A story of passion
Between vocation and determination
Written by Place de la Cité | June 17, 2021
In this series, our contributor Julie Blondin goes out to meet the entrepreneurs who make up the soul of Place de la Cité. Between laughter and confidences, they open up to share their story and that of their business with us. We invite you to dive into their world too, one conversation at a time.
In love as in business
With her infectious enthusiasm, the cheerful and dynamic Guylaine tells us about her career and her love of fashion.
How did you become an entrepreneur?
For Guylaine, entrepreneurship is a family affair that has been passed down from father to daughter. “My father had a sewing factory, then I did my course in fashion; I’ve always worked in shops,” she explains. The devoted entrepreneur talks to us about vocation and passion, both for fashion and for business. “I love fashion, I live for it!” she exclaims before bursting out laughing.
How was your company founded?
If Guylaine is a real fashion addict, the same is true of her spouse, Gilles, who is also her business partner. Like Guylaine, Gilles grew up in the fashion business. When the opportunity arose to buy the shop on Rue du père de Gilles, Guylaine and her partner leapt at the chance. The couple have now been running the shop on Place de la Cité for some twenty years.
Devoting themselves to their customers
What does Guylaine love just as much as fashion? Offering a personalized service to each of her customers, so that they feel like queens.
What makes you stand out?
Straight away, Guylaine mentions the quality of the clothes and the selection of European import brands. This means that customers who enter Rue are sure to find classic, modern and ‘bon chic bon genre’ pieces. Guylaine adds: “What we like is dressing women with class, on a fairly ‘entry-level’ budget”. The passionate entrepreneur and her spouse also attach great importance to the service they offer, both in-store and online. “We are close to our customers, we can take care of them 100% because we are always in our stores,” emphasizes Guylaine.
What is it that still keeps you so passionate?
From the way she talks, it’s obvious that Guylaine loves fashion and that she is completely in her element. She explains: “What I like about fashion is that it’s always new. It forces us to constantly reinvent ourselves”. Whether it’s new colors or trendy cuts, Guylaine never gets bored in her field. In addition to the constant change, what keeps her passionate on a daily basis is being surrounded by other fashion enthusiasts like her.
The clientele also brings her a lot of happiness and motivation: “there are customers who could kiss you because they are so happy with the service you have given them or how you have changed their image!”, she exclaims. Through her work, Guylaine can not only live out her passion for fashion, but she also brings good to women by helping them improve their image. The dedicated entrepreneur strongly believes in the power of fashion to have a positive impact on morale.
Adapting to new realities
In a rapidly changing business world, Guylaine is not afraid of anything and knows how to reinvent herself when necessary.
What is the biggest challenge you have faced?
While Guylaine firmly believes in the importance of providing excellent customer service, she was not convinced that it would be so easy on the web. Launching her business online was quite a challenge. “We didn’t really believe in it,” she tells us with complete transparency. However, she notes that despite this doubt and her fear of not being able to be as close to her customers, the website allows her to reach a wider clientele. And we bet the service is just as impeccable as in the shop!
