Local Boutique Spotlight
Feature Boutique: Lily and Violet
Today, my quest to get familiar with more local businesses and boutiques, took me to 3413 W 44th Street in Minneapolis, to the "Lily and Violet" boutique. In the grid of city landmarks, it's only six blocks north of 50th and France and three blocks to the east. It's a red house a couple doors down from the Turtle Bread Company.
As I walked into the store, the staff quickly greeted me and I introduced myself. What was an immediate positive was the spirit of friendship I could sense between the women working in the shop. It was clear that they enjoyed working here.
The store flows from room to room, stretched out over two floors. Clothing and fashion accessories are on the bottom floor and the rooms upstairs are organized by catorgories of houseware and novelty.
I began to scour a rack of dresses at the front entry. There were several adorable printed jersey dresses that I would enjoy wearing all Summer. I saw this black knee-length jersey dress with a tulle full-length overlay, embroidered along the bottom ($80). This would be perfect for a Summer wedding or date night. I could envision a metallic belt, sandals and a denim jacket paired with it. How cute!
What I love about boutiques, is that they carry unique items and most of the time they carry only one or two, at most, runs of sizes in their product. So, if you love an item, you can be quite confident that you won't show up to the barbeque in a matching outfit with your neighbor.
As I walked on, there was a lovely display of Coobie Bras ($19) and Tees by Tina ($35). I've had clients that swear by these and I've had clients that they just were not right for them. But, for those that love these brands, it's good to know this is another venue that carries them.
This black and white gingham top with belled sleeves ($80) would be perfect for a Summer picnic or for attending a casual graduation open house. The brand is Velvet Heart.
This adorable Navy and white striped choker tank top ($87) would be perfect paired with white denim. The embroidery at the bottom shows the richness of this unique piece.
As I wondered further, I saw their wonderful collection of jewelry. It had a one-of-a-kind bohemian feel. The pieces had a timeless look that could transend from work to play.
Upstairs, I took a left at the top of the stairs into a small room with the theme of "Pets". I couldn't help but smile. Moving on to the next room, it was filled with items for infants and paper products from cards to wall art. Continuing my tour, I walked into a room that felt almost heavenly. It was filled with kitchen items and home decor. I stayed in this room for quite awhile. There were so many wonderful cooking and entertaining items and plenty of great gift ideas!
It was time to try on a couple items and see how they fit. First, I tried this plaid empire waist shirt/dress with bell sleeves by "hem & thread" ($47). Then, I tried on this navy 3/4 sleeved striped denim "Velvet Heart" dress with pockets ($84). Both were playful and could be fun additions to a Spring wardrobe.
I was done. It was time to go. I felt like I had had an hour with girlfriends. It was such a joyful place to be. Lily and Violet is a Must-See boutique. If you aren't into clothing, you'll enjoy everything else in this store. But, if you enjoy on-trend clothing, you will have fun shopping here.
Lily and Violet's clothing lines run from size XS to XL and from size 2 to 12.