Boston - March 01, 2005

Small Wonder

Gretta Luxe Opens

Every now and then, the little guy wins.

And that’s because, every now and again, the little guy goes and beats the heck out of the big guys.

When Gretchen Monahan opened Wellesley’s Gretta Luxe clothing boutique five years ago, she was the littlest guy of all. Customers who still thought Prada was a museum in Madrid were shocked by her racks of Miu Miu and Chloe. Soon enough, they were hooked. And shoppers were beating a trail out of the city to her door.

Any day now, armed with a cult following that practically rivals that of Gandhi, Monahan is opening her first in-city boutique — and as the sole independent store on Copley Place’s prestige-riddled first floor, no less.

Word has it that her neighbors in the mall are shaking in their Blahniks over Monahan’s buying power, style expertise, and the strength of her meticulously edited collections of Alessandro dell’Acqua, Chloe, Michael Kors, and Strenesse, to name a few. Then there’s the store’s sleek design — complete with a perk-packed VIP room for the big guns and celebs rolling through.

That’s right, pip-squeak. Now who’s feeling little?

Gretta Luxe, 100 Huntington Avenue, Copley Place (617-536-1959). For more info, visit grettaluxe.com.