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The owner of a boutique that has provided shoppers with dazzling dresses for nearly 20 years – and even selected a first date outfit that led to a marriage – has given a "big thank you" to her "beautiful" clients, as she prepares to close following a shock eviction.
The final day of trading for Seasons Boutique will be next Friday (23 June) – and islanders are being encouraged to pop in for a bargain before then.
With the store having weathered the storms of three recessions, covid and Brexit, owner Zoe Curtin said that news her business had to close came totally out of the blue.
“It wasn’t planned,” she said. “They gave me three months – I was meant to be negotiating another lease," she explained.
It was a second blow, as she had already been forced to close her other boutique on 37 Broad Street in 2020, amid plans for a multi-million redevelopment of the site.
During her 18 years trading at Seasons, Zoe said was able to build a community around the shop.
Pictured: Seasons has become many people's go-to shop to find outfits for special occasions (Seasons Boutique on Facebook)
“It’s been quite a long time, I’ve seen the grandmothers and mothers and now their children that come in and buy outfits. It’s the end of an era."
The shop had even played a part in forming several couples, Zoe reflected.
“One time a cutomer came in and said, ‘I’m going on a date with this guy', and she picked a dress.
“She came in the following week and said, ‘We’re going on another date’, so I picked her a couple more outfits. Later, she said she’s going to meet the kids, so we found more outfits. They ended up getting married!”
While she acknowledged that some of her clients would be sad or shocked to hear of the shop's closure, Zoe said she remained optimistic about the future, with hopes to secure a new premises.
Pictured: Zoe is planning to keep the boutique open until 23 June.
She said she hadn't secured the right spot just yet, but added: “I’m sure that we’ll crop up somewhere soon.”
“It’s the end of an era, the end of a chapter. Watch this space.”
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