In this week's Meet the Boutique, meet Gigi Bottega, the fresh and fun women's boutique in Evanston, Illinois. They've been with us from the very beginning and continue to keep us stocked with the coolest finds that you guys love. Read on to learn more about their founder Gina Vericella Crevi and how this incredible woman not only juggles two boutique but an amazing bra line that just landed at Nordstrom!
Why Gigi Bottega? Is there a story behind the name?
Gigi is my nickname and Bottega means boutique in Italian. My Italian heritage has made a big influence in my life. My grandmother was a master tailor from Italy and inspired my love for clothing and design at a very young age as she would teach me over and over about clothing, high end fabrics and always being classy! Her favorite pieces were St. John suits.
Owner, Gina Vericella Crevi
How long have you been in business?
It will be 10 years in October for our Bloomington location and 8 years in Evanston this July.
How did you get into the retail field? How did your professional background get you to this point?
I have always wanted to be in the fashion industry since I was like 6! I opened the boutiques right after graduating from college. I was able to start my first store in Bloomington in the town I am from and then expanded to Evanston. The idea of being in college towns was very appealing. I was inspired from my college town at Ole Miss, Oxford. There were a lot of cute and pretty affordable boutiques that all of us would go to to buy our clothes for “going out”. Bloomington was really lacking in the women’s clothing department so I knew it was definitely filling a need as there are two large universities in the town.
Did you always know you wanted to own a boutique?
I always knew I wanted to be in the fashion industry but opening a boutique kind of fell into place as I was graduating from college. My dad owns a lot of commercial real estate in downtown Bloomington and he had a lease open up for a store front. So, my mom and I did the research and attended buying shows and just started the store! We originally started it mainly for college girls but it then evolved to be a store for younger and older women. Our customers range anywhere from 18-65 now!
What do you think sets Gigi's apart?
Gigi Bottega aims to follow trends of higher end contemporary brands, we are always getting inspiration from Intermix and trying to bring those styles to our customers. We spend a lot of time curating our mix of clothing and we want it to be a chic high end vibe but at an affordable pricepont. When we first opened, boutiques were known to be very expensive with a small selection and we wanted to create a high end feeling atmosphere with great customer service, great price points, and clothes that looked like they came from Saks or Neimans.
Can you share a bit about what shoppers will see in your store for Spring/Summer?
We are really attracted to color this spring and summer. You will see a lot of bright colors like pink, pops of red and emerald along with our traditional blacks and whites which is something you can always find at our store. We like bold colors and feminine vibes with an edge.
What are you favorite pieces currently on The Shoppes? We love the Olive Slip dress with the bow detail in the back! It is perfect for a rooftop event or wedding guest dress! So chic and no one will have anything that looks like it! We also love the Feelin’ Fancy bright poppy red boucle blazer. This can take on so many different looks and it’s for sure a great statement piece! We saw the IRO version at Neimans for $580 and ours is $98!!