Madison Rogers is mom to four children, including three boys. As her children graduated from onesies to jeans and T-shirts, shopping became a hassle because the pickings were slim when it came to boys’ clothing while her daughter had a plethora of options to choose from.
“We had no luck finding anything,” said Rogers. “With my oldest, I was a first-time mom. They had some cute stuff. It wasn’t horrible but luckily my kid was into dinosaurs, so he was fine with that. But for family pictures, I couldn’t find anything nice for him to wear. There weren’t many options. There is a lot more girls stuff than boys.”
Frustrated by her limited options, Rogers teamed up with her sister to open Poppy and Harper Boutique. Rogers said they studied the market carefully to understand the latest fashion trends.
She is still in disbelief that things came together so quickly.
“We spent every day doing research about it so we could open,” said Rogers. “It was spur of the moment. It’s honestly unreal, but it’s exciting. We were both really nervous taking this huge leap of faith. The Uptown Shelby community has been so helpful to us. The other stores were welcoming. It’s a relief to be open now and we are doing what we’ve wanted to do.”
The boutique on 214 S. Washington St. carries hats, plaid shirts, jogger sets, graphic tees and more. Rogers said the community has been welcoming and thankful she is carrying a large selection to meet their needs.
“We’ve had customers come in tell us it is hard to find cute little boy stuff and there is nowhere to go around here,” said Rogers.
Rogers said their inventory goes far beyond clothes too. Customers can find everything from wooden toys to kitchen play sets.
“We want to be a one-stop shop,” said Rogers.
The name pays homage to two of the women in their family, but the shop is dedicated to selling boys’ apparel, although girls’ clothing is available. The store carries newborn clothes, as well as children’s clothes up to size seven and will soon carry size 10.
“We’ve always wanted to open a business but we never knew what it was going to be,” said Rogers. “We thought it would be cool to have a children’s boutique to carry boy’s stuff. We just started talking and one day, we went shopping for items. Luckily, we found a place and we did it.”
Latrice Williams can be reached at 704-669-3339 and [email protected].