D.A.Y Boutique is a Peckham local boutique co-owned by three sisters. Yukti, 33, from West London is one of the sisters. D.A.Y Boutique went through a lot, after starting four years ago, they endured the pandemic and the current economic crisis in London.
The business was always a passion project for the sisters “The opportunity actually came up because my sister who lived in Camberwell used to shop here and have a chat with the owner. Then it just came to fruition that she was moving and she asked her (her sister) to take over the store. It was almost like it was meant to be,” said Yukti.
The boutique was created and inspired by their love of clothes, Yukti specifically saying, “We started the business because we just love clothes, it sounds so cheesy but we do, we really love style. I think the three of us are so different in our expressing our style as well as our body types so we wanted to provide a place that offers good quality, sustainable clothing, to customers”.
This time of the year is a stressful one for all businesses but specifically independent businesses due to the more expensive nature of the items they sell. “ I guess the biggest thing we’re seeing has been the current economic state and the weather, like the weather, hasn’t really decided what it is doing, so people haven’t really been wanting to purchase winter clothing. We have seen a decline in sales but now that December has come around I feel like people are looking forward to Christmas and the usual gifting is taking place,” said Yukti.
Sustainability is a big thing D.A.Y Boutique is proud of, they work with sustainable brands to keep their business as sustainable as possible. “We are quite lucky because most of the Scandinavian brands that we stock here were on their sustainability journey before we even started. They actually have a global mission to get sustainable by 2025, or 26. Everything we pick is sustainable, they’ve (the brands) just got to improve the sustainability levels,” said Yukti, “Being an independent, you are paying for quality clothes, that are sustainably made, so that would mean you cater for a particular type of group”.
Though, keeping the business sustainable has proved to be challenging, “Obviously the quality is great but the price range isn’t for everyone. When customers do come in and they realise that it is sustainably made, the quality is really good then it widens our market but I feel like it is a particular kind of customer and that’s the kind that we get,” said Yukti.
After taking over the business from the previous owner, the sisters had to decide how to build out the store and make it their own. “The three of us, including my mum, we all love shopping, so shopping was always part of our lives. But going into a store like this in this country, my sister lived in New York, she lived in Istanbul so we’ve been around a few boutiques and I felt the shop had to be able to have a little soul to it, so we kinda just wanted to create a place that was comfortable for all,” said Yukti, “Before the pandemic, we used to have a baby collection and we had toys because we wanted families to come in and mothers to come in and have a minute to have a look around and have a chat that would help them and it’s just an open, inviting, honest place to shop. And also make some commitment to some sustainability”.
