H Squared Ladies Wear celebrated the opening of its boutique in Oxford with a ribbon cutting on Thursday, Sept. 4, at a new location on Commonwealth Boulevard in Oxford Commons. The store officially opened for business on Friday, Aug. 29.
The original H Squared opened in Cleveland, Miss., in 2012. The boutique carries more than 100 brands.
“Our desire is for you to look good on the outside so that you feel good on the inside,” according to the boutique’s website.
Kressie Lindsey is the manager of H Squared in Oxford. She previously worked as a sales associate at the Cleveland location.
“I am excited to see how it goes and how well it’s all going to turn out,” Lindsey said.
University of Mississippi alum Haley Kelly owns the boutique and attended the ribbon-cutting. She graduated from the university in 2011 with a degree in marketing communications — now known as integrated marketing communications.
When Kelly first arrived at UM, she wanted to major in fashion merchandising but discovered there was no such degree path on campus. Kelly pivoted to marketing communications.
When Kelly turned the tassel, she returned home to Cleveland to wait tables at her parents’ restaurant, unsure about what she was going to do.
That was when the first H Square Ladies Wear was born.
“In a way, I thought I was too young to open my own business,” Kelly said. “I just decided to go for it. I did research, got a loan and opened the (Cleveland) store in 2012.”
Kelly said she loved dressing up on Ole Miss game days during college and knew she wanted to work in fashion. Her eighth grade teacher reached out to her after seeing the opening of her first location, reminding her of journal entries she made in class discussing wanting to open her own store.
Kelly said she has always dreamed of opening a second location of her store in Oxford; she plans to commute between the Oxford and Cleveland locations.
Anna-Douglas Taylor, a sophomore allied health studies major, expressed her excitement to be employed at the boutique.
“I’ve met so many new faces already,” Taylor said. “It’s nice to have an upscale boutique on this side of town. The clothes here bring a unique style to Oxford that is different from the stores on the square.”
The boutique’s website also highlights a goal to be inclusive and provide every customer with clothing items they feel confident in, aiming to “meet the unique wants and needs of (their) customers.”
