Show Notes
At 22-years-old, Madison Dowd bought Ludivine, a long-standing Upper East Side boutique, through BizBuySell.com. Instead of starting a brand from scratch, she stepped into an existing business with loyal customers, real inventory, a balance sheet, and an unwavering belief in the future of retail.
This conversation gets into what it actually looks like to run a multi-brand fashion boutique today — from buying decisions and trade shows to navigating instinct versus data. We also talk about learning a customer and buying patterns, what makes the Upper East Side the most valuable retail landscape, and the brands flying off her shelves.
Timestamps: 01:30 — Buying Ludivine at 22: Why she chose to purchase instead of start from scratch 05:45 — Finding the business on BizBuySell and stepping into an existing P&L 10:00 — Learning before changing: understanding a legacy customer base 14:40 — The Upper East Side shopper: loyalty, psychology, and neighborhood dynamics 19:15 — Buying strategy: trade shows, inventory bets, and seasonal planning 23:50 — Instinct vs. data: when to trust your gut 28:00 — Social media’s role in a brick-and-mortar business 30:45 — What actually makes a multi-brand boutique sustainable today
Shop Ludivine https://boutiqueludivine.com/ Follow Madison on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/madisondowd/ Follow Madison on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@shopgirlmadison Let’s Get Dressed YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@livvperez Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/letsgetdressedpod/ Newsletter: https://substack.com/@livvperez
Liv Perez Instagram: www.instagram.com/livvperez TikTok: www.tiktok.com/livv.perez ShopMy: https://shopmy.us/livvperez Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from Let's Get Dressed
Fresh off the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in Los Angeles, I'm sitting on my closet floor (still in full glam!) to unpack everything that went down. From Kylie Jenner's $50 million Fantasy Bra and the return of the OG Angels to the incredible performances, surprise celebrity sightings, and the moments that made me emotional, we're getting into it all.
Is your wardrobe a want, a need, or an investment? Haley Sacks, aka Mrs. Dow Jones, makes the case that the clothes are never the investment. The investment is you in the clothes.
If you've ever wanted to channel your inner maximalist but didn't know where to start, this episode is for you.
I'm back with another September AMA episode, and this one is packed. We get into how to actually land a Fashion Week invite as a creative, what to wear to your first job in corporate fashion, and at-home hand-wash strategy I've been using to avoid the dry cleaner. We also get into how to keep your clothes shed-free if you live with a dog, the best coats and jackets to buy for fall (starting with the perfect ME+EM black jacket everyone needs), the designer canvas tote that isn't Dior, and what to wear on a date night.
Linoy Friedman, AKA What People Are Wearing breaks down the trends she spotted at New York Fashion Week. We get into the pop of red moment taking over street style (and how to actually find your shade), the sweater-tied-around-the-waist trick that's secretly a styling hack and not a trend at all, the return of statement necklaces and brooches as finishing touches, and the 3D texture -- fringe, feathers, pom-poms -- showing up on everything this season. We talk about why over-logoing an outfit is the fastest way to lose it, why "wear the trend, don't let the trend wear you" is the only rule either of us follows anymore, and her theory on which trends are actually worth buying into versus styling with what's already in your closet. We also get into her favorite shows of the week, the jeans and tees she and Liv actually reach for on repeat, and what she'd wear to a 30th birthday dinner if she wanted to feel elevated without trying too hard.