Your First Resort

© ISA Boutique

"More than anything, I'm into resort wear lately," says Isa Aguiar, the mastermind behind ISA boutique, the breezy shop that opened recently in Midtown. The resort influence shows in the island hues, soft fabrics and slouchy cuts that dominate the store. But also in Aguiar's attitude. Every time a customer walks through the door, she offers them a bottle of water. After five, she'd have wine and champagne on hand too.

© ISA Boutique"I want my customers to feel comfortable here, to feel like they're at home. That's one of the reasons the store is so small. I want them to feel like they're walking into a closet."

A very well-stocked closet at that.

The 600 square foot space carries five swimwear lines – including local lines from Bianca Coletti and Caffé Swimwear – painted silk jumpers from Ramona La Rue, shoes from the Brazilian outfit Shutz, separates from Bella Dahl, Lovers + Friends, and Aaron Ashe, and jewelry from La Monj, Septimo and My Kai 68.

Aguiar, who has been in the fashion business for 16 years, first designing and then consulting for boutiques, is also working with local designers on exclusive lines. ISA's exclusive resort wear collection, designed by Ramona La Rue, is set to launch, along with the exclusive resort jewelry line, My Kai 68 for ISA, on June 29.

"For me it's all about exclusivity," Aguiar says. "I want to give women something they can't get anywhere else."

She also wants to give them a little bit of island life while they're at home. "When women are on vacation, they dress up, they accessorize more, they're not afraid of color." So if ISA is about anything, it's about bringing the tropical into the every day – in the form of an upscale beauty boutique right where we need it most.