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A boutique () is a small shop that deals in fashionable clothing or accessories. The word is
A boutique () is a small shop that deals in fashionable clothing or accessories. The word is French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
for "shop", which derives ultimately from the Ancient Greek ἀποθήκη (''apothēkē'') "storehouse".
The term ''boutique'' and also ''designer'' refer (with some differences) to both goods and services, which are containing some element that is claimed to justify an extremely high price.
Etymology and usage
The term "boutique" entered common English parlance in the late 1960s. In Europe, Avenue Montaigne andBond Street
Bond Street in the West End of London links Piccadilly in the south to Oxford Street in the north. Since the 18th century the street has housed many prestigious and upmarket fashion retailers. The southern section is Old Bond Street and the l ...
were the focus of much media attention for having the most fashionable stores of the era.
Some multi-outlet businesses ( Chain stores) can be referred to as boutiques if they target small, upscale niche market
A niche market is the subset of the market on which a specific product is focused. The market niche defines the product features aimed at satisfying specific market needs, as well as the price range, production quality and the demographics that it ...
s. Although some boutiques specialize in hand-made items and other unique products, others simply produce T-shirts, stickers, and other fashion accessories in artificially small runs and sell them at high prices.
Lifestyle
In the late 1990s, some European retail traders developed the idea of tailoring a shop towards a lifestyle theme, in what they called "concept stores," which specialized in cross-selling without using separate departments. One of the first concept stores was10 Corso Como
10 Corso Como is a shopping and dining complex in Milan, Italy. It combines outlets that show and sell works of art, fashion, music, design, cuisine and culture. It was founded in 1990 by gallerist and publisher Carla Sozzani.
History
The complex ...
in Milan, Italy, founded in 1990, followed by Colette in Paris and Quartier 206 in Berlin. Several well-known American chains such as Tiffany & Co., Urban Outfitters, Dash
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
, and The Gap, Australian chain Billabong and, though less common, Lord & Taylor, adapted to the concept store trend after 2000.
See also
* Types of retail outlets * Types of advertising agenciesReferences
{{Authority control Retail formats