Finding Confidence in Unexpected Places

I can’t remember the exact point where shopping stopped being fun, but I suspect it was around the same time that I first found myself struggling with weight gain. At that point, shopping went from a delightful hunt and mini fashion show with friends to something else entirely. 

 

I’d find myself browsing an entirely different section of clothing, far away from my thinner friends, and I’d be underwhelmed by the selections offered in my sizes. My friends would have cute new tops with brilliant colors, classic cuts and great fabrics. Me? I had a lovely array of stretch waistbands and grandma’s curtains to choose from. Undeterred, I would try to make the best of the situation. I’d try on whatever I could find, hate it all, break a sweat and nearly cry, and ultimately leave the store with one or two options I’d settled for so the trip didn’t feel totally wasted. Those pieces would last me one season (if I was lucky), and I rarely loved a single one.

 

When I decided to open a boutique of my own, I knew it had to be different. We women deserve better, and a tag size shouldn’t impact a shopping experience.

 

That’s where customers like Macy Kennell come in. Macy had purchased from my boutique in the past when it was home-based, but her friend Ashley invited her to come in when Ashley began working in our Tipp City location.

 

Macy had worked hard in the past year, losing 85 pounds and really working on herself. But she still struggled with self-image issues, admitting she still didn’t love her body. A shift took place, however, when she stopped in to pick up an online order. Head Retail Therapist (and longtime customer) Tasha Weaver handed Macy her bag and asked Macy if she had any plans for the next day.

 

She didn’t. 

 

Tasha said, “Well, I think you are absolutely beautiful and I think you should model for us.” 

 

Macy thanked her and agreed to give it a try, not knowing exactly what she signed up for. But she showed up the next day, and something in her changed.

 

“It was everything I didn’t know I needed,” she says. “The clothes at unboxed have given me the confidence I didn’t know I was lacking.”

 

Today, Macy has become one of our favorite models. She is kind, personable and just fun to work with. Oh, and she is beautiful. Inside and out. When she’s not modeling for us, she’s shopping our newest releases and chatting with women in our Facebook VIP group. But what keeps bringing her back?

 

“Everyone is so nice. They know who you are if you are a regular, and they know your favorites and what you will look good in,” she says. “They aren’t just trying to make a sale like big box stores.”

 

And she’s right… Our entire goal from day one has been to make women feel as beautiful as we know they are. And to feel welcome. It’s a team effort for our staff members, one we all wholeheartedly embrace. And it shows.

 

Macy remembers one specific experience in shop where she really felt this. “There was a retail therapist working who I hadn’t met yet. I walked in one day, and she knew me by name just because I’d shopped there previously and had been in the photo shoots. And I just felt at home.”

 

Her favorite pieces she has purchased to date are probably our dresses. “Every. Single. One. Has. Pockets. I’m a pocket girl, so that’s everything,” she shares.

 

Our shops try to be as inclusive as possible, offering a wider range of sizes and the type of personal service we just don’t see elsewhere nowadays. It’s what keeps great people like Macy coming back, and it’s what creates a true community versus just another shopping location. 

 

Macy wants you to experience that “at home” feeling for yourself. “If someone is afraid to stop in, I’d encourage them and share my own story. I’d even offer to meet them there so they can get the same wonderful experience I get.”

 

And that, my friends, is why we do this thing.

 

Happy Taco Tuesday,

Nikki


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