From a home closet in 1979, to a tiny store at Fisherman’s Crossing in 1982, to a larger space on Paradise Road in 1997, Swampscott’s Infinity Boutique is on the move again.
Pauline Spirito is the proud owner of one of the town’s longest-running apparel shops and she needs to find a new location by March. After 21 years of selling upscale clothes, jewelry, accessories, and furniture in Vinnin Square, she has decided not to renew her lease and hopes to stay in the area with her loyal customers.
“It’s all bittersweet,” said Spirito. “The community here has surrounded me with so much love and support and I am forever grateful. When I first made the announcement of the store closing, I had people telling me ‘Vinnin Square will never be the same,’ and ‘If it closes I’ll boycott Vinnin Square.'”
On Spirito’s wishlist is a smaller store, between 1,500 and 2,000 square feet, with nearby parking for her customers. Wherever she ends up, she said the new location will feature a dressmaker on site for immediate special tailoring.
“I have looked at a few locations but nothing is perfect right now,” she said. “I’ve looked at a bigger location with no parking, and then a location that came with parking but was too small.”
Until the Swampscott Mall boutique’s last day of business on March 31, the store will offer a 40 percent discount throughout the entire store, she said. Before her and her employees say goodbye, they plan on throwing a huge “Fashion Farewell For Now” party, but the details are still being laid out.
The boutique owner says the women who work there are not just her employees, they are her family and a few of them have already signed on to going with her when the store moves, she said.
“I just have to find the right location and then I am ready to rock and roll,” said Spirito.
Spirito’s entrepreneurial career began after her love for making clothes and ice skating attire for her daughter grew into a marketable business, she said. When the store first opened in 1982, she said she never anticipated it turning into a full-time career.
Nearly four decades of working 80-hour weeks and owning Infinity Boutique has been Spirito’s “life’s love.”
“As they say, ‘if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life,” said Spirito.
