April Boutique of the Month...Blessed Boutique!

As you know…It’s quite obvious-I love to shop! But what brings me the most joy is helping women find outfits and wardrobes that fit their lifestyle and, most importantly, make them feel fabulous.

I look for local boutiques that offer unique items and excellent customer service. I love a store and a team, that offers honesty, friendliness and genuine interest in my taste and lifestyle. These are all the things that I like to offer my clients both now (as a personal shopper/stylist) and when I managed stores in the past

When I frequent a store, it’s not just for the clothing and accessories, I want to feel confident when I recommend a store to a client or friend. Melodie van der Baan and Morgan Hatin Bodstrom, of Blessed Boutique, offer the whole package! I hope you get a chance to visit Blessed Boutique and Moxie!

I had the pleasure of meeting Melodie 4 years ago when we first moved to FL. I was so impressed with the level of customer service at Blessed. I am so happy to feature them this month.

Please enjoy getting to know Blessed Boutique, and owners Melodie and Morgan, with our Q and A Session!

Morgan (left) and Melodie (right)…owners of Blessed Boutique, Moxie and Swap Retail!! Busy and beautiful ladies…(both inside and out!)

How long has Blessed been in business?  It will be 7 years in October.

How did you come up with the name?  Blessed to us has many meanings; we want women to feel blessed when they are shopping with us, whether they are a size 0 or a size 16, as we offer personal, complimentary one-on-one styling. We also want everyone to leave our store feeling blessed by their experience, even if they buy nothing at all! We also believe that we truly can look at our good things in life as blessings, not luck, and we love the feeling of appreciation that goes along with acknowledging all the good we are given.

Tell us about the newest addition to Blessed...Moxie!!! We were inspired to create Moxie by our current customers and their loved ones! Blessed has a very specific timeless, classic, exclusive taste, and if you’re into that, Blessed is your all-time favorite shopping spot! Over the years we realized that our Blessed ladies have friends, daughters, or even grand-daughters who come shopping with them and like a different “cup of tea.” Cue Moxie: a fun spot three doors down where women can come to grab weekday-to-weekend fashion that is on-trend, playful, and with prices averaging between $50-$100. We are finding most of our “Moxie Babes” to be in their 40’s, with them also enjoying their shopping experience with their mother’s and daughters. It’s so fun to see who is enjoying this new creation! (Sizes 00-12)

Working with Debra on some outfit planning for a client and a little personal shopping too!

What is the mission behind Blessed? Blessed empowers women through wardrobe. Our customers become our dearest friends, our muses (inspiration), and the reason for everything we do to constantly improve the in-store experience. Our mission is to go the distance to find them exclusive, top-quality fashion from around the world that is appropriate for their figure and age. When women are “Dressed in Blessed,” they exude a look of elegance and approachability.

And the mission behind Moxie? As the name mentions, marches to its own beat. Effortless, playful and on-trend, Moxie deliveries an elevated shopping experience at a guilt-free price-point. Expect personal styling from our enthusiastic stylists, upbeat music and fashion that brings you back in weekly to see our newest arrivals. Our top secret Moxie mission is to create a vibrant space where mothers and daughters can shop together without a fight.

What brought you and Morgan to retail? Have you always been retail ladies? If not what was your prior career or area of study?

Melodie: Prior to Blessed, I was in the fashion industry working in wholesale; my showroom sold exclusive brands to boutiques nationwide that were similar to Blessed Boutique. Having relationships with the buyers of those gorgeous and successful stores around the country provided me a great amount of wisdom to be able to open a shop and grow it to where it is today.

I opened the store in 2012 with my past partner Samia. Both the store and our personal lives evolved a lot over the years, and in 2017 both of us had babies and in 2018 she decided to stay home with hers, so we found a way to make that happen.

The dress collection always blows me away at Blessed! I love the gold ribbon down the side of this one!

Morgan and I had already been partners in our other company SwapRetail for over three years, so upon looking at the launch of that platform and all we had going on, it made sense for her to be a part of Blessed as well. The opportunity came up to open Moxie at the same time Morgan and I were having these discussions, and everything just seemed to fall into place. Morgan has an amazing eye for interior design, so Moxie’s chic aesthetic is all due to her! She is also crazy organized, which I enjoy the benefits of in all of our companies.

Morgan: I studied Fashion Merchandising in college and lived in NYC for 10 years prior to moving to Florida almost 5 years ago. My prior retail experience includes working with companies such as Ralph Lauren, GAP and Victoria’s Secret prior to moving to the corporate side on the Fashion Industry. I switched over to this aspect of the industry and was a Senior Fashion Recruiter working for a large Fashion Agency for over 6 years focusing on contemporary brands placing candidates both on the retail and wholesale side of the industry. When I moved to Florida and was open to new career opportunities, Melodie sought me out. She was in the very early stages of creating a fashion tech company called SwapRetail, which made a lot of sense to me. The platform would solve a lot of big issues that both wholesalers and retailers have, so I hopped onboard.

What is a typical day like for the Blessed/Moxie team? Our stellar colleagues (Olivia, Aubrey, Debra, Kiera and Jill) pretty much run the ship. They are AMAZING! I don’t know what I love more, being there with them and enjoying them or being able to not be there and knowing they have everything covered! That said, we do run a tight ship. There is tons that needs to happen every day, from styling our clients to inventory to keeping the stores in tip top shape, and of course, keeping up with the buying. Social media is a big part of our retail businesses, so creating content is also a very important part of our day.

