Opening the door to Mood Boutique, the first thing I hear is a customer raving about how much she loves the store.
“Half of my wardrobe is from you,” she tells the owner, Sarah Allen. “Mood’s my go-to.”
Today, the customer is wearing dark jeans paired with Scout earrings, both from Mood, and she’s also holding a couple tops from Z Supply. “I need some basic like tanky t-shirty stuff,” she says.
“There’s two colors,” Sarah tells her.
“I’m just going to buy these,” the customer replies.
The trust is palpable.
“A lot of people come to us for jeans, good basics, everyone always compliments how soft things are,” Sarah says. “We try to merchandise it well so people can put outfits together just by looking at the rack or the table.”
The Higgins storefront is narrow but the store goes deep. Since opening in 2011, Mood Boutique has absorbed more space as neighboring businesses closed or moved. Nowadays, Sarah, a sixth generation Montanan, has room to stock jeans, sweaters, tops, dresses, purses, hats, underwear, loungewear, sunglasses, stationery, candles, bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and custom Montana sweatshirts.
“What was the most important for me was to be an affordable boutique down here,” Sarah says. “To find lines that are fashionable and comfortable and good quality, but at a price point that isn’t outrageous for downtown.”
Sarah is dressed in white jeans and an open-weave white sweater. As I make my way through the store, I see two sweaters similar to the one she has on.
“I would say I tend to wear more basic,” Sarah says. “I’m not really into loud prints or bright colors, so more neutrals.”
The store reflects Sarah’s personal style, and I also see classic patterns like stripes and plaids, as well as the occasional camo and sequins.
“Just visually in the store you need those pops of color to go with all the basics I like,” Sarah says. She recalled ordering – then reordering – a pair of tapestry pants that sold out around the time of Shania Twain’s concert in Missoula last year. “I was like, these are so not me, and one of my employees was like, I don’t understand these pants, but they looked cute!”
She adds, “I feel like I don’t do fast fashion, but you do want to have some of those pieces people see on social media or models.”
Now that I’m oriented to the store layout and content, I ask Sarah, what if I need something for a work thing?
“I know,” she says, looking me in the eye, and shows me toward a short sleeve sweater as a good transitional piece that goes day to night and is something I can layer. Sarah says her demographic is working women. “But mothers and daughters could come in and both could leave with something, which I think is unique.”
Grandmothers are also fans of Mood Boutique. Two summers ago, Sarah played host to a regular customer celebrating her eightieth birthday. Her grandkids made her a scavenger hunt of her favorite places in Missoula, and called it the Annapalooza. “It blew me away that they knew that was a place she wanted to go to,” Sarah recalls.
Especially post-COVID-19, Sarah is grateful for her loyal customer base. “Just being able to still be down here, I appreciate so much,” she says. “Just keep the focus on the customer experience, having those good pieces that people know to come to me for.”
As it turns out, I’m currently in the market for a good piece – for a friend who also happens to be a cool mom. I think back to the earrings Sarah’s very loyal customer had on earlier: “Literally every time I wear these, someone asks, where did you get those,” she had said. “I tell everybody that this is where I get them.” And I’m smirking at a hat that reads GO ASK YOUR DAD.
But, true to form, Sarah has her eye on something a bit more classic: a lacey beige top.
“It’s a neutral,” she laughs. “I think it has a lot of pretty details.”
“A lot of people come to us for jeans, good basics, everyone always compliments how soft things are."
"Mothers and daughters could come in and both could leave with something, which I think is unique.”
“Just keep the focus on the customer experience, having those good pieces that people know to come to me for.”