A client struts down the moodlit hallway of Naples’ Keep Boutique’s dressing room in an ivory denim jacquard set with a tailored vest and scalloped shorts. Paired with a raffia handbag and matching floral sandals, the look melds retro fabrics with modern silhouettes for a timeless appeal. She represents a metamorphosis of local style that’s chic, fun, contemporary—and “very classy,” as Jennifer Kallstrom of fellow next-gen boutique, Love, Céline, puts it.
Both shops are part of a cross-generational style movement sweeping the region, where consciously curated boutiques reign supreme over big-box stores and online shopping. The modern-day aesthetic isn’t a departure so much as a recalibration— many elements (breezy silhouettes, breathable fabrics, easy elegance) have always been here. But today, they’re showing up in a more youthful, individualized way, following the post-pandemic influx of young families and returning graduates. “The area has quickly made a change to this young, cool, very hip demographic,” Keep’s owner Nissa Sultan says.
Legacy boutiques like Marissa Collections in Naples and Jennifer’s in Fort Myers have long set the pace for luxury retail on the Gulf Coast. But as demand grows for elevated, everyday style, a new class of boutiques—led mostly by founders in their 20s and 30s—is gaining ground across county lines, with punchy prints, lightweight sets with an offhand edge, and subtle statements made through cut and texture, not logos.
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Photography by Christina Bankson
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Keep Boutique (pictured here) nails the new off-duty uniform: Mother jeans, blousy knits and tonal sets.
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Photography by Christina Bankson
swfl style new local boutiques keep naples jewelry
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Courtesy Love, Céline
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Love, Céline (pictured here) pairs expressive layers with breezy tailoring for a distinctively Gulfside take on modern femininity.
Keep and Love, Céline, have both recently expanded from Lee County into Naples. Before opening on Gulf Shore Boulevard late last year, Fort Myers native Nissa opened Keep’s first location on McGregor Boulevard with gifts and home decor essentials for locals rebuilding after Hurricane Ian. Since then, she’s evolved the concept, with a focus on American-made, go-anywhere wardrobe staples like L.A.’s insider-loved Mother denim jeans, bold sets from North Carolina’s Marie Oliver, and lightweight sneakers from NYC’s sustainably minded Oncept—pieces that nod to street style more than socialite life. “People are treating [Naples] as a walkable city now, kind of ready for anything,” says Nissa, who plans to open a third location at Fort Myers’ Daniels Marketplace in December.
At Love, Céline, Swedish-born, Naples-raised Jennifer stocks feminine and expressive styles that easily translate from the pickleball court to the cobbled paths on Third Street South or reenergized blocks of Downtown Bonita Springs—home to her flagship. “People come here and they want to dress up, they want to look nice,” she says. But the expectations have loosened. Clients are mixing casual and polished pieces, dressing for themselves rather than for an occasion, and embracing the ease of beachside living.
While the refreshed coastal style may appeal across generations, with its pulled-together, unfussy look, the vibe is decidedly more youthful with stronger color confidence and labels that are aspirational but not out of reach (think: $400 day-to-night dresses over $4,000 gala gowns). Off Third Street South, Perch emphasizes heat-friendly collections from globally minded designers, such as Colombia’s sustainable Cala de la Cruz and Venezuelan label No Pise La Grama. Perch’s founder, Laurie O’Connell, brought her popular Vail, Colorado, concept to Naples last December after recognizing many of her northern clients wintered in our sunny city. “This woman likes beautiful destinations, she’s affluent and likes to travel,” Laurie says of the modern-day Southwest Florida sophisticate. “Shopping locally is very important to her and her family.”
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Photography by Christina Bankson
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Perch, off Third Street South, mixes bold prints, sculptural cuts and heat-aware fabrics from names like Cala de la Cruz, Isabel Marant and Rosie Assoulin.
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Photography by Christina Bankson
swfl style new local boutiques keep naples
Face-to-face relationships, experiential shopping and customization are vital to the evolving fashionscape. Last fall, Port Charlotte-born Donald Carlson brought his rising Florida chain Tweeds Custom Suits to Naples with a suave location on Fifth Avenue North. The space includes a putting green and bar, where clients linger over fittings for made-to-order shirts, jeans, women’s suits—and, primarily, men’s suiting. With hundreds of fabrics and buttons to choose from, nearly every element is up for edit, from lapel width to stitch color to the embroidered name or message inside the chest panel.
Donald and his team aim to look beyond the boxy corporate suit look, using breathable Italian and English fabrics to create custom sets that blend European elegance with Southern charm. He styles clients in tailored sets with off-the-clock touches, like crisp tees or sneakers, that bring a laid-back appeal to traditional menswear. “You can rock a pair of Jordans with a suit, if that’s your style,” the 32-year-old founder says.
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Photography by Christina Bankson
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At Tweeds Custom Suits, curated swatches and bespoke details shape modern menswear with Southern polish.
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Photography by Christina Bankson
swfl style new local boutiques tweeds custom suits
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Photography by Christina Bankson
swfl style new local boutiques tweeds showroom
Nearby, on Central Avenue, Naples native and third-generation jeweler Vivian Grimes is opening the first standalone showroom for her fine jewelry brand, Henri Noël, this fall. Designed in collaboration with Naples Custom Furniture, the space features a Gem Den—a luminous, lounge-like setting displaying curated stones—and serves as a studio for Vivian’s generational- meets-global take on fine jewelry.
In addition to Vivian’s signature diamond necklaces and stacking bands, the showroom invites clients to collaborate on designs, reimagine heirlooms, and explore modern cuts, unexpected settings, hammered textures and vibrant stones. A descendant of Certified Jewelers, Vivian launched Henri Noël to speak to a new kind of collector—one drawn to clean lines, high-karat gold and sculptural silhouettes, without the formality. Like her fellow next-gen shopkeepers, Vivian believes you can embrace urban-chic, expressive styles and still feel effortlessly in step with the Gulf’s vacation-state-of-mind.
With the rise of local boutiques and their client-forward mentality, offering services from wardrobe consulting to private shopping experiences, formulaic resortwear gives way to lived-in styles built on texture, subtle edge and styling over status. “It’s … a little bit preppy, but not too preppy,” Love, Céline’s Jennifer says. “It’s classy and timeless, and that’s exactly where Naples is going.”