Miles of Styles is the local store for all that is vintage and may bring a very nostalgic sense to customers who enter its welcoming doors.
Miles of Styles is located on 134 South Wayne Street with a bright yellow brick outlook to draw in customers. Walking inside, customers are greeted by clothing and bag racks to the right, changing rooms down the front hall and jewelry and accessories to their left. The boutique is decorated with a range of quotes and paintings to promote positivity and every customer who enters is welcomed and personally greeted by the owner Hiedi Martin and employee Von Williams.
“I'm really huge on customer service,” said Martin. “I'm really huge on transparency, being honest, open and straightforward because you have to build that foundation for a really good relationship to keep stable customers.”
Martin originally moved to Milledgeville from Oregon to assist with caring for her father. According to Martin, Oregon is number one in the world for reselling. All of her products in the store come from Oregon and during the year, when visiting family, Martin returns to Oregon to shop for the store.
“Everything is new tags, gently used and vintage. We have sizes extra small to 3x,” said Martin. “We treat all our customers equally no matter their economic status, culture and so on.”
Miles of Styles has a goal to be inclusive to all customers. Their display mannequins have a range of sizes. Many of the mannequins are styled with different sizes together like a medium bottom with a 3x top. Martin makes it clear to customers that nothing is just a small size, though the clothes may be pinned.
“My opinion of fashion and the store is that it is art,” said Martin. “Our body is our canvas, and you get to paint your canvas with clothing. And it is a personal expression. It's fun to see the uniqueness and all walks of life come in here and are welcome.”
The typical demographic drawn into the store are individuals in their late 20s to early 50s. The most popular style in Miles of Styles is vintage clothing. Vintage clothing is typically considered something that is 20 years old or older and can typically be identified by the tag. Within the vintage category, styles that are popular in the store include western styled vintage pieces and the bohemian style.
“If I could describe my store in three words, I would describe the store as eclectic, versatile and reasonable,” said Martin. “Electic because I have a versatile arrangement of styles. Versatile because you can make modern styles with vintage and reasonable because we always have a sale and I try to keep my pricing where anyone can come into the store to shop.”
According to Martin, most people hear about the store from word of mouth and will continuously visit throughout the year to see what new pieces are in store. The mannequins are changed every week to two weeks so new styles and fashions are continuously being offered in the store.
“Before I worked here, I saw the store at the mall…when I got out of work at the restaurant, I would go and stop at the store because Hiedi said it had such amazing stuff in there. And I started frequently shopping here,” said Williams. “This store feels like home to me and even when I am not here, I always think about returning home.”
Williams is a former customer and the longest employee to work at Miles of Styles. She is celebrating her fifth year working at the store. When asked how she would describe the store in three words, she simply stated that “It is amazing.”
“This store is unique because it has merchandise that other local boutiques don’t have,” said Williams. “I’ve stayed here so long because of who Heidi is and because I love the merchandise so much.”
Both Martin and Williams ensure that the boutique radiates positive energy and open conversation for customers. The merchandise is stored in back for multiple seasons at a time so displays can be frequently updated and customers can hopefully find the specific idea that they may have in mind when coming inside.
“We welcome everyone and hope that more people will come to visit us downtown,” said Martin.
Miles of Styles is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. or 5 p.m., depending on the day.