Fashion a la mode
Woman brings style expertise to new Paseo boutique.
Eden Turrentine has a knack for knowing what customers want.
Credit years of working in both luxury and contemporary fashion, as well as owning an Airstream trailer that was transformed into a mobile chic boutique. Many women in town also have her number on speed dial for assistance with wardrobe overhauls, quick updates and styling assistance.
Now Turrentine brings that knowledge, experience and savvy styling manner to her new store in the Paseo Arts District.
Jonque Mode opened Nov. 1 offering women fashionable clothing and accessories that are easy on the budget. Most pieces cost less than $100.
“It’s been somewhat of a process,” Turrentine said. “I transitioned from mobile to bricks and mortar, going against the grain of what a lot of people are doing right now. In a positive way, it’s been a good experience for me because my business has been even better than ever.”
She said she offers an affordable alternative to luxury or curated items. “I feel like all my experience in higher-end retail helped me develop an eye and helped me source and find products that have higher inherent value from a fashion perspective but doesn’t break the bank.”
The store allows women to shop and have fun and enjoy clothing and accessories that are more accessible.
“I think that’s what I offer,” Turrentine said. “People want to shop in a boutique and feel like they’re looking for a special curated item but be able to afford it.”
Her store isn’t designed for one type of customer or income level, though. People who can afford higher price points come in here and enjoy shopping and find things they like, she said.
“Everybody likes to have some items they spend more money on, and I encourage that. But they fill in with items they’re not going to have forever.”
Her clients’ ages range from 17 to 70, she said, and that’s how she buys when she looks to fill the store. “I can honestly say there’s nothing in here that I don’t like or appreciate.”
That doesn’t mean she would wear all of it. Some of it’s not for her body type; other pieces may skew a different age.
“That’s what I’m kind of providing, and it has been really well received,” she said.
Styling edge
While many retailers struggle to compete with online shopping, Turrentine said her already budget-friendly prices from brands not well known make it difficult to find those same pieces online.
“I think that’s really helped me with all the online shopping going on now,” she said.
When customers find what they like in the store they buy it because it’s here, she said. “That’s working to my benefit greatly.”
Perhaps the biggest draw to the store is Turrentine herself. It’s that styling edge, her expertise at putting pieces together in different or unexpected ways. Her fashion point of view.
Good styling advice is priceless.
“It’s more than someone just clerking them in the store. I feel like when someone buys something from me, I want her to understand how many different ways she can wear that if she asks,” she said.
“The value monetarily isn’t high, but the value in a wardrobe because of my advice raises it.”
Lots of sales people don’t have that approach because they don’t know that approach, she said. Turrentine not only knows it, she practices it with her own wardrobe.
Her introduction to fashion came courtesy of the beauty business. She was with Balliets’ cosmetics department for almost 10 years, and when she left, she had worked with several major brands and launched Trish McEvoy, Laura Mercier and Darphin in the store.
Initially beauty was a small segment of Balliets’ business, but Turrentine helped grow it to a sizable department.
“I really did get to see the cosmetics industry change,” she said.
She also saw the fashion side.
“I was highly observant even though I was in the cosmetics area,” she said.
Needing a break from the hectic pace at the cosmetics counter, she went to work for Allton’s, a small store in Edmond where she got the bug for apparel. It was a natural rollover from working at Balliets where she was exposed to beautiful goods and wonderful buyers, she said.
She went on to work for Allyson’s Closet and Liberte as buyer/manager before operating Jonque Mode fashion truck with friend Jennifer Bullard. Eventually Turrentine took it on solely, traveling to street festivals and events across the state.
She had fun and in those instances the trailer was great, but when she wanted to take it to home parties, she ran into issues with the city.
After two years she parked the trailer for good and sublet a small space inside Betsy King A Shoe Boutique in Paseo Arts District. Sales jumped. It was a tiny step that a year later would lead to a big one. Both King and Turrentine knew there would be a time limit on their shared space. That came after a year, but it was more than enough time for her to fall in love with Paseo, the culture, the arts and the fact that it wasn’t just dining or retail. A retail space became available, and Turrentine moved in.
She’s been busy making the store the kind of place where she would enjoy shopping. A store that goes beyond fashion.
If someone’s not finding something here with her, she said she’s more than happy to suggest other stores to check. She wishes all retailers would embrace that idea. Too many retailers choose to be closed off or intimidated, afraid of losing sales or customers, she said.
Turrentine said she believes “the right person will shop in our store just as often as the right person will shop in their store.”
“I think people are so engaging when you’re so free to share information,” she said. “I just believe in a real noncompetitive spirit in the world of retail. Do what you do best, and it will all work to the surface, success-size, I think.”