Towaco To Get New "Posh" Boutique

As Cynthia Verrone pays for her new turquoise dress at Posh Boutique, she inquires about the grand opening event at the new shop in Tawaco. In addition to giving her the date, Jairo Arias writes down her e-mail address, promising to contact her with further information. The two part with the air of newly acquainted friends.

In a way, they are.

Posh, which had a "soft opening" last Friday after transferring from Morristown, boasts a personal shopping experience that goes beyond "walking into a mall and then running into a part time sales person who's getting paid to sell you whatever," Arias, the owner, said.

"A lot of my regular customers, I know their kids, and what their birthdays are, and what styles they like," he said. "They'll call me to check up on how I'm doing. … I'm going to make sure the customer walks out of here completely satisfied, feeling great about themselves, because I'm going to see them again."

Arias, who has been working in fashion for 15 years, left a job at Banana Republic to create his own online boutique in 2007. Last year, he was able to open a Morristown location.

"At Morristown I was sharing space with a salon, and this [Montville location] was an opportunity so I could break out on my own," he said.

Verrone, an advertising planner from Montville, had been to Suede, the previous boutique in Posh's current space. This was her first time at Posh, however.

"I like it a lot," she said. "There's some cute things, different, more boutique like Soho. I really don't like department stores."

After working for 30 years in New York, Verrone is used to a more unique feel to her outfits, making her a good match for Arias's selection.

"I love certain materials, certain cuts for my customers," Arias said. "So I try to stay very trendy, very edgy, because I'm not going to go and buy crew neck t-shirts. Nobody comes to a boutique to look for a crew nech t-shirt, they go to J Crew or GAP. They come to boutiques to look for special items that they don't find at the mall."

In attempts to avoid cheap China-made products, Arias stocks his store with around 80 percent U.S.-manufactured and U.S.-designed items— a factor that contributes to higher prices. Dresses range from $60 to $240, tops from $40 to $120.

"We're not paying 10 cents to have someone make it in China," Arias said. "We're paying somebody $8 to $10 an hour to make it in the US. So the product does tend to have a higher ticket, but some people do appreciate that, and don't mind paying the price."

His loyal clientele from the Morristown location certainly seems to agree. Lisa Giassa, from Bogota, NJ, runs her own online jewelry boutique and originally found Posh online.

"[Jario] is really, really catering," she said. "He's very knowledgeable about his inventory. It's a different type of shopping experience, with a lot of service …very rare these days. It's cool to have that in a shop."

Giassa, 39, has noticed customers of all ages from the "elegant and well-aged" older patrons to others in their 20s. The selection is both age appropriate and unique, she said.

"In this economy, if you're going to spend some money, you've got to make sure you're getting something that's different."  

The official grand opening event for Posh will be on Sept. 10 at 5 p.m.