BY LAUREN ALLEN


Five years, eight stores and 21,000 Instagram followers later, Bluetique is one of the most popular locally owned stores in Lexington.
After hours on a bitterly cold Thursday night, the store was filled almost to capacity with friends, family, supporters and customers all there to celebrate the fifth anniversary.
Bluetique’s original store is on Woodland ave. in Lexington and over the years has spread throughout the South.
Store manager Brittany James grinned ear to ear while gushing about her pride for the store that she joined one year ago. Her favorite thing about working at Bluetique is how involved she is able to be in the community through pop-up shops and “percent parties” that are held in the store for organizations to come in to shop, and Bluetique will give 10 percent of the profit to a charity of the organization’s choosing.
Although relatively new to the area, Michelle Luz Bluetique’s Marketing Director, feels at home in Lexington thanks to the family atmosphere at the boutique. Because the business is so small compared to the corporate organizations she has previously worked for, Luz’s “hands are in everything” that the business needs to be successful.
The store’s Director of Retail, Elizabeth Shipley, has been around since the beginning, and even before as a buyer for World’s Apart which has the same owner. She has seen the college student favorite boutique transform into what it is today.
From denim and game day looks, to special event pieces and monogrammed everything, the business has grown with the needs of its customers.
Bluetique strives to make the best shopping experience for its customers. This is why women, like customer Sophie Farley, stopped into Bluetique once a week through her college career, always having a trouble leaving empty handed.
Farley knows that Bluetique will “always have the perfect outfit for every event” that college students face. She also appreciates the friendly environment and complimentary Ale 8 every time she visits the store.
Customers and employees are passionate about the need to shop local in an ever growing community like Lexington.