearing before, and then taking them to hair and makeup to complete the new look. She knows what she sees, and she knows how they’ll see themselves after the process.

“That’s the beauty of it,” Shelia says. “It’s not all about the hair and the makeup and the clothing. It’s about what it does, that something special that can lift someone up, and inspire their own hidden creative strong force within them.”

5 THINGS NO WARDROBE SHOULD BE WITHOUT

Shelia Carroll has spent a lifetime working to hone her craft and develop not only her unique style, but also the look and feel of the wardrobes of hundreds of women. Here are the five things she says no wardrobe should be without:

1. Red Lipstick – A classic that looks good on almost every woman, red lipstick is powerful! It’s an essential addition to your wardrobe, even though it’s makeup. It’s the finishing touch, Shelia explains, on any number of looks. “That, to me, is a piece of a wardrobe.”

2. Something Black and White – Another classic look that’s timeless and elegant, a black-and-white ensemble can be dress-up or dress-down, depending on accessories. “You can do anything with that. You can make a family out of those two colors.”

3. Great Pieces of Jewelry – Here is where women can make their ensembles shine, Shelia explains. Every wardrobe needs a healthy mix of vintage cameos, Chanel chains and bold statement pieces. Also, don’t scrimp on the pearls. “Pearls can go with your pajamas!”

4. The Great Pair of Shoes – A self-professed “shoe-aholic,” Shelia owns countless pairs, high heels, classics, flats, you name it. Shoes speak to the individual, and your taste in shoes can define your look and your attitude. “When I’m buying shoes, what makes a pair to me, is how it makes me feel. Shoes make me feel something.”

5. Attitude – Everything is meaningless — from the dress, the pants, the shoes, the jewelry — if you don’t wear the right “attitude” to go with it. “You’ve got to have attitude. It has a lot to do with everything.”