Cliché Builds a Loyal Following With Indie Style on Lyndale

Cliché, the independent women's boutique at 2403 Lyndale Ave. S., closed in January 2020 after nearly 16 years on the corner of 24th and Lyndale. The husband-and-wife team of Joshua and Delayna Sundberg opened it in 2004, and when they announced a going-out-of-business sale that January, the inventory sold out in less than a week.

The shop started as a mostly vintage store before pivoting to carry pieces by local and national designers, including Twin Cities makers Amanda Christine and Larissa Loden. It was voted best boutique by City Pages in 2012 and was known for its fashion events, among them the annual "Avoid the Grey" show, seasonal in-store shows and trunk shows.

Delayna Payne, who co-founded the store and drove much of its styling and designer programming, was a fixture of the early-2000s Minneapolis fashion scene. She helped many local designers reach wider audiences and a clientele willing to support them. Word of her death spread through the local fashion community, which gathered to remember her.

For shoppers who remember it, Cliché was one of the indie, style-driven shops that gave the Lyndale corridor in the Wedge its reputation as a place to find something different. The storefront is no longer in business.

[unverifiable: the exact date of Delayna Payne's death was not confirmed in available sources; the Racket memorial is dated to early January.]