Trends

Mixing it up

Nina Willdorf

Score one for the local fashionistas who have long lamented Boston's dearth of trendy boutiques. Intermix, the incredibly hip New York-based mini-chain, is opening a Newbury Street outpost this week. On a mad quest for gold lightning-bolt earrings? They're here. A soft, jagged-cut V-neck Smiths T-shirt? Look no further. These and other modern, fashion-forward items can now be scooped up right after a ladies' lunch at Stephanie's.

SHE'S GOTTA HAVE IT: upscale boutique finally opens in Frumpsville.

But don't take our word for it. Stars of no lesser wattage than Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cameron Diaz, Elizabeth Hurley, Chloe Sevigny, Winona Ryder, and (eeek!) Jennifer Love Hewitt have frequented the New York, Miami, and Tokyo stores, and magazines like Harper's Bazaar, Allure, and W have sung the chain's praises.

"We've been waiting for a location in Boston for over two years now," says Khajak Keledjian, Intermix's 27-year-old CEO. "With all of these fancy lounges opening up here, someone has to dress these people." The 3000-square-foot Boston store may not have the celebrity-glam factor of Intermix's other locations, but Keledjian figures that Boston's international student population will be itching all the same for Jimmy Choo boots and Frankie B pants. "We cater to a fashionable customer, from young working women to students - pretty much anyone who reads a fashion magazine," he says.

Keledjian describes Intermix as a women's specialty boutique that mixes designer and non-designer clothes, accessories, and shoes at prices "in the space between Gucci or Louis Vuitton and J. Crew or the Limited." Pants generally run from $90 to $250, while sweaters average $185. Such a specialty boutique, he says, is sorely needed here: "No one has brought fashion to Boston in a not-terribly-expensive way."

So what can we expect in the weeks to come? "The Charlie's Angels look," he gushes. "Totally in." And how about those lightning-bolt earrings? Only if you get there in a flash. Says Keledjian, "We just can't even keep them in stock."