Jazmin Literatus shows off some of her store’s clothes. (Photo by George Johnston)

Unique. That’s the sense one gets when walking into Literatus Design, a new women’s clothing store in downtown Benicia.
Located at 374 First St., Literatus Design is owned by Jazmin Literatus. Literatus was born in the Philippines and came to America at the age of 7 She self taught herself in fashion design and began working in the garment industry in the mid ’90s. Literatus double majored in graphic design in college and went to work as a textile artist.
In 2007, Literatus moved to Northern California because of her husband, who was born and raised in the Bay Area. She started selling her clothing at festivals and eventually opened her online shop LiteratusDesign.com. Literatus moved to Benicia last year after researching what type of education the city could provide for her children.
“You guys (Benicia citizens) have such a welcoming atmosphere,” Literatus said. ” I grew up in Los Angeles so when I came, here my mentality was to completely off the wall, you know like where I’m always 360 and looking over my back. Nobody really says hello in Los Angles, but here everybody is so friendly. They welcome you. They support you. They are very small-business oriented, and they want to you to thrive and not fail, which is nice to hear because I lived in Los Angeles, and it’s mostly cutthroat and competitive. Its nice to know in this town they support you 100 percent.”
Literatus opened a brick-and-mortar store in the Treasury Commons in April. Literatus got the idea to operate a store after a combination of seeing a location open during a February wine festival in Benicia and realizing while people may see her clothes online, customers can not feel the texture of the clothing.
Beside having a stock of clothes which she all designs herself, Literatus can custom make and fit clothes for any women who desire to request a special order. This fulfills a desire Literatus has had since high school of combining her love of design and fashion.
“All my clothes are different” Literatus said. “Even if you go to a department store, everything is the same. Every once in a while they have a sale on a different thing, expect may the color is different. Here each each clothing is design uniquely. I do not sell this in mass production or a department store. I create everything in its only unique way where you won’t see it anywhere else. So when you come shopping around, people will say ‘Hey where did you get that clothes’ because you feel special because it’s different from what other people wear. You’re walking and somebody whispers ‘Hey they’re not wearing the same clothes I’m wearing.’ My point to make here is to make every woman feel sexy and feel special.”
Literatus Design is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Wednesdays through Saturdays; and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sundays.

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