Skirt: Bringing Customized In-Store Styling to Philly Fashionistas
Story, photos by Tori Radday
Skirt, a fashion boutique, recently launched their third store in Rittenhouse Square at 212 S. 17th Street, in Philadelphia. Skirt brings customized styling and a new shopping experience to Philadelphia’s best-dressed. Skirt prides themselves on being much more than just another fashion retailer. They don’t have sales associates but rather they have stylists. Customers aren’t just seen as another sale or another commission but as someone to develop and nurture a relationship with.
Maureen Doron, Skirt founder and owner, explains “what makes us unique is that we hire stylists, we don’t hire women who stand behind the counter to ring up your sales. All of my staff members are full time so that they can really develop relationships with their clients. They get to know their customers, they get to know their life, their lifestyles, what they need, what they don’t need, their body types, they just really develop personal relationships with these women and therefore, they are able to style head to toe looks for them.”
Doron opened up two other Skirt locations before venturing to Philadelphia. The first Skirt boutique opened about 14 years ago in Bryn Mawr and the second skirt location opened up about 6 years ago in Stone Harbor, New Jersey. The Philadelphia Skirt opened up just about 2 months ago.
Doron had her eyes set on Philadelphia but explains “Philly was definitely a little more intimidating. If I was going to open in Philadelphia, I really had to be prepared to play with the big boys. I really wanted to take my time and make sure that I had my business just perfect before I brought it to the city.”
And that she definitely did.
Skirt caters to a variety of different customers but primarily serves fashion-forward women in their thirties and forties. Skirt sells traditional, timeless pieces but pieces that are also very modern. While they may sell classic, sophisticated pieces, they do a good job of providing those pieces without falling into being boring. The rich textures and silhouettes of the pieces at Skirt keep them from being anything but boring. Racks are filled with textures such as lace, knits, denim and chiffon. Skirt sells a variety of different brands including Missoni, Rebecca Taylor, J Brand and Rebecca Minkoff.
In the future, Skirt plans on growing and expanding further. But for now, we’re lucky to have such a personalized fashion boutique in our city. If you haven’t stopped by Skirt, be sure to check it out and perhaps pick up a gift for your fashion-loving friends and family.
