Scotts Valley Boutique 'Encore' Gets a Facelift

Driving by,  is nothing but a bright orange blur on Scotts Valley Drive. But the 19-year-old consignment store is a slice of high-end heaven.

Since May, mother and fashionista, Julie Sutherland, has taken over ownership of Encore, and although she's kept many things unchanged since she was an employee there, she's changed just enough.

"My vision was to make it more of a boutique.  A lot of women come in from Scotts Valley and they say there's not really any place to buy new clothes," said Sutherland.

So Sutherland is now carrying the locally made clothing brand Avatar, which is all fair trade, brand new, and on the verge of realeasing their fall line.

"I charge exactly what they charge, I don't mark it up," said Sutherland.

Sutherland sold four of the former clothing racks to a local church, simplifying the main floor to just a few racks. The result is more room to shop, and a more organized inventory that moves faster. Although there are less racks, each one is brimming with carefully chosen and well cared for garments.

With a new coat of soothing green paint on the walls, an endless supply of burned cds (lots of folk and bluegrass) and an air conditioning unit, the place is a sweet refuge from the main drag. Sutherland has even added reclaimed wood panels to one wing of the store, which she says falls in with the "greenness" of recycled clothing. 

But the recycled clothing for sale at Encore is not the thrift store hodgepodge of stretched out necklines and almost-white whites; it's a step above most consignment shops in town: every garment is well cared for, lightly worn and carries an eye-catching label.

"What I try to do is get nicer things in there. I still take some Mosimo and I still take some gap but the women of Scotts Valley want nice things," said Sutherland.

A perusal of her racks reveals brands like Calvin Klein, J.Jill, and Free People. The designer jean inventory is the real icing on the cake though: she's got designers like Rock of the Republic, Seven, Miss Me's, Paige, True Religion and Joe's Jeans selling in the thirty dollar range.

"I look for vintage Joe's Jeans because they're really hard to find, and all of the nicer brands that hold their value. They put them on but there really is a difference," said Sutherland.

Gabriella Crowley, who also worked at Encore for many years still works a couple days a week.

"People stayed loyal, you know, people like to buy name brand things that are $150 and get them for $30," said Crowley when Patch popped in for retail therapy on Wednesday.

They've also gotten hip to the Facebook feed, uploading photos of new arrivals on their Facebook Page. "Facebook definitely helps. It's nice to open the dialogue," said Crowley. 

Sutherland, who studied fashion in New York City and loves everything about it, is looking forward to continuing the boutique transformation, and says she'll pay cash or store credit for "anything that's cute!"

Encore is located at 5163 Scotts Valley Drive in Scotts Valley. Open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Be sure to check out their Facebook Page to stay up to date with deals and events.