UPDATE - Crush Boutique - Where they really do know your name (and style)

For those who do not know this already, Charles Street in Beacon Hill is much more than antique shops these days.  There are a number of fantastic boutiques where you can do a lot of damage to your wallet.  One of my favorite shops is Crush Boutique down near the MGH end of the road.

I stopped in at Crush the day of my 10-year high school reunion.  I already had a dress, but since it was my 10 year and I was running the show, I figured if I found something better I would go for it.  It happened to be the day after Thanksgiving and the shop was fairly busy.  I started to poke around, found a dress I liked and went to try it on.  What happened from there is something I have never experienced before: within the next 5 minutes, Rebecca and Laura, the fantastic owners, proceeded to pull all sorts of different dresses that they thought would work on me, checking to see if the style was OK.  Before I knew it I had gone from 1 dress to about 12 dresses.  I am certainly NOT easy to fit, but each dress looked better than the next.  I think I walked out in each and every dress and they helped me narrow it down, offering an actual opinion - they certainly were not just appeasing me to make a sale.  On one of the busiest shopping days of the year, I spent about 2 hours in their store and walked out feeling amazing with the MOST amazing dress for my reunion!

Since then, whenever I need an outfit for anything - work, a night out, formals, really ANYTHING - I head to Crush and the girls there work their magic.  I hardly need to look at the clothes as they personal shop their store for you!  Not only did they take the time to learn my name, they learned my style and remember me each time I walk in.  Many stores of comparable size and target audiences just don't take that sort of time.

Being a fan of all things Crush, I saw on their Facebook page that they were having a Valentine's Day raffle with the winner receiving a gift bag with $300 worth of goodies.  Not wanting to miss out, but doubting I would win, I entered myself by describing a date where I wore a dress from Crush and posted a photo on their facebook page.  Really, there were plenty to choose from!

To be honest, I had forgotten that I even entered myself until I got back from our fantastic Valentine's Day dinner at Mamma Maria and saw that I had a bunch of new Facebook messages.  Turns out I actually won!

My Loot!

You have no idea how excited I was!  The winnings included (with my commentary):

• a silver Ada obi leather wrap belt (I already own the camel color one and I will tell you this is the most versatile belt and you will wear it with everything!)
• a gift certificate to Mizu Salon, worth $50 (Love is in the Hair!)
• a Crave Boston Book, with coupons (such a great book for Boston shoppers!  Your wallet will hate you.)
• a $25 gift certificate to Scampo at The Liberty Hotel (I have been here twice and it was amazing both times.  I cannot wait to go back!)
• a Sage Fragrances garnet scented roll-on perfume
• a Hanky Panky hearts thong (very cute!)
• a Coobie lace trim bra in hot pink (best thing for your more difficult tops)
• a pair of silver heart stud earrings from Freya (great everyday studs)
• a New Image jewelry silver coil bracelet (which I LOVE to play with and looks really cute)
• an Aunt Sadie’s Crush Candle (smells great!)
• a Cosmoholic lip gloss in Promiscuous Pink (works on everyone!)
• two Cosmoholic amenity bars (“I <3 You” and “Lips”)

As you can see I made out like a bandit.  When I stopped in to get my goodies, I of course had to try a few things on and am now ready for spring.  It is actually spring within the walls of Crush with color everywhere - perfect when dealing with the weather we have been having lately!

Moral of the story: if you have not been to Crush before, GO IMMEDIATELY!  If you have, go back anyways, since there are always new, amazing things to try on, and they could not be MORE friendly!

UPDATE:

People have asked about the photo and the dress/picture I posted.  While I won because my name was pulled out of a hat, here is the photo I posted.  I wore this great Alexia Admor dress to a New Years Eve party at Dante - 2009 to 2010.

NYE 2009-2010

It was black strapless with silver polka-dots.  It had a bit of a flair to the skirt.  Unfortunately I don't have the best picture of me in the dress, but here is the best I had!

The Dress and the Boy

The dress was fun and flirty and was so easy to move in.  More than that, I felt great!