My friend sent me an alarmed text message when she went shopping for jeans for her teenage daughter. Seemed she was struck with a bad case of sticker shock by the prices she was seeing in the boutique where they shopped.



I responded apologetically: sorry, I thought you knew boutique equals money.



And then I thought about that statement.



While it’s true, boutiques can get spendy, it’s also true that you get what you pay for.



What I’ve discovered in my exhaustive research in Tacoma’s boutiques is that shopping culture is a lot like restaurant culture.



Basically, there’s mass-market, mid-grade but chained, and then there’s independent.



In the food part of this illustration, as a for instance, you could get a burger at McDonalds that would satisfy your need for calories but might not exactly qualify as “gourmet,” special sauce or not. Or you could go someplace like the Olive Garden and get a decent meal that might not rock the socks off your feet but would get you out of the house for an evening and fill your belly.



Lastly, you could go someplace like Stadium Bistro and get a meal that’s prepared in the French tradition with finest ingredients put together in innovative ways and a certain finesse that the Big Mac just can’t compare to.



Similarly, with clothes, you could do the mass-market thing and get jeans at Target. Possibly, you might want to grab a more expensive pair at Macy’s. But maybe you want to step it up a little.



With food, the quality of the ingredients, preparation and presentation makes it good, with uniqueness making it better; it’s the same with boutique clothes. Often, non-mass-market clothes are made from a better quality of material with more care taken in finish work and styling, which can lead to a better fit.



And then there’s that uniqueness element. Even in high-end department stores, there can be more of any given style out on the rack. With boutiques, there’s a built-in exclusivity, as boutiques work with specific vendors who often have strict no-overlap rules.



Add to that, there’s the service component.



In restaurants, you have your server and your chef. It’s their job to customize your dining experience and make you comfortable.



In some of the chain restaurants, your server may seem a distant stranger until you say, “Check, please!”



Similarly with shopping, in bigger stores you may wander overwhelmed for hours before you see another human.



But go into Dame Lola, and you’re likely to see Rebecca Dashow’s smiling face. She’s likely to ask how she can help you, and she’s likely to actually give you ideas beyond the scope of her clothing — suggesting how you can modify last season’s styles to update them with a piece from this season or how to work a piece like a belt with four completely different outfits.



Katy Jayne at Rocky & Coco’s will help you find an outfit to fall in love in; even if you already have a date, you’ll fall in love with yourself in hot but comfy jeans paired with a James Perse T-shirt, or you can fall in love again with the dude as he sports some new styles from one of a few boutiques still catering to men and women.



Or you can walk into Tiki Lounge and find a number of items that span styles and trends with up-to-the minute, LA hot appeal; owner Stacey will be there with the 411 on coming trends and hot-sellers so that you’ll be that person in the distinctive outfit that people approach, asking “Where did you get that?”



Go to Sonja and find timeless but fresh looks that you don’t have to be an 18-year-old supermodel to sport, that can take you from a professional job to a weekend at the beach.



Farther south, see Ranee at Red Line on Sixth Avenue and get into some sexy-cool sweats or a fun new BCBG by Max Azria date outfit; here you can even hook up your dude with some duds that will take him out of the dark ages of acid wash.



Those, to me, are the kinds of shopping experiences that stand out like fine meals, each one having a distinctive style, with the kinds of personal interactions that keep me coming back for more.



And the best part of it? When boutiques put things on sale, the savings are insane. When I find this season’s must-have wide-legged trouser on sale, you’ll hear about it. Not because I’ll write about it — more likely, vibrations from my gleeful shout and accompanied victory dance will carry throughout the South Sound.



[Dame Lola, 711 St. Helens Suite 101A, Tacoma, 253.272.4140]

[Rocky & Coco’s, 50 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma, 253.274.0606]

[Sonja Clothing for Women, 2701 N. 21st St., Tacoma, 253.272.1565]

[Red Line Clothing, 2503 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.627.9910]