Spotlight: Raspberry Beret Boutique

Upon entering the Raspberry Beret boutique in Highland Park, an immediate sense of warmth consumes you, and it's as if you've walked into a good friend's very fashionable closet. Raspberry Beret is a women's boutique — "No men allowed!" laughs owner Gina Hardisty, who specializes in medium- to high-end consignment and retail items. The quaint little boutique boasts a large selection of name brand clothing, accessories, jewelry, scarves, shoes and handbags, as well as vintage clothing.

"Oh, yeah, and we drink here," Hardisty exclaims as one of her employees cradles a glass of wine. A petite and well-dressed blonde, Hardisty opened the boutique in December 2006 with the help of her then-fiancée. "We were walking through a consignment store, and he said ‘You know, you'd be really good at this.'" He was right. After moving to a new location in October, Hardisty is seeing more business than ever. She says, "We have a core group of ladies that come in a lot, as well as about two to three consigners a day," and those numbers continue to grow.

The shop caters to high school-aged kids all the way up to 80- and 90-year-old women. For those looking to consign their clothing, an appointment needs to be made and Hardisty prescreens all potential sellers. "I'm not looking for anything from Target or Kohl's, I'm looking for designer items; and what is designer to some may not be to me — think medium-Macy's to Louis Vuitton," Hardisty says — and she means business.

At the moment, the store has items from such big names as Gucci, Fendi, Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Trina Turk, as well as others. Prices range from $19 for lesser brands all the way up to $498 for a Louis Vuitton backpack sitting in a display case.

The store is divided into sections, with casual wear to the left, a large jewelry case to the right, and fancier items such as formalwear, jackets, pants and skirt suits stretching to the back of the store. An amazing rack of vintage items catch the eye in the middle of the store while adorable booties, heels and flats from Gucci and Ferragamo adorn shelves that surround the space.

"The best part about all of this is all of the wonderful people I've met and the friends that I've made. This is the fun place to shop," Hardisty says with a smile, and you get the sense that she really means it. Raspberry Beret treats its customers like family, as is evident from the warmhearted greetings that permeate the room whenever a shopper wanders in.

As if you needed another reason to get your fashion fix at Raspberry Beret, Hardisty is offering 10 percent off all full-priced merchandise for any student who presents their Rutgers ID. Raspberry Beret Boutique is located at 141 Raritan Ave., Highland Park, N.J. For hours and information, search for Raspberry Beret on Facebook.