Mother, daughter bring a little style to town with new boutique
Debby Terlizzi has a handle on fashion. But it helps to have her daughter Allison by her side.
- Mainstream Boutique
Debby Terlizzi has a handle on fashion. But it helps to have her daughter Allison by her side.
The duo recently opened Mainstream Boutique in the Tamarack Hills retail campus.
The store focuses on the fashionable and casual side of women’s clothing. But the real sell, Debby Terlizzi said, is the personal touch the boutique’s atmosphere offers for shoppers.
“We’ve heard so many people in the last week tell us they are so glad we’re here,” said Terlizzi, of Apple Valley. “They didn’t want another consignment store or a big box store. They wanted a place to purchase those clothes that could leave them feeling confident about what they’re wearing.”
The key, Allison Terlizzi said, is that all of the store’s four employees (including mother and daughter) know the clothing well.
“We pick out the clothes to bring into the store, we set the prices,” said Allison, who recently graduated from Bethel College with a degree in marketing. “And we’re here to be personal shoppers for our customers.”
Debby Terlizzi opened the Woodbury store, one of 15 Mainstream Boutiques in the Midwest, late last month, after working three years for founder Maria DeNickola at the corporate headquarters in Apple Valley. The two are close friends and Terlizzi said she was excited when the opportunity to bring her own franchise to the Twin Cities presented itself.
“I just love clothes and the whole business idea that (Mainstream Boutique) brings to its customers,” Debby said. “Right away we knew Woodbury was the perfect spot. Women are getting away from the big box shopping experience and this is a good place to give them something different.”
Something different and something unique. Each Mainstream Boutique offers clothing lines exclusive to the area, Allison said.
“We carry brands that you can’t get anywhere else in town,” Allison said. “And we’re finding that the people are saying the prices are reasonable.”
And the fashion is far reaching, Debby added.
“My mother is 73 and my youngest daughter is 19,” she said. “(Mainstream Boutique) has something for both of them. And for all body types. That’s what we’re really trying to emphasize for people. This is a store that offers trendy clothing, but not just for slim and slender size zeroes.”
When Debby Terlizzi made the decision to open a Mainstream Boutique in Woodbury she asked her daughter to join her. At the time Allison was in her first job working for a medical device company in Maple Grove.
“She said ‘Do you want to come do this with me?’ and I just jumped at the chance,” Allison said. “I love working with people and I love fashion. This is definitely what I want to do.”
Allison and Debby order new merchandise on a weekly basis. The mother-daughter pair admit they work surprisingly well together.
“We both have our own fashion sense, but they seem to be very complimentary,” Debby said. “Allison does a good job of keeping track of what is trendy and what is hot in fashion.”
For the daughter side of the equation, working with mom at a fashion boutique is a somewhat of a dream come true.
“I never would have thought, if you asked me four years ago, that I’d be working side-by-side with my mother,” Allison said. “But this is such an awesome experience for me.”
“What girl doesn’t like clothes?”
Mainstream Boutique is located at 755 Bielenberg Drive in the Tamarack Hills retail center. For more information go to www.mainstreamboutique.com or call (651) 739-8111.
Tags: daily updates, business, woodbury
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