Popular Macon boutique moved after a decade downtown. Then came COVID

Posh Clothing Boutique was created out of Nicole Talton’s love of fashion and her daughter.

Her daughter, Brandi Pugh, was attending college at Mercer University, and she wanted to find a job.

“I wanted to be sure that she could go to school and had a job that would kind of work with her school schedule, so we just created a business so she could work at her own pace,” Talton said.

After 10 years of business in downtown Macon, Posh moved to the Shoppes at River Crossing in 2019 and is currently open 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 12-6 p.m. Sunday.

Building a business

When Talton was a girl, she loved to read fashion magazines, and in addition to her mother making her different outfits, Talton said she would make adjustments to her clothing to be unique.

“I never wanted to be a duplicate of another person. I always wanted something a little different so even if it was a common piece, I would alter it to make it look different,” she said.

Although she wanted to start Posh for her daughter to have extra income while she attended Mercer, Talton thought the business would be a great opportunity to do two things she loved: buying clothes and traveling.

She never imagined the store would grow to the point where she has multiple employees and is operating seven days a week, she said.

Employing people in Macon makes Talton feel like she is positively contributing to the community, which is why she keeps Posh moving forward, she said.

“It feels good to know that we are employing those in our community,” she said.

Surviving the pandemic

Moving to the Shoppes at River Crossing was a great decision for her business, she said, but they were only open at the new location for six months before the coronavirus pandemic hit Middle Georgia.

“We had an entire season of clothing that we had just purchased for the spring that we eventually had to give away,” she said.

Posh had an established online store that helped sustain the boutique over the past year, and Talton said she was blessed to make it through the pandemic.

Looking to the future, Talton hopes to expand her business and open another store in Savannah with the same quality and uniqueness as the Macon location.

Similarly to how Talton wanted unique outfits as a child, she wants to offer her customers the opportunity to find that same uniqueness in style at Posh, which is why they are constantly updating the items the store carries, she said.

“Our uniqueness is what makes us a special store to shop in, and if you want to be different, if you want to have a unique flair to your wardrobe pieces… I think that we would be a good place to shop,” she said.

The Posh experience

Taletha Richardson, the store manager at Posh since January, said people will find pieces at Posh that they will never see in large department stores.

“Posh is really taking fashion to the next level. Posh is really for the people who want something different, who want to stand out. That’s what we try to bring here,” she said.

In store, Posh carries sizes from small to extra large, and the store has a Facebook page and Instagram account where people can watch its brand manager Crystal Crocker model the new arrivals, Richardson said. Its Facebook page is @PoshTheBoutique, and its Instagram page is @theposhgrp.

“People should come to Posh because we are locally owned. We love what we do. We love our customers. We like to make women feel great,” she said.

This story was originally published May 10, 2021 at 5:00 AM.