A MIDDLETOWN BOUTIQUE DRAWS ON THE STRENGTHS OF ITS OWNERS TO DELIVER A RED-CARPET SHOPPING EXPERIENCE IN THE GARDEN STATE

BY ERIK SCHONING PHOTOS BY ROBERT NUZZIE

The ultimate goal of fashion is to aid wearers in looking and feeling their best. At Bijoux Boutique in Middletown, co-owners Gwendolyn Esposito and Lauren Sorrentino have built a space where women can turn that dream into a reality.

Esposito is a small-business veteran, co-owner of the Middletown skin care clinic GlowDoll Skin and former owner of a style boutique in Red Bank. After four years at her previous space, she partnered with entrepreneur, TV star, and influencer Lauren Sorrentino to launch what would become Bijoux Boutique. In the year since the boutique’s launch, Middletown has proved to be the perfect home for the business.

“It’s a more personalized clientele here,” Esposito explained. “Our shoppers live in the area, whereas in the Red Bank store we saw a lot of people popping in on vacation or passing through town. In Middletown we’re building more meaningful relationships with our clients.”

In many ways, Esposito and Sorrentino have found in each other the perfect partnership. Sorrentino is the public face of the business, leveraging her social media presence to grow the brand’s online presence. Her skincare brand, Laurens, is a best-seller. On the other hand, Esposito is in the store every day, interacting and building relationships with customers.

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“Lauren brings a lot of people to us,” Esposito said. “The second she posts anything, boom, it’s sold out. So she really pulls in a lot of online sales. We combine our strengths and work together.”

But a boutique can only be as great as the brands it carries, and the Middletown setting has once again proved to have an advantage, boasting less competition in the area. Esposito has been able to expand her inventory since Red Bank, but she’s kept a lot of the brands that did well. Over the years, she’s built relationships with the brands she believes in, and even as they’ve grown, today she can simply send a text to place an order. Some of the boutique’s flagship brands, such as Boys Lie, an up-and coming streetwear label with universal appeal, were discovered by Esposito in the early days. Esposito was one of the first to carry the brand in her Red Bank store.

Every item in the boutique is chosen carefully. Some brands, like longtime favorites Pistola Denim and the silk-forward Amanda Uprichard, have become core labels for the store. Others are rotated in and out depending on trend and season. Here again, Esposito and Sorrentino are able to play to their strengths: Sorrentino is a fashion industry veteran, having worked for Bergdorf Goodman and as a buyer for stalwarts like Bloomingdale’s and Saks.

“Lauren has a really good eye for what’s going to sell and what to buy,” Esposito said. “She taps into that, and I use my knowledge from inside the store, being around people and seeing what they are looking for on a day-to-day basis.”

On top of that, throughout the year both Sorrentino and Esposito attend shows in New York City, Philadelphia, Florida, and Texas, on the lookout for the next big thing in womenswear. When you run a smaller boutique, it’s imperative to have a good eye; you simply don’t have the floor space to carry everything under the sun. This level of discernment requires ample research and market awareness.

“You have to always be aware of what’s popular, what people are wearing, what people are buying,” Esposito said. “You have to keep up with it. I’ll often just sit in bed on my phone and look through different websites. Any website that pops up on Instagram, I’m looking through it just to see what the trends are and to make sure our buying is in line with those trends.”

Bijoux’s online presence is robust in its own right. Esposito has a team of six on the store’s Instagram, which generates the majority of Bijoux’s online sales. There is a concierge service on the website that connects directly to an iPad in the store. It’s a modern system, pairing the convenience of online shopping with the personalized attention of an in-store shopping experience.

As for that in-store experience, Esposito has worked hard to imbue the space with a touch of elegance and a welcoming spirit.

“There’s some stores that have a reputation that when people walk in, they might receive dirty looks and nobody talks to them or helps them,” Esposito said. “I don’t want that. I want to make sure our staff is always personable and friendly. The girls are constantly having conversations and talking to people. They’re showing them options and really engaging with them instead of just standing there on their phones in the corner while somebody shops.”

As the boutique looks towards its second year, Esposito has big plans for Bijoux. The store is preparing to launch its own in-house brand, beginning with basics and expanding from there. She plans to grow their online presence. But most of all, the goal is simple: when people start looking towards their fall styles – trends like lace and burgundy, white, and black trim – the first and last place they’ll need to look is Bijoux Boutique.

Bijoux Boutique

1141 NJ-35, Middletown Township

732.618.0285 / bijouxboutiquenj.com