Morgan and I are normally on premise as well, zigging and zagging where necessary, but most the time we tend to be working on SwapRetail in the back room unless a “fashion emergency” calls us to the floor.

What is one thing you think your customers should know about your store that they may not be aware of already?

At both Blessed and Moxie, we offer closet clean outs and at home drop offs. Some of our ladies have run out of room in their closets and we love helping them sift and get organized.

For our Blessed ladies, so many simply have no TIME! So we drop off items that are relevant to their sense of style to their homes so they can play dress up in their own closets, then pickup the goodies when they have had a chance to make their selection.

I love your selection of clothing.  It's so different from any larger department stores and lots of boutiques. The quality is beautiful. Having been in retail, I know how difficult it is to find unique lines.  How do you do it?

One of my personal new favs from Blessed! (And not because it’s a Greek designer!)

Listen to our ladies - if they tell me they LOVE something that they saw elsewhere, I take a look at it.

Go the distance - We love trips to Europe to bring our women things that they cannot get anywhere else. This is now about 60% of our merchandise in-store.

Connect with other high-end retailers - Having our other company SwapRetail has been advantageous because we can connect and share with other amazing chic boutiques around the country brands that we each carry to see what else we should be considering.

Stay open-minded - When brands email us to take a look at their collection, we always take a peek. You don’t know what you could be missing out on if you never look!

What are your favorite clothing lines?

Melodie: I love Rosemunde, Susana Monaco, and Byron Lars

Morgan: I live for D. Exterior and Weill Blazers

I have always been so impressed with your enthusiasm!  Families, (Mel has a second baby on the way), three businesses, an incredible team of ladies working at Blessed, you both have so much energy-how do you do it? What do you do for downtime?

I love how elegant even my casual pieces are from Blessed! Here are the Ecru shorts…and they come in a shorter version too!

Morgan: I have a semi newborn who is 6 ½ months old! Mel and I are very similar in that we love what we do. We love to work and almost thrive off of the craziness. I always say “If you love what you do you never work a day in your life!” Having 3 businesses is sometimes easier than having a newborn believe it or not, but if we didn’t have our amazing team of girls none of this would be possible. My downtime usually consists of spending time with my husband, Stefan, our son, Logan and we can’t forget our fur baby Jax! My family is still in NY, so we travel upstate a lot to see them. We also like to go on trips so we always like to try somewhere we haven’t been before. We are itching to go somewhere in Europe for our next long trip. When I need “me time” I like to spoil myself and my one vice is always having my nails perfectly manicured.

Melodie: I agree with Morgan, it hardly feels like working because I love our team and I love a challenge, so even on hard days, when I figure out something tough or get through a busy day, I feel satisfied. Although I am an extravert, when I shut off my work-brain, I like quality time with those I love. My daughter Maris is my JOY. It doesn’t take much for me to enjoy myself immensely; I love sunshine and being low key. Most of my free time is spent with my husband and Maris at home or on a walk, or with my sister and nephews who are my daughter’s age, or my best friend and her daughter, also same age.

Accessories from Blessed always make a great gift for any BFF.

What are some of the items you are most excited about going forward for Summer?

Melodie: The arrival of my baby boy! And, the official launch of SwapRetail!

Morgan: Seeing all my friends get married, I have 4 weddings coming up this summer. The official launch of SwapRetail and traveling back to NYC often to meet with clients!

Who (or what) most inspires you when it comes to fashion and what you choose to carry at Blessed?  

Our Blessed customers, they are at the heart of every move we make.

What are some of your must-haves?

I couldn’t agree more! These are the Ilse Jacobsen slip ons…they are like walking on pillows!

Melodie: Most days, my style is almost a uniform: Susana Monaco dress with knit blazer, or Rosemunde top with DL1961 denim. As for shoes, the Ilse Jacobsen slip on sneaker is a MUST. I have to say there have been only 8 days since last July when I got a pair that I have not worn them!!! I don’t know how on earth I will ever get off this kick.

When I have to get dressed up, I love to pull out a “wow” piece, which will end up normally being D.Exterior or Byron Lars. I am someone who has no shame in wearing something that looks great on me over and over again!

Morgan: A great blazer is my must-have. I probably have over 30 blazers now, thanks to Blessed. I will rock a blazer, white-tee, and jeans with some crazy heel on most days. It is also my staple date night outfit. Also, pretty much any D. Exterior top and the Iris tank tops.

What do you recommend every woman who shops at Blessed try?

This is casual version of the Ecru pant. I love both the casual and more dressed version and they are great! They are the first things I also recommend anyone try!

Melodie: The Ecru “Perfect Pant” because they look chic and are washable. You can wear them to the office, the country club, and definitely when traveling, a great closet piece for any occasion.

Morgan: The Iris tank tops, the quality of them is just amazing!

You can find Blessed Boutique and Moxie at Downtown at the Gardens, Lake Victoria Gardens, Palm Beach Gardens, FL. (561) 320-2355.

Or online at Blessed Boutique.

Hours: Monday-Thursday 10-8, Friday and Sat 10-10 and Sundays 11-7

Phone: 561-320-2355