by PAT STOKES

The name Stylos (pronounced steelos) pretty much says it all ... this is a shop about Style with a capital S. In talking with owner Maria Reister, one senses plenty of positive energy, enjoyment in what she is doing, and a fondness for fun. The term diversity is called for here to describe the variety of her past interests and the ideas that she puts into action right now.

By way of identification, for those of you who rarely walk the Avenue (tsk, tsk), Stylos is that good-looking shop with well-designed window displays at 8436 Germantown Ave. next to the entrance to Town Hall.

Maria hails from Arizona, by way of upper New York state. Early interests were several removes from retailing: she has an elementary teaching certificate, plus a high school health certificate, and taught elementary school for nine years, covering second, third and fifth grades. Later when she had one little girl of her own, then another, she opted to be a stay-at-home mom.

But, typically, her lively curiosity about life in general lured her into volunteer work for the General Federation of Women’s Clubs. She did 40 hours a week of volunteer work for 13 years, sometimes with children in tow. She even started a club herself, with a membership of 40 or 50 women, serving as president and earning president-of-the-year status.

Through her many contacts in Scottsdale, she was introduced to the idea of “home shows,” staged by women who ran small home-based businesses, often selling beautiful and affordable costume jewelry. Realizing how popular they were, she inquired about and attended shows in other cities, and of course eventually joined the home show group. That led to a request from a North Wales beauty salon to show her handbags and jewelry in a room adjoining their shop. Decorating it and setting it up whetted her taste for a shop that was truly her own.

Where? “Chestnut Hill always appealed to me because of its quaintness and individuality” she said.

As you may remember, Stylos opened at the corner of Rex and Germantown, presently occupied by Edward Jones investment firm. After about two years, the present locale appeared almost out of the blue. She’s been there about three years.

Of course, with a larger space to work with, she expanded her inventory from mainly accessories to general ready-to-wear. One of Stylos’ featured lines from the start has been Brighton, a maker who sells specifically to specialty shops, offering good-looking leather handbags, belts and shoes. I also spied a rack of Brighton metal-framed sunglasses you can use for your own regular prescription. Chic and practical.

I asked Marie about her other lines. “I go to design shows about eight times a year” she said. “Some here, some in New York. I try to select lines that are not in every other store, especially from vendors who prefer small stores.” She describes the look of her clothes as an “updated missy” look, not young mod, but not too mature, either.

Looking around, I saw, unexpectedly, cotton flannel print pajamas. Maria says they’ve been on the Oprah show and that Jennifer Aniston of TV fame was wearing the pajamas when she held her brand new baby on “Friends.” A few more tempting items: reversible skirts, scarf and glove sets, jewelry set with semi-precious stones (also carried by Nordstrom), pantyhose from Levante (an Italian company), Maxx of New York trendy handbags, and well, you get the idea.

Geita Ackerman is Maria’s longtime assistant. Four or five others help part time. Husband Lawrence, who is starting a French company in the U.S. providing data for pharmaceutical firms, also occasionally lends a hand in the shop. Stylos is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 to 5 (or call to request a slightly later closing, if desperate). Sundays 12 to 5. Phone 215-753-1118. See you on the Avenue.