A boutique with a difference

Fourways Gardens resident Mariné Evans launched her own fashion boutique on 2 November, but it has one major difference from regular clothes shops – there is no shop.
Her new business, It’s ME, is a pop-up boutique, which means that instead of renting a shop and selling items from it, she buys all the clothes beforehand in your size and comes to you.
“The name, It’s ME, comes from the fact that as women, we never really take ‘me’ time,” explained Evans, who is the boutique’s owner, founder and stylist. “I wanted to take the anxiety out of shopping, and also help women learn about their individual fashion needs so they really can become the best ‘me’ possible.”

“While there are professional stylists in South Africa, they tend to perform a makeover [on their clients], and then go on their way. I, instead, want to take a journey with you, much like a personal trainer, and help you realise how to choose fashion that is shape specific to you. Style, after all, is a habit.”
When a client contacts her, all they need to do is let her know what sort of clothing they are looking for, are they looking to update their wardrobe generally, or an outfit for a specific occasion? – their dress sizes and a time convenient to their schedule for Evans to meet them either at their home or at hers.
“Starting your day with anxiety [over what you should wear] is the worst possible way to start your day,” added Evans. “What I hope to do is to give my clients confidence and self-esteem. As a mother of two children myself, I know we just don’t have time to spend hours in a shopping centre looking for outfits that suit us.
“Also, every appointment begins with a glass of champagne, so it really does become a fun moment for ‘you’,” she laughed.
And in these uncertain economic times, Evans focuses on finding good quality clothing that her clients will be able to keep wearing for years, even importing the French Dressing Jeans (F.D.J) brand in the name of quality, which have been embraced by clients from diverse professions such as farming, or the corporate world.
“At the moment I want to focus on working with women, all women of any age and body type, here in Johannesburg [which is my home]. But in the future, who knows?” Evans concluded