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Lunacy Boutique

Lunacy Boutique in Port Talbot, South Wales is owned by two sisters, Rebecca Bogue and Emma Hanford. I met up with Rebecca at their boutique to tell me how they created this unique shopping experience.

“Our boutique is called Lunacy. Why? I wanted a short, sharp, catchy name and it echoes our strapline “Mad About Fashion”. Lunacy is a derivative of ‘luna’, the Latin for moon. I like spiritual things too; and not forgetting that lunacy stems from madness around the moon’s various phases! I didn’t want to name the boutique after me; I wanted it to have its own identity and it has definitely grown into that.

We have been trading for almost 14 years. I started the business in smaller premises down the road just along from our current premises, and was there for seven years. My sister bought into the business around four years in, following that we opened a second shop in Cardiff. We ran both shops between us for a while, before deciding to to close the Cardiff shop and went on to buy a new store in Port Talbot which we renovated, creating the Lunacy Boutique where we are now.

The shop is like my baby. I have seen us grow through the ‘toddler stage’, the ‘teenage years’ and now it’s a ‘fully fledged woman’ in its own right!

I absolutely love fashion. I just woke up one morning and decided I wanted to open a fashion shop. It’s a hard industry to be in due to its unpredictability, but I absolutely love what I do, I love to style people - giving them fashion advice when asked - so that they have a great shopping experience, and I love it when clients experiment, trying things on and buying something they wouldn’t normally go for. I encourage people to try clothes on that they wouldn’t ordinarily pick, with the advice that ‘if they don’t like it all they have to do is take it off and put it back on the rail’. Nothing ventured, nothing gained and you never know, but you just might love it!

It’s such a great feeling to know you’ve helped someone find the courage to try something different. It’s so rewarding when they walk out of the boutique clutching their purchase with a confidence they maybe didn’t have when they first walked in.

We hand pick all of our stock, striving to source items and labels from all over the world which you cannot find on the High Street.

When we go on buying trips it helps that my sister and I have different style tastes as well as different body shapes. This makes for a better, broader range that our many and diverse customers love. However we both have to like what the other chooses as neither of us would sell anything that we didn’t like - this approach helps us appeal to more customers.

We are very much a destination shop with our customers coming out of their way to visit us - particularly if they are looking for something which is different and unusual - so we put in a lot of work to make sure it is worth their while. Over the years we have established a fabulous loyal customer base, many of whom have become friends.

Off the back of such a wide-ranging, loyal following, we are about to enter the online shopping world, with a new website set to launch www.lunacyboutique.co.uk. This is a natural progression for us as the shopping experience has changed so much. People are busier, with more shopping online for convenience. We want to keep up to date with shopping trends by launching our boutique online where we can share our quirky and unique clothes with the world, giving customers what they want. This is the best of both worlds - a fabulous boutique they can pop into in town by day, or online in the comfort of their own homes at any time.

I am hopeful the website will complement the boutique, with its continued focus on fashion and individuality.

At Lunacy Boutique we specialise in the original, unusual, edgy and classic, with a twist. Shop amongst a galaxy of chains where we offer free styling advice, in-store accounts and a ‘Christmas Club’.

Be individual. Be brave, STAND OUT!”

As I sit in Lunacy Boutique and take in my surroundings, it’s like being in an Aladdin’s cave. It’s a place filled with a variety of quirky, unique and precious items. You just know you are going to stumble across something that is oh-so-fabulous and oh-so-you!

Everywhere you turn there is something new to discover; the clothes, shoes and accessories are unusual, different and not what you would find on the High Street. This boutique will draw you out of your comfort zone. It demands you try something new and different. It’s like jumping into the deep end, yet knowing you will get a soft, safe landing. Take a leap of faith into the fashion unknown, re-emerging with a whole new look and confidence like never before.

Lunacy Boutique is a voyage of fashion discovery - quirky brands, labels from other countries, with clothes and accessories you won’t find on the High Street.

Rebecca very much supports being individual and daring to be different in a world where so many people dress the same.

Do you want to dress the same as everyone else? or do you want to unleash your individuality and stand out from the crowd?

If like me you want to stand out and be different, hot foot it along to Lunacy Boutique ASAP to discover a whole new world of eclectic fashion. Come on - join in with the madness!!!

Lunacy Boutique, 432 Commercial Road, Port Talbot, South Wales, SA13 1LN

Tel: 01639 895735

www.lunacyboutique.co.uk sign up for the countdown to the launch of Lunacy Boutique online!
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