Our New Business is bringing lots of new faces to Wilton!

As some of you already know, my mom and I recently opened Petite Chou Chou, the little sibling to our women's boutique - Chou Chou.   We kept hearing from customers that they were constantly dissatisfied with the options they had for their children's shoes - many of them not even local.   With that in mind (and after a LOT of hard work!) we opened Petite Chou Chou where you can find all kinds of shoes for your child.      If any of you have started businesses or organizations, you know that the first couple of weeks are really informative on what your customers like, don't like, and how to adjust going forward, so I wanted to share with the Wilton Community some of the trends I've been seeing.  If any of you have any comments or feedback on my observations, I'd be really REALLY thrilled to hear them: The more feedback we get, the better we can serve not only Wilton, but all of Fairfield County. 

1) Parents will TRAVEL to find good shoes for their kids 

One of the things I've been most pleasantly surprised by is that a lot of our new customers are unfamiliar faces - they've come from New Canaan, Westport, Redding, Ridgefield, and even as far as Fairfield.  I am so flattered that people are getting in their cars and travelling to come see us - and also really excited that these non-Wiltonites will have the opportunity to see how much Wilton has grown in the past few years.    The response I see from customers is "wow, I had no idea this was all here!" - Wilton is totally happening now - from Cactus Rose (those cocktails!) to Naked Greens to Renaissance Beauty - Wilton has become so much more than just a place to see the Orthodontist or drive through on the way to the Danbury Mall.  At Petite Chou Chou, we are SO proud to be sharing our fabulous town with new faces.  

2) Little Boys NEED shoes... Little Girls WANT shoes 

We've only been open for about 2 weeks - but what we've seen is an overwhelming response from girls ages 6-10.   They're just developing their own little sense of style, and they want shoes that will help them express their budding individuality.   She's 6 going on 16, and she wants what's cool!  As we are doing our back-to-school buying now, we are going to really focus on this little customer as we pick styles for Fall.   You can expect to see lots of Steve Madden, Stuart Weitzman, Kors and Nina for this little gal.  Boys, on the other hand - seem to love the toys and movies we play - and the shoes are more of an afterthought- really almost a necessary evil that they want to get over with as fast as possible so they can go run around outside.

3) Sparkles and Lights aren't for everyone 

If you have little girls, you know her footwear options range from a touch of shimmer to full on disco drama bling.  While the "less is more" sentiment may be completely lost on her daughter, we've seen a bunch of customers express a desire to see sparkle-free footwear.  The same holds true for boys shoes:  some parents have no problem with the light ups (ranging from Spiderman to police cars) - and others have practically a visceral response to them! 

So What Say you, Wilton Patchers?  Do you agree that parents will travel for their Children's shoes?  What do you think of the new businesses drawing non-Wilton customers?   How do your children handle the shoe shopping experience?  And how do you really feel about Sparkly shoes: Bring on the Bling or Gag-reflexes? 

The more we hear from you, the better we can adapt and serve Wilton (and all of Fairfield County!), So please feel free to share any and all of your thoughts. 

As Always, we hope to see you soon!! 

xoKatie