Comments (0) Best Addition to Washington Avenue - 2007
The Time Boutique
Living memory still recalls Washington Avenue as the old garment district, where competing manufacturers, warehouses and retailers pushed racks of suits into trucks and shops galore. These days the boom and bustle of Wash. Ave. is provided by loft-dwellers, and the repaved lane of bright lights is at the forefront of the push back into city living. That makes The Time the best new arrival to the neighborhood. Owner Jennifer Gray moved her shop from Maplewood to a neighborhood brimming with customers, and added a salon to her retail arsenal of women's clothing and shoes (men's gear is soon to follow). The vibrant dresses are imported from Spain and other points abroad, ensuring that they'll draw eyes, and the on-site salon means a woman can go from zero to party in just one stop. The Time is also one of the only places we know of that'll make you a custom pair of jeans — custom as in made from scratch, according to your design, and to fit you and only you, as if they were drawn on your legs. Custom jeans may set you back top-level coin, but the rest of the merchandise won't, even though The Time is the only place in town you'll find it. The mood inside is always genial, the staff refreshingly without haute couture pretension. The Time represents the next phase in Wash. Ave.'s life cycle, as the former garment district becomes ever more fashionable.
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