Think you can’t afford to buy Gucci? You can at this Belleville shop

Stephanie Williams’ childhood was full of happy memories shopping with her aunt as the two browsed the shelves for clothing at resale stores.

The memories are so strong that Williams said ever since she was a kid she wanted to run a shop of her own. Now, she does.

Forever Yours Resale Fashion, located at 4721 W. Main St. in Belleville, opened July 2.

As New Year’s resolutions go, opening a business is pretty ambitious. Opening Forever Yours was Williams’ resolution for this year. She said she’s started all kinds things without finishing them, but she vowed her dream for a new business would not be one of them.

The shop is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays. It’s closed Mondays.

Q. What’s for sale at Forever Yours?

A. We offer men’s, women’s and children’s clothing items. Shirts, shoes, dresses, accessories, hats, purses, ties. I try to go with a lot of name-brand items. Polo, Nautica, we have some Gucci and Burberry belts, Coach shoes, things of that nature.

Q. How do you get your inventory?

A. We offer customers to come in and sell their items at $1.50 a pound based on store need. And we buy from different online vendors and online liquidation sites, too.

Q. Who’s the perfect customer?

A. My perfect customer would be maybe someone not able to afford items that are of good quality. Someone in an age range of probably 50 and under. But we do try to serve everyone. Resale is in high demand. You can get a lot of the name-brand and nice quality items without having to pay that extra high-end cost.

Q. You opened July 2. How has business been so far?

A. It’s been going really well. We’ve had our slow moments but for the most part I’m pleased with the customers we’ve had come in.

Q. When did you decide you wanted to run a shop like this?

A. I shopped with my aunt a lot as a kid. What really grabbed my attention was that the people who didn’t have a lot were able to come there and purchase items. People would purchase items at a low-end cost and help the homeless people. That’s what triggered me. And as I got older and started to look into it, I also found that it’s a good business to be in to help with the landfills. It keeps clothes out of the trash. We take items and wash them, steam them. We really do care for our clothing. We’re making sure they’re taken care of. But as a kid, I saw there was a lot in Goodwill stores and a lot of good in resale because it let people who did not have as much buy good items.

Q. What steps did you have to take to actually get the business off the ground?

A. In December, that’s when I decided to go full-fledged. It was my New Year’s resolution to pursue my dream, so I started getting my first set of items in December. I started going online. I reached out to some of my church members, who were so kind and gracious to do donations. I was able to shop on different wholesale websites and I kept storing and storing and storing and made sure as I was getting those items that I was creating a brand for my store, putting items in my store that I thought might be catchy and target that age range I wanted to target.

Q. A lot of folks make New Year’s resolutions and don’t follow through with them. Are you glad you stuck with it?

A. I am so proud. Every day I’m shocked. I cannot believe that I did it. I always say I’m going to do a lot of stuff, and I start and never finish. So when I see this it’s like a dream come true. My kids are proud of me, my husband is proud of me, and I just couldn’t be more proud. Everybody has helped a tremendous amount to help me get here. I wouldn’t be here without my husband pushing me, pressing me and making sure we joined together and that we’re doing this together. We’re here to serve the community, serve the region and make sure everybody is able to shop at a reasonable price but also be able to sell those items that they may no longer love that are just sitting in the closet. That’s what it’s all about.

This story was originally published July 31, 2016 at 4:03 PM with the headline "Think you can’t afford to buy Gucci? You can at this Belleville shop."