Meet Your Neighbor – Virginia Seales
Alabama — Virginia Seales says that she has always had a “passion for fashion,” so it is really no surprise that she ended up owning her own clothing boutique, Uptown Girls. While she admits that it is a lot of work and requires a lot of faith, she says that it is well worth it because she is able to do what she loves.
“Fashion is exciting and it is always changing,” she says, adding that she really enjoys all of the aspects of designing and decorating, and she really likes decorating her stores. “This store has evolved into so much more than I ever imagined,” she says.
Nine years ago, Seales opened her consignment and gift shop, the Ivy Cottage, in downtown Pell City. Years later, she and her daughter Kala decided to take their love of fashion a step further and open a clothing boutique.
Three years ago, Seales opened the first location of Uptown Girls, also in downtown Pell City. “My original thought for Uptown Girls was to come to Leeds, but at the time, they did not have a space that I liked as much as the one in Pell City. When I saw this location in Leeds, I decided that I had to open another store here,” she says. “The Ivy Cottage has been the catalyst and it has enableld me to do all of this,” she says.
Seales says that although you have to have a natural talent, but you also have to work very hard. “I knew that I wanted to do this, and I was going to do it no matter what,” she says.
Seales says that her family and friends have all played a big role in making the stores what they are and helping with the transition to three stores. “It is a family business in every sense of the word,” she says.
Seales says that she enjoys having her stores because it they allow her to be involved with the people in the community and the serve as a way for her to live out her dream of working with fashion.
“We really love our customers. Many of them have become our friends, and even our extended family,” she says.
Seales says that while she would love to expand to more locations in the future, she says that it would have to be in the right historical district and downtown area.
