Dianna Hall/Village Boutique– A touch of class with a tad of sass

Looking for a boutique that has a touch of class with a tad of sass, then look no further than Village Boutique located in downtown Perry. The sass of course is all in fun and that is what owner Dianna Hall is all about.

Raised in south Georgia, Hall made her way to Perry and made it her home more than 20 years ago. After working in the corporate world, she decided to open her own business in 2012.

“I first opened Village Boutique in the old village shops back in 2012,” said Hall. “I was only selling handbags and jewelry then. Well, not long after I had opened the shop, an opportunity came for an office job that had really good benefits and insurance. Well, it was definitely a godsend because two years later, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. My insurance covered all of my treatments, so the Lord’s timing was perfect.”

In September of 2014, Hall decided to open Village Boutique back up but this time in a bigger spot and offering women’s apparel. Hall said it was the best decision she made three years ago.

“When you work in corporate America for 30-plus years and then go through something traumatic with your health, you decide you want the rest of your life to be fun,” said Hall. “I didn’t want to go back to the pressure. I wanted to do something I enjoy, so I already had the name of my boutique and decided to get back into it. I truly am happy and having fun every day.”

Hall said it’s also nice not having to clock in at 8 a.m. every day and a blessing to spend time with her twin grandsons. But her most favorite thing about owning her own business is meeting new people who turn into friends.

“My whole circle of friends has expanded so much because so many of my customers are much more than customers now,” said Hall. “I have friends who became customers and now I have customers who have become friends. I love to know them by first name and one thing I instill into the girls who work for me is find out something about the customer so you have something to talk about when they are visiting the store. I love knowing them, what their life is about and what we have in common.”

Village Boutique offers jewelry, handbags, women’s apparel and women’s plus size apparel. Hall said she is very proud to offer true plus size clothing.

“Being a plus size lady myself, (laughing) I tell people I’m fluffy; it’s really hard to find cute trendy clothes at affordable prices,” said Hall. “You can find cute clothes, but it is really expensive. I have been able to get plugged into vendors to where I can offer it at an affordable price.”

And Hall’s statement rings true to “an affordable price.” All of Village Boutique’s apparel, including the plus size, is a flat $29. She said that’s what sets her apart from other boutiques.

“I love the reaction of people when I tell them all of our apparel is $29,” said Hall. “They come in with a mindset of they’re going to pay more since they are shopping in a boutique. A lot of my customers tell me that they are excited to shop for cute trendy clothes and not break the bank.”

Hall also offers a “preferred card” that costs $20. When customers purchase the card, it is good for a year of the date they purchase it to receive one item at half price once a month. Hall said you don’t have to purchase anything else with it to receive the one item at half price.

“If you use the preferred card on just apparel in that year, you will have saved over $150,” said Hall. “It’s OK if you just come in once a month as well, but it has been a huge success for me. When you support small businesses like mine, you support your community. I have seen over the last several years downtown Perry thriving again because there was a time when no one would come shop here. We do have a supporting community and I am excited to be a part of it.”

Village Boutique is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. In mid-October, the boutique is open until the end of December Monday through Saturday for the holidays. It is located at 811 Carroll St. Hall said they also have a Facebook page, where people can get sneak peeks of new items coming to the boutique and have contests throughout the year.

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