Best Boutique Practices

Apparel Display Tips from Clothing Shops

Good display means successful sales for clothing boutiques nationwide. For this article, store owners and staff offered their tips to display apparel in a compelling way to make selling easier.

At Label in Bentonville, Ark., Owner Sarah Barton said, “We style on hangars, layering clothing with other pieces. We will do things like roll up the sleeves on a garment, add a belt, unbutton a shirt and have another shirt under it. We layer it and give it a look.” Barton noted that she also uses mannequins for her displays, both in her store windows and placed throughout the store. “This way, people can see how a complete outfit will look when it’s put together. It really takes the guess-work out of trying to put something together.”

Barton said that she primarily creates the displays along with one other staff member. “We spend a lot of time making different rack hubs or color stories. We are also always rearranging what needs to sell. While we are the two people who usually put the displays together, everyone here is trained on merchandising and display in general,” Barton reported. “Everyone in the store is well trained on how to replace items they are sold or run low, and how to change and style your mannequin. Our store caters to all ages from 16 to 65, so it is kind of nice to have everyone contribute.” She added, “Everyone has a different spin on the inventory, and different ideas, and can employ them all collaboratively.”

“We style on hangars, layering clothing with other pieces. We will do things like roll up the sleeves on a garment, add a belt, unbutton a shirt and have another shirt under it. We layer it and give it a look.”

- Sarah Barton, Label, Bentonville, Ark.

At the 1,500-square-foot store, Barton carries apparel, shoes, accessories, and highquality denim. She explained that her displays utilize a mix of both color and thematic approaches. “We typically start with a color and pull together a palette for each section of the store. Then we add themes, such as summer looks with swimsuits and hats in the swimsuit section,” Barton said.

In Tucson, Ariz., Dominique Maciulla , manager of The Green Monkey, said that the shop’s display strategy begins with “the great pieces we get in.” From that starting point, Maciulla said “We really use our awesome big front windows that have great lighting. We also have mannequins which we dress down to purses and jewelry for a complete look. And on the top of our racks in the store, we will display some of the unique items that we have.” There are other display techniques she recommended, too. “We have some great, large jewelry cases and we place felt boards in there to display our jewelry pieces so that they really pop. We also put colorful items on displays just outside the shop in the shade under a little awning. Those small displays draw people in and makes us visible to people at neighboring locations such as restaurants, or really anyone who is driving through our plaza.” In short, visibility is key to the shop’s display success.

As to who creates displays at the store, Maciulla said, “Everyone here takes a turn at doing it, but all of us have a large retail background. Some of our staff have owned their own shops. We have a lot of experience. I’m lucky in that I never have to think twice about who is doing a display, because everyone has had their own experiences and puts their own twist or vision into our displays.”

The store varies between color and theme as display techniques. “It really depends on the season. For

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Best Boutique Practices (From page 123) example, right now it’s Pride Month, so we have a lot of rainbow items thematically. We also work with a color scheme so that our displays are cohesive. But we are not particularly strict on that. The idea is really just to make our displays pop and make shoppers want to come in.”

Savona Cook , owner of Savona’s Bohemian Boutique in Eugene, Ore., uses a mix of hangar and displays and mannequins to draw the eye and encourage shoppers to make purchases in her 426-foot shop. “I also have four mannequins, and I hang items on the wall with wire. The important thing is that you are showing a full outfit. That is what people want to see and need to see in order to really want get interested in something. Show a complete outfit and accessorize it – that’s what encourages

“I use them because I think people have a hard time envisioning something on the body if you just leave clothes displayed on hangars. I have three mannequins positioned just as you walk in the store and I have them in the windows, too.” shoppers to buy items from clothing to jewelry and a purse. Doing that kind of display also highlights that we are more than just clothing alone.” She notes that within her displays “We also always try to give some sense of movement to encourage shopper engagement.” Cook does her own displays at the shop. “I went to art school and I did display work in retail before I even owned the boutique.” She mainly creates displays by using color as her guide. “Aesthetically it is prettier to do display in that way. Each section of the store has a different color theme above the corresponding clothing racks. On the wall near the racks there will also be displays, as well as on top of the round rack. I use pieces of clothing from the items located in each specific area,” she explained.

How Does Lighting Fit in with Display Strategy

When it comes to display, boutique clothing shops focus on staying “lit,” whether through specific lighting strategy or a bright look overall.

At Label in Bentonville, Ark., Owner Sarah Barton said “We don’t move our track lighting, but we do have a bit of accent lighting built into the design of the store. The idea is to make the store look cohesive rather than highlighting a specific item. But we do try to create displays that are under our lighting whenever possible.”

In Tucson, Ariz., Dominique Maciulla, manager of The Green Monkey, said that “We have very nice lighting in our windows that stays on 24/7. That way, when it’s dark, people can see the displays we have illuminated. We are near restaurants, so keeping the windows well-lit will encourage visitors. We have great track lighting that you can angle and shift toward a mannequin to highlight it.”

Savona Cook, owner of Savona’s Bohemian Boutique in Eugene, Ore., uses lighting extensively in her store’s windows, and with wall displays. “Our jewelry cases and our window displays are each carefully lit. I don’t use anything special throughout the store, although I do feel it is a good idea to highlight the items you have with lighting accents.”

And in Anchorage, Alaska, Kim Stalder, owner of Circular, said her lighting technique began by remodeling the shop, taking out drop ceilings and putting in moveable lights. “I do move them around to make the store or a display more interesting to my existing customers. Just like moving merchandise, moving the lighting helps it feel fresher.” She added, “I direct the lighting at certain things, such as highlighting a new display area, or items that are moved to the front of the store that you want people to be able to see well from the street.” ❖

Heading north to Anchorage, Alaska, Kim Stalder , owner of Circular, uses a lot of mannequins dressed in the stylish and unique clothing she offers. “I use them because I think people have a hard time envisioning something on the body if you just leave clothes displayed on hangars. I have three mannequins positioned just as you walk in the store and I have them in the windows, too.” She noted that “I always try to do color stories so that the store flows well. I think it is jarring when your eye takes in clothing that doesn’t feel good in terms of color to your mind. I know it would drive me crazy if I were here all day looking at colors that didn’t flow.”

The bottom line in display for Stalder is to “make something that’s appealing to me personally. I also have a variety of different areas in the store for merchandise, and I display items somewhat differently in each location.” She added another facet of display that she finds important to encourage shopping and buying - keeping displays uncrowded. “It’s important to give people the space to see things, and not stuff things in. It’s also a good idea to change displays frequently. A lot of people in our store come in regularly, and even if any item has been in the store on their last visit, if I put it in a different spot, they will see it differently, perhaps be more interested in it, as if they have never seen it before.”

According to Stalder she creates her own displays in her 3,000-square-foot store. “I learned how to do them over time. I hadn’t worked retail at all before opening a store; I just believed it would be fine, and it was. I’ve learned from other people. I had a helper who did merchandising for Lauren and Channel; I learned some things from her, although she and I had different ways of doing things, and I follow my own way now.”

Whatever technique shops employ, whether choosing color or theme, using mannequins or hangers, display is the key for designing great merchandise sales at boutique clothing shops. ❖

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