Annie Vazquez guest blogs on fashion for Cultist. Visit her blog at TheFashionPoet.com.
When it comes to shopping, unless I got a sugar daddy with me, Coral Gables is definitely not the city where this chica heads out to. Yet, that was until a few days ago when I discovered Hello Beautiful boutique. The three-month-old shop is the brainchild of Coral Gables resident Danai Garay, 28, and Homestead resident Jocie Chavez, 26. The duo specialize in selling trendy garbs, accessories, and gift shop like novelties all under $50.
The store originally started out as a gift shop last December solely owned by Chavez who was strictly catering to the businesses housed inside the 550 Biltmore Way corporate building. Back then, it was stocked with magazines, tampons, nail polish and little trinkets for last minute gifts.
Garay was then living in Miami Lakes and running her mobile boutique
selling at people's houses when she and her husband decided to move to
Coral Gables. Then destiny would have the two boutique owners meet.
"My
friend which happens to be her cousin told me to go talk to Jocie at her
store and I did. She needed help-- so we decided to partner up," said
Garay. "It's doing really. really good. Every Wednesday, Thursday, and
Friday, the women run down here looking for something to wear for the
weekend."
New Times: What clothing brands do you sell?
Danai Garay: Naked Zebra, Lush, Peppermint. We have rompers, dresses, blouses, tops, and shorts.
What are your bestsellers?
Rompers and maxi dresses sell-out fast here.
What kinds of accessories do you carry?
Street Level bags, which are good quality and they could be replicas of
more expensive brands. We also have jewelry from local line TAudrey. I'm
working on bringing in some other brands.
Who is your clientele?
18 to 40 year olds. I have a lot of women that work in the building that
come shopping here during their lunch break or after work. I also have a
lot of my old clients and new ones that I've gotten from Facebook.
People are coming from all over.
How often do you get new merchandise?
Once a week and we throw monthly parties with discounts. Our next one is tonight. It's our Summer Soiree. We are going to
have a sale rack and offer discounts from 4 to 7 p.m. with cupcakes and
champagne. Plus, there's going to be different vendors. I'm also
thinking of doing one for Fashion's Night Out.
What's next?
I'm bringing in Soap and Paper Factory perfumes, candles, creams, and
soaps. They sell it at Anthropologie and they make good gifts. We want
to bring in more clothing and accessory brands, but we also want to keep
some gift shop stuff because people always run down here looking for a
last minute gifts.
Hello Beautiful is located 550 Biltmore Way, Suite 109., Coral Gables;
786.459.2460. Hours are Mon - Fri: 11 to 6:00 pm and Sat 10 to 3 pm.
Follow them on Twitter and check them out on Facebook.
