Fashion Boutiques: Stock Up on Low-Key Luxury Clothing Designs

by Marianne Salina
Fashion School Review Columnist

January 31, 2007

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What key ingredients contribute to the long lifespan of a specialty clothing design boutique? For If Boutique, located in downtown Manhattan, the store's success is largely attributed to the owner's love of low-key luxury fashion design and her wise merchandising decisions. For Jeanette Bird, who has owned and operated If Boutique for over 25 years, the store's aesthetic mirrors her "personal taste" and is for "the client who experiments with color to create an intimate statement of his/herself."

Dressed Down Fashion Design Keeps Store Merchandising Simple
Bird carefully chooses clothing by her favorite Belgian and Japanese designers who generally follow the dressed-down luxury formula. In the early days of If Boutique, such designers as Azzedine Alaia, Claude Montana, and Thierry Mugler were the names customers coveted when they wanted to experiment with "not-overtly sexy clothes." Following the low-key concept years later, Bird now carries fashion design names like Christian Peau and Garry Graham, who represent a new wave in the "cherished sensibility" trend.

Fashion Design School Teaches Selectivity
While they may seem like easy tasks, fashion buying and store merchandising happen to be two of the most difficult responsibilities in the retail industry. A successful boutique or department store relies upon consumer research, designer awareness, and loyalty to a proven aesthetic - all of which take time, practice, and skill. Fashion design school can help you learn how the fashion industry works, offering an in-depth focus on proper retail merchandising, business practices, and store operations.

If running your own boutique has always been a dream, don't be afraid to learn the intricacies of buying and store merchandising check out fashion design school today!

Source:

JC Report

About the Author
Marianne Salina is a freelance writer in Spokane, Washington. She writes about pursuits in education and degree opportunities.

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