Size 2 is better for you
Are you sick of the Gap and Macy’s telling you what to wear? Then go small.
How about bypassing the mall and checking out your town’s small, independent boutiques? They’re out there people, I promise you. You probably drive by one everyday, or stroll by one on your community’s main street.
Based on the most recent Small Business Administration figures, there are about 63,000 clothing and accessories shops with fewer than 20 employees in the U.S.
Check out an article in New York Magazine
this week about a bunch of small, women-run boutiques that are setting the fashion trends for Manhattanites. Yes, New Yorkers aren’t born wearing Prada. Someone has to tell them how to dress, just like the rest of us. It’s not just the big retailers guiding the latest styles in the Big Apple.
All the boutique owners profiled in the magazine, most of which are in their 30s, have their own eye for clothes and don’t have to follow the dictates of the mega chains, which are mainly run by men. The independent retailers are more likely to give new designers a chance and they also have the advantage of knowing their clientele.
"My girl wants to get a lot of use out of an item," says one boutique owner, Lara Fieldbinder of Dear Fieldbinder, in the article. "I didn’t have a lot of money growing up in Texas, so I know what it means to buy a $150 shirt. Can you wear it once a week? Can you layer it?"
Maybe we’ve already begun to rethink where we shop. Many of the big retailers are struggling. Macy’s reported a 76 percent drop in quarterly earnings last week.
OK, I know New York and L.A. are usually one step ahead of the rest of the country, but fashion gurus say there’s room for the smaller guys across the nation.
"The advanced and contemporary customers seeking out the latest and newest trends, often feel they’ll find them sooner in small retail venues," says Lori Holliday Banks, a senior fashion analyst for Tobe, the retail-consulting firm that publishes the long-time fashion forecasting Tobe Report.
And, she adds, sometimes smaller manufacturers are more inclined to sell their goods to a boutique instead of dealing with the gigantic retailers that often expect financial help to market products.
Even though no one thinks consumers will totally forgo department stores and chains any time soon, a small boutique with "fresh" products and stellar customer service can find a niche and success, says Roseanne Morrison, fashion director for global trend firm The Doneger Group.
It makes total sense.
Aren’t you gals and guys sick of the lousy choices and service at the big chains? We don’t all want to look like ready-to-wear versions of heiress Paris Hilton or rapper Busta Rhymes when they’re not in their jail jumpers.
