While driving around Fayetteville, you might have seen the Airstreams located on College and a mannequin outside one dressed in the latest trends. This one is called Now and Then Boutique, a recently new clothing store created by a current Razorback, Becky Peters. Becky is an apparel studies major at the U of A and has always had an eye for fashion.
Now and Then Boutique sells both previously worn upscale boutique-style clothing and new trendy clothing that you usually don’t find at most boutiques.
“I was tired of seeing the same thing over and over again. My style of clothing wasn’t on the shelves and many girls that I worked with agreed,” Becky said. She wanted fashionable clothes for an affordable price that wasn’t sold at every other store she went to. She had always dreamed of opening her own store, but she thought it would never happen.
Becky had learned a lot about the retail business when she worked at Masons Leather Boutique in Fayetteville. When her mom was retiring, they started talking about opening a store in Fayetteville. They were searching for a location and saw that there was an Airstream available. “We looked at it the next day, and all of a sudden we had a store! It was the perfect location, great price, and perfect start up for my business,” Becky said.
Becky’s mom came up with the idea of doing “last semester” clothing, and Becky thought it was a great idea because girls around Fayetteville have great clothes and like her, usually only wear them one time. She stocks her “last semester” inventory by asking fashionable people to clean out their closet in return for a little cash. “We try to not carry a lot of Forever 21 and most of the clothes have only been worn once, so you don’t have that resale clothing smell. ” Becky said. Becky handpicks all of the latest styles and best clothes for her customers. She does this so that her customers don’t have to waste their time digging through dingy clothes to find diamonds in the rough. She also wanted to sell “this semester” clothing to keep the newest trends in the store. “This way customers can come in and mix and match to get the perfect outfit for a great price,” Becky said.
Becky wakes up everyday and is excited to go to work. She is constantly thinking of ways to improve the store and ways to satisfy her customers. Eventually, she wants her store to reflect an Urban Outfitters or a Free People style- unique, fashion forward clothing at an affordable price. The store is growing, so Becky plans to move into a brick and mortar store in the next year. “By opening my own boutique, I have learned a lot about the fashion industry. I would love to keep doing this for the rest of my life,” Becky said. Becky has a ton of new ideas for the store like a new jewelry line and sorority line. So, stop by and shop for unique, fashionable clothes at a reasonable price.
Now and Then Boutique is located at 617 N. College Fayetteville, AR. You can follow them on Instagram @nowandthenboutique or like them on Facebook at Facebook.com/shopnowandthen