Nestled in the area known as Pentagon Row in Arlington across from the actual Pentagon, La’Vand serves a contingent of successful 20- to 30-year-old young professionals who, in essence, don’t want to look like everybody else while clubbing it up at local D.C. hotspots like Lima or Eyebar. And though 80% of their clientele is non-Persian, make no mistake about it: La’Vand is a proud Persian-owned establishment unafraid to exude its rich middle-eastern culture.

“When we chose the name, we wanted to use Farsi script in our logo to promote our culture.” Pari recalls. The sisters’ representation of their culture goes beyond their store’s décor. La’Vand is the sole east coast distributor for young Persian designer NIMA NY’s line t-shirts (Fred Segal handles the load on the west coast), which are graced by the brilliant Farsi calligraphy patterns that are their staple.

Models don the latest in the NIMA NY line

“We sell it out faster than anything else, especially to our non-Persian customers, which is interesting because it has Farsi on it,” Tabby explains. “By the time a Persian customer comes in the store to get one, we’re sold out.”

La’Vand gets the majority of its business through word of mouth advertising. “If u look good, then we look good,” Tabby proclaims. “Our customers will see a hot item on someone else and ask them where they got it, and they proudly say “La’Vand”.”

Some of the men’ and women’s progressive trends at La’Vand include rock-inspired pieces from Monarchy, Hard 8 and Affliction, and the sisters have been featured in The Washingtonian and Verse magazines. When they hit their one-year mark in August, the sisters will start looking for a location to open their second store, and eventually, offer their own clothing line.

Pari serves as the store’s chief stylist and public relations director, while Tabby is the director of purchasing. Employee Reem Mustafa is the visual merchandiser, whose primary responsibility is to coordinate the mannequins and the clothes they don. La’Vand carries both women’s and mens’ accessories, in addition to denim, tops, dresses, jackets, and handbags.

“Both my sister and I have always had a passion for fashion,” says Pari, who decided to forgo studying fashion at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology after landing a job at World Bank subsequent to graduating from Virginia’s George Mason University.

In another major coup for the Zamani sisters, the boutique has secured permission to use the likeness of Iranian model Farzan Athari as the male face for their store. La’Vand also recently had the opportunity to dress Nadia Ali, world renowned dance music vocalist for Iio, at an event held in Los Angeles. La’Vand has a fashion show slated for July for its summer launch of apparel, so stay tuned to see what the Zamani sisters have in store for the D.C. metro area.

A La'Vand promotion flier with Farzan Athari's likeness (left), and Nadia Ali, outfitted by La'Vand

La’Vand is located at 1301 South Joyce Street in Pentagon Row in Arlington, Virginia. Store hours are 10 a.m.. to 9 p.m., Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturdays; and Noon to 5 p.m., Sundays. Telephone: 703 413 3434 E-mail: lavanddc@yahoo.com. Visit La’Vand's website at www.lavanddc.com.

About the Writer: For questions or comments, e-mail Mayar at mzokaei@nylamagazine.com.