After 10 years of bringing fun fashions to the valley, Rouge Boutique, a consignment store in the Riverwalk in Edwards, is getting a new owner and a new name.
Joselyn Brubaker and Michelle Anderson started Rouge in order to have an opportunity to get more involved with the community, build real relationships with the consignors and shoppers and experience the joys of entrepreneurship.
“It is bittersweet for us because we will miss seeing you all but our lives have changed so much in the last ten years that we are ready to make a full-time commitment to our families and our other business endeavors,” said Joselyn Brubaker in a post on Rouge’s Facebook page.
“It was time for a changing of the guard. That store will always hold a special place in our hearts and we thank everyone for all of the support over the years,” said Michelle Anderson.
“We want to congratulate Christina Zito on becoming the new owner of Rouge! Born and raised in the Vail Valley, Tina brings years of retail management experience along with a passion for running a boutique as unique as Rouge,” Brubaker said.
Zito had been thinking about a change for a while after being a ski instructor for Vail Resorts for many years and worked retail for the past five years at Beaver Creek Sports.
“I have actually been working a side gig with a friend selling clothes online, and at the Minturn Market and at pop-up parties. This seemed like a natural next step. I’m a bit of a thrift store and discount junkie myself!” Zito said.
Not a lot will change with the new ownership.
“Joselyn and Michelle did such a great job of getting this store going and have a great clientele, I’m just putting my little twist on a few of the things,” Zito said.
The most noticeable change will be a name change from Rouge to Remix.
“With the ownership change I thought it would be fun to have a new name and Rouge was a bit more feminine of a name and I want people to know that I have men’s clothing, too,” Zito said.
Zito is also incorporating a designer handbag resale collection and it working with a company to authenticate the gently used handbags so her clients can feel good about their purchase.
“By buying a gently used handbag, people can save a little money while still getting high-end fashion. The Prada bags have been flying off the shelves and the Chanel bags have been a hit,” Zito said.
Remix is currently collecting fall and winter clothing and Zito wants to focus on skiwear, too.
“Because of all my experience working on the mountain and at a ski shop I wanted to focus on some of the higher-end brands,” Zito said.
Another thing Zito has added is online shopping. “People can shop from home, we’ll ring it up and they can just pick it up at the store,” Zito said.
Zito is excited to be a part of the business community and offer a place for people to bring their clothing and accessories they don’t wear anymore to the store where it can find a new life with someone else.
“Resale stores are great for communities. Instead of the money going to national retail chains and corporations it goes back into the community. It also helps keep the clothing business sustainable. There is a ton of waste and we can help keep some of that down,” Zito said.
