Alumnae Opens Boutique Offering Trendy Clothing

StarDust Boutique is located at 7535 Wall Triana Hwy in Madison, here you can find all types of trendy clothes from tie dye, cozy sweaters to leggings. Behind all the racks of clothing you will find a young woman chasing her dreams of running her own boutique. She started all this while still in her senior year of high school.

Lexie Childers graduated this past spring and has since started her own business and secured a space in the growing city of Madison. After a senior year destroyed by COVID-19 Childers seized the opportunity to start working towards a dream she had since she was a teenager. 

“I loved the idea of owning a boutique because I knew it would get me out of my comfort zone and I love clothes and helping people feel more confident by their outfit. I have always loved fashion and loved going to boutiques so when I turned 16 I started thinking about my future and owning my own boutique was just a dream,” Childers said. “I decided to begin saving up all of my money and when I turned 18 I began turning my dream into a reality.”

Childers used COVID-19 as a way to jump start her business plan, constantly at home she began planning. For most COVID-19 was something that destroyed plans and brought on boredom, for Childers it was the exact opposite.

“It is sad that I never got to experience an entire senior year and a senior prom but it made me realize you never know what life may bring your way. I jumped right into starting my career and doing what I love.

When it came to starting her own boutique, Childers already knew a lot just from being a frequent boutique customer and her mother was a business owner herself. However it still took hours of research and planning to even get a plan together. She began saving money early on while she worked during high school, she still works a job Monday and Tuesdays.

StarDust Boutique initially started as an online boutique where Childers sold her clothing on Instagram and Facebook. She kept all of the clothing in a spare bedroom at her house which became difficult to manage the more stock she got, she eventually ran out of racks to hang all the clothing. 

Childers began doing pop-ups at her mother’s salon and began appearing at local events and eventually realized it was time to find a space of her own.

“I love the space I have, it is the perfect space. I did not want anything huge and the location for me is perfect. It was difficult getting the building due to COVID-19, they had to keep pushing the date back but I’m so happy I finally have it,” Childers said. “I wanted everyone to feel like a star when they came in, so when it came to decorating I wanted it to have a lot of sparkles and an edgy. I try to keep the style in a wide variety so that younger people will like it but also middle age and older.”

Eventually she found the space on Wall Triana Hwy and has since fallen in love with operating her own business and space.

“It took lots of prayers, tears and Red Bull to make all this happen. From coming up with a name to getting all of my licenses to finding places to purchase clothes from,” Childers said. “I am really thankful that I was able to turn my dream into reality, I am blessed for everyone who has helped me reach this goal. At times it gets hard but this is something I would never give up on, I am just taking each day one at a time. I want to thank the community for all of the love and support I have received.

While Childers does now have her own space, she continues to use social media as a tool to boost her business and entice customers to come in and check out her boutique.

“I try to make at least two or three posts a day on the StarDust social media account along with posting three stories on the accounts as well,” Childers said. “I mainly use Instagram and Facebook to promote my business and that is where I get some of my orders from, Tik Tok is another platform I hope to grow on.

Childers has come far since the beginning of last year and she believes there is nothing slowing her down.

“I love being my own boss, it has made me work harder and helped me stay on track. Most people don’t realize that owning a business is a 24/7 job and not just a nine to five job,” Childers said. “Owning my own boutique has really opened my eyes in many different ways. It has really made me look at things differently because most might think it is easy to run a boutique, it has probably been one of the most difficult things I have achieved in life. It has also helped me realize how important supporting small businesses is, every time you support a small business you’re supporting a local dream.”

StarDust Boutique is open Wednesday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m.-4 p.m.