MAÇI: First Class Fashion

MAÇI: First Class Fashion

Thanks in part to today’s modern shopping environment of online stores and department chains, major retailers have largely fallen out of touch with the face-to-face element of purchasing. The idea of “shopping” as we once knew it has changed tenfold. While large shopping malls and e-commerce sites certainly offer a convenience factor, local specialty fashion boutiques are known to provide a more customer-centric shopping experience. Ejona Maci, the owner and founder of MAÇI—a high-end women’s boutique located in Westwood, NJ—doesn’t just sell dresses; she helps her customers build confidence with both the right outfit and the right fit.

Maci, who came to the United States at age eight, has made a career of working in retail. Over the years, she developed a love for shopping at local boutiques, ultimately inspiring her to open her own boutique in 2012. The Westwood storefront veers away from what major high-end department stores carry and instead focuses on bringing in unique, niche designers from all over the world. “I started this business because I wanted to bring all of the fashion that I love into one place. I handpick international brands from London, Paris and Australia. Even the American designers I bring in are usually smaller,” Maci explained. “If it’s a bigger brand, I choose the special pieces I want to feature in the store. If you’re coming into a boutique like mine, you’re coming in because you want hand-selected garments that no one else has. That’s why women shop at a boutique.”

In addition to offering one-of-a-kind, specialty garments, MAÇI represents a complete shopping experience, starting with a detailed selection process and ending with customer styling. Whether in need of an outfit for an event or a trip, or a wardrobe/confidence revamp, the staff at MAÇI works with each client to find the right fit and flair. From her experience developing her own private clothing line, Maci noted that fit, while sometimes overlooked by major brands, is of the utmost importance for each garment. “No matter what a designer creates on paper—it can look great on the runway or on a model but if it doesn’t fit that everyday woman, it won’t be successful. Everything that comes in we try on and we fit,” she said. “We make sure our garments fit different body types.”

The boutique is also known for having a bit of everything in the store. From evening wear to casual clothes that you can’t find anywhere else, and even small gifts, the boutique is simply a one-stop shop. Shopping at MAÇI (or any local high-end boutique) offers its customers a harmonious experience that is all about them, one that cannot be duplicated at a busy department store or from behind a computer screen. “Our job is to build confidence, not from behind a smartphone, but in working with our clients to help them achieve the style they want. That’s what keeps a brick-and-mortar store still standing; you’re providing customers a service that e-commerce simply can’t give.”

MAÇI is located at 190 Westwood Ave, Westwood, New Jersey 07675. Call 201-497-3908 to schedule a visit or log on to shopmaci.com. (Walk-ins are welcomed as well.)