Diary of a Boutique Owner

The Art of Stying

Fashion show are underrated, they are looked upon as a frivolous event by others outside of the fashion world.  Very few know how crucial they are.  Fashion shows if done correctly have their own heartbeat and pulse.  They make you think outside of the perimeters of our every day life.   The men & women walk the catwalk with flowing hair and couture clothing, on my best day I can only aspire to look like that one day.

It often helps to use a production company, they will coordinate the models, the hair and make-up, the venue, and most importantly the clothing.  A good local San Diego based company is Gretchen Productions.  They have been in the business of beauty and fashion for close to 20 years if not more.   The website is www.gretchenproductions.com.   

Who is this so called owner?

I would like to take a minute to introduce myself.  I am a 28 year old woman business owner.  It will be a year this April since i opened my store called The District.  We carry men's & women's clothing and accessories, most of our items come from more independent designers just hovering below mainstream.  We were  voted best men's boutique for 2006 in San Diego's 944 magazine. 

I usually work 5-6 days a week accompanied by my faithful puppy Bella, who without fail barks at everyone who walks though my front door.  The store will be open one year in April, people say it gets easier after the first year I can only hope so.   We will be launching our on-line store in April so until then please take a look at our website www.thedistrictsd.com. 

I never was one of those girls who dreamed of owing their own clothing store, actually I was completely on the other side of that equation.  My mother opened a store when I was a little girl, so I spent much of my childhood in her store.  When I was "lucky" enough I went with her to LA on her 15 hour buying trips.  She passed away in 1992 from Cervical Cancer and my cousin took over the store.  I worked there for about five years, which I thought was enough retail to last me for years to come. 

After the land of retail and I parted ways, it was a tough struggle for me.  What else was there?  After much job searching and scheming I landed a job doing marketing in a real estate office.  This was the begin of my career in the San Diego real estate market, sadly my reign as Real Estate Princess was a short one.

In March of 2005 my father passed after a 6 year struggle with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.  I quit my job and had absolutely no clue what to do with myself.  I had taken care of my dad for so long I didn't know how to focus on myself.  So I took 6 months off, cooked a lot of food, did yard work and worked out.  I became so busy I didn't know how I would ever fit in working again.  As we all know that lifestyle is hard to maintain not being independently wealthy.

I came across a new line of clothing and loved what they were doing, within 2 weeks I was meeting with the CFO working on opening their 1st franchise store in San Diego.   That turned into my current store The District. I can only hope this is the beginning of something great.  Stay tuned for updates. 

Cheers   

Jennifer