Customer Service

On Friday my friend and I packed out little ones into her car and set off to Glasgow to Braehead shopping centre. My friend had been shopping on line for a dress to wear to her brothers wedding. A style that she liked was out of stock on line but was still available in store.

We arrived at the store, she selected the dress and went to the fitting room. The dress was cheap fabric that already had a static build up and from not so close I could see that it was covered (and I mean covered in self tan). She decided to try it on anyway as we had travelled to see it and she need to put it out of her mind. It was swiftly discounted due to poor fit and we left.

We were heading back to the car when we paused outside of Oasis - it is a store that I do not often shop in as there is not one near us.

We went in and the shop was quiet, we were greeted and help was offered. We had a browse and nothing was jumping out. My little one was then starting to shout from her buggy so, I headed to the back of the store to distract her with the mirrors - only to stumble upon a sale rail.

I had a flick through and spied  this gorgeous dress.

Typically they only had a tiny or a huge size - which of course meant that my friend LOVED it. She really loved the half price ticket. She went to the sales assistant and asked if there were any more sizes. Unfortunately there were not. She asked where we were from and then offered to call stores that we could stop in at on the way home to see if they had the size we were looking for. The sales assistant did this and managed to find the dress in the correct size in another store that we were passing on the road home.

Her help was fantastic and my friend now has a fabulous dress to wear to her brothers summer garden party wedding. Best of all it was a steal!

I will most definitely be back in Oasis and 100% will go back to the store in Braehead where the staff were so helpful.

Wednesday 11.02.

NEW CLOTHES!!!

I dragged my bf to a shopping centre not too far from us last night after work - I was looking for a pair of AMAZING sandals that I have seen in a magazine. The trip was unsuccessful and I was feeling a bit sorry for myself (this was the first time that I had been shopping outwith my own shop for ages) when I spied lots and lots of beautiful bright orange (my favorite colour) in a shop window. So, I did one of those complete change of direction swerves and headed on in.

I was admiring a bright orange dress that I thought was nice when out the corner of my eye I spied my new skirt!! The dress was dropped like a hot stone and I raced over to the rack with the skirts. Both my bf and I were very pleased that they had my size (I did not have the energy to have the tantrum that I would have thrown and he has seen them too many times).
After purchasing I was very happy to be led out to the car with my eyes closed (could not bear the heartache of seeing things that I want and can not have) and head home.

So, me being me, I just had to wear my new skirt today and I have to say that I LOVE it. I am very happy with the orange and black look, but I have been thinking that I may wear it with grey next time!?

Today's outfit is:

Orange Tulip skirt - Dorothy Perkins (I never ever shop here??!!??)
Black v-neck t-shirt - H&M
Black tights - SkunkFunk
Necklace - Bakers
Black shoe boots - Armani Exchange

The Dream Coming True!

It has always been a dream of mine to work for myself, mainly, due to many bad bosses with power issues.
I have always been interested in fashion, clothes, accessories and how people transform themselves with these objects.
So the dream became to have a beautiful little fashion boutique that people were drawn to, where they could find something a bit different without breaking the bank!
This year my dream became a reality….
I began trading early autumn 2007. After weeks of transforming the premises into the picture that I had in my head.
The colour scheme had to be just so. I had a vision of the classic “Tiffany” blue, but did not want to rip off someone else’s look, so I came up with a pale but bright turquoise.
The entire frontage of the boutique was painted in this bright and attractive colour, as was the internal display place and a feature wall.
The rest of the walls and wood work were kept simple and clean in white.
I decided that carpet was to be laid (in place of laminate or some other industrial material) for a feeling of warmth and comfort. I contacted a local flooring company and asked for information on hardwearing carpet options. I finally settled on a grey blue industrial carpet.
Displaying my stock was something that I took a lot of time researching. I knew instantly that I did not want the traditional hooks and racks that shop fitters had to offer. The rails were to look and feel like a wardrobe without the casing to create, the fantastic, feel of a walk in wardrobe. Therefore people could imagine the item that they wanted hanging in their very own wardrobe.
The small, finishing, touches were hugely important to me….. The chair in the changing room had to be aged, but not old. The mirrors I wanted to be just what you would have at home. Honest mirrors! Not the trick or slimming mirrors that some of the chain stores use.
The counter was a similar thing. After thinking that I wanted an aged table, I saw a 1950’s display cabinet and it was perfect! It is 50% glass and the other 50% is aged pale wood. It is just fabulous, has room to display my favourite pieces and to store all of the bits and bobs that I need everyday. The remains of stickers and old pieces of sticky tape only add to its character - I am fully aware that it has helped someone else before coming to me…….
The clothes were hung, the carrier bags were ready to be filled and finally it was time to open my doors!
The most nerve racking night of my life so far was the night I opened my boutique with a champagne launch. There was no need to worry, it went fantastically and from there word started to spread.
There were rumours of fantastic, unique pieces…but at high street prices……
I was so proud, excited and nervous I thought I might just burst!