WHITMAN – The town center has been gifted with another retail business – just in time to help shoppers find a gift for the particular people on their lists.
Mimi’s Closet Boutique – co-owned by Michele Allen, who lives on a nearby street, and her daughters Julie Taylor, 30, and Nicole Walls, 26, – opened at 83 South Ave., off Day Street in September, just in time to take off in time for the holiday shopping season.
Allen said the shop’s name is a loving nod to her own mother in-law, who loved clothing and accessories.
“She would have loved this store,” Allen said.
Part of their marketing strategy has been to direct customers to the door – as the store’s entrance is off Day Street, as they were searching for it on the South Avenue side.
“I have had a couple of in-home businesses, Town Pride Candles is one of them, I started that about eight years ago, and Two Sisters Design,” Allen said. “The person who was in this [space] before me was a photographer and she contacted me and said she had to give up the lease and did I want her space.”
Traveling in New Hampshire at the time, Allen asked her daughters to look at the space and see if they liked it.
“We really didn’t have an idea of what we wanted to do,” she said on Saturday, Dec. 2, a morning when Taylor and Walls were off. “So we did this, beginning in September.
The shop offers a lot of selection in a small space, and that is by design.
“It’s been great,” said Allen, whose day job is as an executive assistant at Voya Financial as well as a recording secretary for the Select Board. “It’s all new.”
While there have been a couple people stopping by on the assumption that Mimi’s Closet is a consignment shop, Allen stressed it is a boutique which they stock through a couple of wholesale vendors from which each of the three do their own buying.
And variety is their stock in trade.
“We have all generations doing the buying, so we attract all age groups,” Allen said. “We don’t show each other what we’re buying, we just all buy.”
Sizes range from extra small to 3X and designs that appeal to all ages.
The selection of plus sizes alone has motivated a lot of positive reviews both in the store and online, as well. In fact, the first thing Allen always asks new customers is, ‘How did you hear about us?’”
Most, it turns out, have heard about the shop from Facebook.
“A lot of them have said, ‘I came in because I heard about your plus sizes,’” she said.
Another “plus” is the price range.
“We try to keep everything $35 and under,” she said. “Our average price is $22 and we have a lot of things that are $17. Our rent is reasonable, so we can keep our prices low.”
The store also places items on hold from customers online, who either pay by Venmo or when they pick up.
“If people can’t get in during our working hours – between the three of us, we do four-hour shifts – my daughters both have kids, I work from home, so we post a lot of pictures of things we can hold.”
Taylor Swift’s line being extremely popular, when Allen posted that the brand’s slippers were back a few days ago, she said “The door kept opening.”
As Allen spoke a woman and her teenage daughter came in the store to browse.
“You should see on half days how many teenage girls are in here,” she said. “Then they’ve come in with their moms. … We’re grateful for the community support. It’s just been amazing.”
The owners hold shopping events quite often, including a “Sip and Shop” on Thursday, Nov. 30 that attracted about 40 to 50 people, during which tables were stacked with merchandise for customers to shop, including holiday sweatshirts and slippers which are part of the Taylor Swift brand.
“It kind of cleared us out a little bit,” Allen said.
The next event is a Mimosa Sunday from 10 a.m. To 2 p.m., on Dec. 17 and have decided to have a guest vendor at shopping events from now on.
Another new promotion gives customers a scratch-off for percents off or free items. if they’re shopping within five days of their birthday.
“It’s really been fun,” Allen said.
The shop has held four fundraising shopping events for local football and cheer teams.
“We like to give back to people who support us,” she said. “They get cash back for their teams and brought people in to introduce us to the community. We’ve met so many nice people.”
A lot of those people have already become repeat customers.
(Editor’s note: This updates a version of the story with an incorrect address. The boutique is at 83 South Ave.)