Have you noticed how small boutiques are slowly becoming an endangered species? I don’t know if its the prevalence of on-line retailers or sky high rent but it seems they are becoming a dying breed and this really makes us sad. There’s something about the charm of a small shop, the quirks, the eccentricities that make it feel….different. I think maybe I just identify with the imperfection of it all. The whimsical feeling one gets in a store thats merchandized based on the owners passion for their business, not market research and spreadsheets. There’s just a style that seems to shine through in a way a big box store just can’t seem to recreate. Go to Greenwich Village for example and look at what it’s becoming. So many of the wonderful small stores that made the area so charming are all but vanishing. Those little boutiques you so loved to shop at because they just “got” you…. Gone. Maybe it’s like missing getting a hand written letter from someone, a sentimental token that’s been made obsolete. Or maybe it’s just our new reality, stripped of some of the flavor, that while not enjoyed by everyone, some of us really loved. Has one of your favorite boutiques closed? We’d love to hear about them.
