The crossroads of southern Illinois bustle with energy in the City of Marion in a way that other stretches of this rural part of the state do not. Marion is one of the fastest growing cities in the region and home to a growing urban core that evolved out of early 20th century coal fields. Coal is still a significant economic driver in Marion, but retail is an evolving economic sector in Marion where the City proudly stands behind its mantra of “LIVE • WORK • PLAY • GROW.”

Just a few blocks from the heart of downtown Marion, a colorful mural catches your eye on the side of a building that features a woman whose flowing hair transforms into a cascade of butterflies. This sensory point of delight, located on the east side of Perfectly Posh Boutique, magnifies the free-flowing spirit of this business founded by Tresa Storto in 2012.

Tresa not only owns the boutique, she is also the creative force behind this unique shopping destination. Her philosophy in business seems to reflect the name of the mural on her building: “Your Vibe is Your Tribe.”

“We’re known for our boutique clothing, our home decor and gift items at Perfectly Posh Boutique,” Tresa explains. “Any time they need a gift, customers come in. We help them find what they’re looking for. They’ll explain who they’re buying for, the situation, what it’s for, and we can locate either an accessory, home decor item, or a gift item that we carry in the store.”

Next-level personal attention is what distinguishes the Perfectly Posh Boutique shopping experience for Tresa.

“A boutique is more of something special for a woman,” Tresa stated. “It’s not just your everyday retail clothing store. We’re one-on-one.”

“I buy every single thing in here myself. I pick everything out myself. It’s because of learning what my customers want. Learning the age group of my customers. I have a range of ages for my customers. It’s just something that you have to learn over time.”

From desk to dresses
Tresa’s path to Perfectly Posh Boutique is a testament to the power of personal passion.

”Before the boutique, I mainly would run other people’s businesses,” Tresa explained. “I worked in HR (human resources). I ran payroll services. I was in construction. I did a lot of the book work and everything for construction.”

“I had been working behind the desk running other people’s businesses for years. I was bored doing that. I wanted to do something exciting,” Tresa admits. “I’d never really worked with the public before.”

But timing and trends aligned perfectly with Tresa’s ambitions.

“Boutiques were just becoming kind of a new thing,” Tresa explained. “I just decided that I wanted to try that.”

With the support of her husband, Tresa took a dive into launching her own retail business.

“I talked to my husband. He was like, ‘Go for it. Do it.’ And so, I did. And here I am,” she recounted with a measure of pride.

Tresa felt she had a wealth of operational and back-of-the-business experience to start her entrepreneurial dream. What she didn’t have initially, however, was a name for her store.

“The name Perfectly Posh Boutique just popped in my head one night,” Tresa recalled. “I’d been every evening trying to figure out what I was going to call the boutique. I went through so many different names and that just came to me one night.”

The business of Perfectly Posh Boutique
In the evolving landscape of Marion, Perfectly Posh Boutique stands as a beacon of resilience and adaptability.

“Perfectly Posh Boutique is the only boutique store in town,” Tresa noted. “A lot of boutiques have closed. We had two other ones in town that have recently closed. It’s just with inflation, things have kind of slowed down. You have to find creative ways to still bring customers in.”

“You may have to stop selling one thing that’s not selling right now because of the situation and find the things that are selling and focus on those and bring those in,” Tresa explained.

Perfectly Posh offers a diverse selection of products that go beyond fashion.
“We carry just about anything a woman would love from a boutique,” Tresa explained. “We have women’s boutique clothing, leather handbags, jewelry, sunglasses, accessories, lip glosses, chapsticks, and home fragrances. We even have a full home decor store. You can find the perfect gift for anyone in the family. We also have baby clothing, gifts and accessories.”

What distinguished Perfectly Posh Boutique is its personalized approach to customer service.

“All the girls (employees) have been trained to be very hands-on with the customer,” Tresa emphasizes. “You don’t get that at one of the big clothing stores. It’s usually hard to find someone to even get you in a dressing room. Customers are greeted at the door. We find out what they’re looking for. We show them what we have available. I think they really enjoy that experience.”
This dedication to customer satisfaction extends to Tresa’s operational approach to running her store.

“I find that as a boutique owner, my policies are a lot more lenient than other boutiques,” says Tresa. “We’ve got to keep the customer happy.”

Perfectly Posh Boutique has become a destination for local shoppers and for customers well beyond the city limits of Marion.

”We have customers from everywhere,” Tresa explained. “We have them come from Cape Girardeau, and the St. Louis area. We have people traveling from Chicago, down to Lake of Egypt where they have their summer homes on the lake. We get a lot of business from that.”

As Marion grows, so does the potential of Perfectly Posh Boutique.

”Marion is the hub of southern Illinois,” Tresa said. “This is where people come to shop. This is where they come to eat out. We’re growing downtown, and we’re also growing out by the interstate. So, we are becoming a lot bigger quickly.”

For Tresa, the true reward comes from seeing her curated selections worn by shoppers outside her store.

“I love when I go to a restaurant or I’m out shopping and I see someone in one of my dresses that I’ve picked out, or just the shoes, and they look at me and smile because they recognize me and they know what they have on is from my store,” Tresa said with a smile. “That makes me feel wonderful.”

Being in Illinois
Perfectly Posh Boutique is one of the longest-running success stories in the retail renaissance of Marion.

”What I would like everybody to know about retail and Marion is we’re here, we’re growing, we’re trying really hard,” asserted Tresa. “It can be difficult at times…but we’re still here.”

One of the most significant hurdles Tresa said she faces is stiff competition from neighboring states, particularly Kentucky.

“With the cost of inflation, people are trying to bargain shop,” Tresa explained. “One of my biggest competitors is our neighboring state of Kentucky. They do have a lot of shopping down there. A lot of my local customers don’t understand why I may have the same exact shirt, but it may be two or three dollars higher. That’s because they’re in a different state. Their minimum wage is quite a bit lower than ours.

The minimum wage in Illinois goes from $14 to $15 an hour on January 1, 2025. Meantime, the minimum wage in Kentucky stands at $7.25 an hour.
“When the wages are raised here in Illinois, then I have to raise the prices of our products to be able to maintain and keep the margins that I need to stay in business,” Tresa stated.

Despite these challenges, Tresa remains committed to her community and her employees.

“I love contributing back to the community,” Tresa said showing palpable feelings of goodwill. “I love helping my young girls, who are my employees, grow and learn stuff as they go on into their future. They get so many experiences while they work here.”

For Tresa, it’s not just about just selling clothes and accessories. It is about building a community, providing valuable work experience, and keeping the local retail scene vibrant and diverse.

Why she loves retail
“I love being a retailer because I love working with my customers, getting to know them, know their names when they walk in the door, know what they love. It’s just a great feeling,” explains Tresa.

“Retail has been a rewarding experience as far as getting to meet people from the area,” Tresa said. “I’ve had so many girls come through the door who have worked for me, and I have gotten to watch them graduate from college and begin their careers.”

In a world of mass-produced fashion, Perfectly Posh Boutique serves up a personal touch, a curated selection, and a shopping experience that makes every customer feel like they belong to Tresa’s tribe.

“I walk in, I see the achievement. I see how beautiful the store is and it makes me feel good.”