JENNIFER WALLEMAN
Special to the Citizen
At 15, Jamie Duncan worked her first job in retail. Through the years, her love for retail never faded and so she decided to pursue her dream of opening a women's fashion boutique.
Jamie Duncan of Urban Trends
Duncan's journey to her dream picked up pace when she started working for a friend at a local boutique. She asked questions and soaked up knowledge about the ins and outs of business ownership. Equipped with that knowledge, last year Duncan opened her dream store she named, Urban Trends, as part of the Boutique Collective at Briarcliff.
"I've always had a love for fashion — a passion for fashion," Duncan said. "lt sounds so funny and cliche, but I really have. I've always loved it but never dreamt I could actually have my own store."
In October 2018, she moved her store into its own space in Parkville.
Parkville was a natural choice of location, Duncan said. She's lived in Parkville for 16 years with her husband and two children. The space is close to home and sandwiched between neighborhoods and since opening, business has boomed.
"The word of mouth has been fabulous," Duncan said. "Every day I get new people coming through the doors, and it's a lot of fun."
The store offers on-trend women's apparel, accessories and gifts for the modern woman. It features four to five local artists and many other artists who have social missions.
For example, Branded Collective based out of Nashville, Tenn. employs survivors of human trafficking to make jewelry in efforts to provide them meaningful work and independence. Each piece is "branded" with the artist's initial and number. Their stories can be found on the Branded Collective website.
"That means a lot to me to give back in those ways," Duncan said.
One of Duncan's favorite aspects of her job is pairing outfits together for customers and picking items for them they wouldn't necessarily choose for themselves.
"When a customer comes in and it's stressful for them to shop and they don't know what fits their body or what colors to put together — to bring them items that they won't normally pick. I hear (customers say a lot, ‘I wouldn't normally have picked that up or picked out that top for myself, but I love it.’”
Duncan has five employees and an intern on staff at the boutique and says they are as close as a family.
“We all have fun and create an environment that we want the customers to enjoy.”
Shopping can be overwhelming for some people, Duncan said. She said she hopes she can help relieve some of that anxiety by pairing outfits together and posting them online for her Facebook following. She also aims to create a welcoming space for customers.
"l want my customers to feel comfortable and at home shopping here," Duncan said. "There are a lot of people who don't necessarily love shopping and it can be stressful. I want to take that burden off of them and make them feel comfortable here. Anybody is welcome here."
Urban Trends is located at 6264 Lewis Street, Suite 102 in Parkville The store is open 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. For more information call 569-3420 or on facebook.com/Urban_Trends137037300263053