SAPPHIRE WHISPER

  About:

New York' City's top fashion and accessories boutique chainlet, where savy fashionistas shop for the must have items for each season.

Ilse and Stephen Werthers opened their first location in Soho, at the current Prince Street Storefront. Ilse as a formal model with a love for fashion and Stephen with his background in retail began their venture together. Ilse had traveled all over the world and had a masterful eye, Stephen had founded the Portico Store in New York and then  worked as the president of Ralph Lauren. So the two put their heads together and decided to do what they did best and the results four years later still delight WiNK’s clientele.

Choosing Soho seemed the natural choice for their first location as they felt it was the best and busiest location for retail. Stephen was also very familiar with the area as he had opened his Portico stores in the neighborhood. As both born and breed New Yorkers, living in Tribeca with their two girls, Anna (9) and Stella (7); they loved being part of the downtown community and on a personal level found it much easier to have the store close to home.

WiNK then expanded to its second location on Columbus Avenue just one year later. The following year the Lexington Avenue location. What is the inspiration behind WiNK that has lead to their great success?

“ We look at our store as a fabulous women’s closet.  We treat our customers like our ‘girlfriends’ who are coming over to hang out and play dress up.  They come to us for a complete look or to update their current look. We look for ‘of the moment’ fashions that are very on trend, but are easy to wear and affordable.  Our customers love ‘day to night’ pieces.  We sell a great selection of accessories, which allow the customer to quickly turn their day dress into an evening dress with a great pair of earrings and a clutch.”

And WiNK is also available online at www.winknyc.com offering the same amazing selection of clothing and accessories.

Future plans or projects?

“We are considering expanding our locations, but only if we find the perfect locations.  We are also working on expanding our private label WiNK line of apparel and jewelry”

Press: 

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