About emily dees boulden

swank, a cutting- edge fashion boutique, owned by emily dees boulden, first began in 2006 in birmingham, alabama's prestigious area of mountain brook. before opening swank, this young entrepreneur had an extensive background in fashion. her first job was at her grandmother's historical general store, williams brothers, where she began working and buying for the family business as a teenager. after completing an internship with donna karan in new york city, emily graduated from the university of mississippi with a fashion merchandising degree. with her illustrious experience in the fashion industry at such a young age, boulden landed the job as an assistant buyer for saks incorporated's parisian division. working there for two years, boulden gained extensive knowledge but realized a department store buyer was more about crunching numbers than buying clothes. she desired building a personal relationship, while styling each customer individually.

boulden launched swank in 2006 and quickly built a cult following by stocking her store with hot-off-the-runway pieces and hard-to-find designer duds. "while traveling, i search to buy things i know will not be duplicated. even if someone else carries the line, my eye is different. i tend to gravitate toward lesser-known talent, but always have a sweet spot for my well-known, high-end designers," says boulden.

in addition to keeping her customers coming back for more, swank has been thrust into the national spotlight thanks to coverage in publications including lucky, instyle, and cosmopolitan.

this national attention allowed emily to open an additional location for swank in atlanta, georgia at "the shops around lenox" in the heart of buckhead. boulden says she chose atlanta for swank's second location because of the city's respect for high fashion. "fashion is good taste plus a dash of daring," she says. "and we believe that swank is just what fashion-forward atlantans are looking for-- edgy yet sophisticated finds." swank is not necessarily geared toward young crowds. it is a place where a mother can come with her daughter, and they will both leave with items making them feel confident and fabulous.

swank's two locations are
3400 around lenox dr. ne,
suite #215,
atlanta, ga 30326
and
2732 cahaba road,
birmingham, al 35223.