Lustre: a Store You'll Lust After!
What’s not to love about a local boutique? Its charm, uniqueness, and one-of-a-kind clothing--there’s just something about it that keeps people coming back. Local businesses and designers are just another thing that Montreal is known for, and that makes it even more special. But how does a business come about?
One store in particular that fits this criteria is a 10 year-old women’s boutique called Lustre, on Saint-Laurent street. All of their clothing is designed by hand, made by local fashion designer and owner, Yasmine Wesfy. Their motto is to make sure every woman finds the right fit and that every woman feels comfortable in their own skin: an appealing offer that any kind of women would be happy to hear.
Despite current success, Lustre definitely had its fair share of failing before finding success. According to Wesfy, struggling was “inevitable” and something that “every business must go through”. She says it was always especially hard competing against all the other small boutiques along the street, and finding enough money to fund their business. Even though it could be difficult going up against other businesses, Wesfy says that's what kept them motivated to make their designs “even better” and “more special”.
Making clothing was Wesfy’s passion and something that she always wanted to do. She never lost sight of that throughout the rough times of creating her business, and never gave up on her goal to make women happy with what they wear. The most important thing to her was “making a good fit”, so all of her clothing could go with any body type.
A year and a half into 2007, Lustre started gaining popularity. With high-waisted skirts, ballerina style dresses, and vintage fabric patterns, the store had finally hit its big break. Wesfy says that at the time, this type of clothing offered wasn’t as “accessible” as it is now: “No other store really offered those pieces at the time, so it was definitely looked at as rare-find and one of a kind”. It was what gave the store their own originality and individual style.
As their business began to sky-rocket, it was necessary bringing social media into the mix to promote themselves. In 2006, the only thing they had set-up was a Myspace page. However, as the years went by, they started using other social media like Instagram, Facebook, and created their own blog. Wesfy says that she definitely would not call herself a “social media mogul” and that the most efficient thing for their business was word of mouth. Once one costumer came in, they would tell their friends, and then those friends would tell their friends, and the cycle kept on going. No matter how many social media sites you’ve signed up for, sometimes it’s good to stay old-fashioned and find your own strategy: “word of mouth kept it [the store] open."
Despite her target age group of 25-40 year olds, Wesfy wants women of all ages to come check out her store. Her main idea is getting anyone who wants to feel confident incite-fitting clothes to come by. According to her, one of the most popular designs are party dresses, where she sees a lot more of the “younger, college crowd” come in.
The thing that makes Lustre so exclusive from other boutiques is the fact that she does on the spot alterations, so you find the perfect fit every time. Big store chains like H&M, Forever 21, Zara, etc, although they sell nice clothing, make it very difficult to find something that fits properly. There’s nothing worse than having your heart set on a good pair of jeans that you cannot get because the fit just is not right. It makes shopping so much more of a hassle than it has to be, and Wesfy knows that. Getting the alterations done on the spot makes it so much easier and something you won’t have to worry about later.
In the end, a business comes about by having good ideas and thinking outside the box. Her best advice to students who would like to be future business owners is to not be “too rigid on your vision, and to go with the flow”. It is important to not be afraid to change your ideas to make a business better. Yasmine Wesfy looks at her customers as a “community” and is willing to help with readjusting and creating specific designs if requested. When it comes to understanding a girl’s world in shopping, Yasmine Wesfy definitely gets it, and will continue to create designs you'll lust-re after!