In the era of fast fashion and microtrends that are constantly hogging the racks of most mainstream stores, it can feel impossible to find authentic, stylish and high-quality clothing when shopping. Countless small boutiques throughout Palmetto Bay and Pinecrest, Fla. work to change that.
My Tribe Boutique combats this problem by using their customers’ input to determine their products. Specifically relying on social media, the store looks at its likes and customer suggestions to decide which products to sell, often curated to fit the shop’s preppy, clean-girl aesthetic. As a small business, this close relationship with their customers and community has brought both success to the store and perfect new additions to shoppers’ closets.
“[When deciding what to sell], we see on our Instagram’s analytics what people really like and [we order products] based on the likes and what people suggest that they want to come in,” Miami Palmetto Senior High senior and My Tribe employee Mia Chin said. “Like Emi Jay clips — we didn’t have them before but people were asking, so we finally ordered them and now we have people coming in and buying Emi Jay clips all the time.”
One appeal of the local shop, especially My Tribe Boutique, is the fact that its close connection with its audience allows it to carry products for all kinds of customers. With some of their most popular products being the Emi Jay clips, One Teaspoon shorts and their vast collection of jewelry, shoppers of all ages and styles wanting to buy a gift for a friend or simply upgrade their closet can find whatever they are looking for in this small Pinecrest boutique.
“[We sell to a lot of] tweens and now a lot of teenagers and young adults because our stores offer to everyone. We have all sorts of jewelry and clothes, so it’s like a place where everyone can shop,” Chin said.
Other popular boutiques in the area find their niche audience in clients of a more specific style. Meadow Collective, for example, prides itself on its carefully curated natural, organic and sustainable bohemian aesthetic.
“[Meadow Collective] is a bohemian lifestyle boutique, so I shop not necessarily for the mainstream Miami girl, but for the more outdoorsy. This girl probably does yoga, she probably eats healthy, or is interested in it,” Meadow Collective Owner Meadow Gerrish said. “The girl that reads the labels in the grocery store — she’s shopping in my place.”
Its unique style is not the only thing that sets Meadow Collective apart from larger, more mainstream clothing stores — Gerrish’s commitment to sustainable fashion and supporting fellow small business owners makes shopping at her boutique a way to perfect one’s own boho-chic wardrobe and lifestyle while staying environmentally conscious.
“I don’t sell fast fashion. All my things are sustainably made, ethically made, handmade … really unique things back to the roots of what a boutique is supposed to be,” Gerrish said. “My whole concept is to educate people about the things they buy and how it’s more about ‘quality over quantity’ and ‘buy less but buy better.’”
Another boutique in Pinecrest known for its popular gifts, Indigo Republic, also contributes to the community through its support of small clothing and jewelry makers. Focusing on selling high-quality clothes, jewelry, handbags and more with a boho, beachy-chic aesthetic, the owner of Indigo Republic Eileen Carrion prioritizes supporting not only fellow local manufacturers but small business owners on an international scale. To Carrion, the support she is able to offer makes shopping local have all the more impact.
“Small businesses tend to try and support other small businesses. So, [shopping local] is a trickle effect. One source I have is a young couple in Mexico. So it’s not helping fund the pockets of a big national company — you’re actually helping that family survive,” Carrion said. I have dozens of different companies that I source and work with that are small mom and pops, where especially during COVID times, we were one of their main clients and [we] helped them through it because they weren’t able to sell as much in their home countries.”
Gerrish shares a similar sentiment, using her place in the community as a local business owner to both assure that her customers get the best quality products possible and to give back and support fellow local businesses.
“When you shop local, basically it keeps the economy local, because I spend all my money local too. It just circulates right here, like keeping the money in the family,” Gerrish said “And not only that, but you can know that when you shop with me, you’re buying something really good, and you know I’m accountable to you to bring you the best item. If you just shop in big shops, then where does your money go?”
These boutiques do not just foster fashion sense — they also create community connections. According to Chin, meeting interesting people and getting to know regulars is the highlight of her job, allowing her to take away more than just work experience from the hours she spends clocked in.
“I’ve met so many people here who have helped me. I’m getting ready to go to college, so [customers] are asking me [about it] and then they’re giving me good advice on what to do and how to go on with my life,” Chin said. “This one family that always comes in — she’s the one who actually gave me the advice about college … I really got to connect to her.”
Carrion has felt the community bond within her boutique as well, valuing many of her repeat customers as not only close supporters, but close friends as well.
“The nice thing is that we are a small community shop. When I opened, I wanted to position myself as the go-to place for the people in the area to get little gifts that they would need for friends or whatnot. We get a lot of repeat clients, and a lot of the clients who started shopping have become more than just clients. It’s more friendships that have come of it,” Carrion said.
Despite the current trends of online shopping and large, mainstream, fast-fashion clothing brands, these local boutiques are working to not only push the countless economic and environmental benefits to shopping locally but also to bring back the sense of community that comes with the art of the boutique experience.
“The experience — that’s a dying thing. It’s gonna be so sad one day when we don’t even have a main street to go and have a real life connection. So in order to keep these experiences alive, people have to continue to shop local,” Gerrish said.
If you want to support any of these boutiques, make sure to follow their Instagram and pay them a visit at their address below:
My Tribe Boutique – 8429 SW 132nd St, Pinecrest, FL 33156
Meadow Collective – 8245 SW 124th St, Pinecrest, FL 33156
Indigo Republic – 11503 S Dixie Hwy, Pinecrest, FL 33156
