The Vintage Cotton Boutique is celebrating its grand reopening at a new location in Midtown Village, which one of its co-owners called the next step in growing their brand.

Tonya Williams, who first launched the store in Brookwood in 2017 while she still worked in the medical field, said she wanted to provide a stylish boutique to her hometown. The store catered to college-aged girls, and Williams said she aimed to keep up with trending styles while not being afraid to experiment.

Just about a year later, Williams expanded into Tuscaloosa and opened a second location on University Boulevard.

"Tonya's always been the one to look for ways to grow," said Marsha Bridges, Williams' long-time friend and the boutique's other co-owner. Bridges met Williams 20 years ago and said since then they've raised their kids side-by-side and gone into business together.

Bridges said she came in to keep watch over the Tuscaloosa store in September 2018and four months later she had invested in the boutique and become its co-owner.

Now, she said, she focuses on online branding and Williams prefers to keep the boutique's books, although both of them are very active in keeping their stock up to date and unique.

"We complement each other well," Bridges said. "Tonya is more conservative in her looks, but I think I bring out a little bit of edge in her. I like a lot of our clothes that she says 'I will never wear that.' I like to try different things."

Their move to Tuscaloosa's Midtown Village was inspired by William's desire to expand -- their lease on University Boulevard was up, and although they loved the feel of their old store, the building's small size and age prevented them from making substantial alterations there.

Now, the store features including a large chandelier, tile floors and a much more wide-open floor plan, not to mention a much greater selection of clothes,

Bridges said she was looking forward to the opportunities this new store could give them. They celebrating opening the new location last Wednesday, but have already hit the ground running -- this Friday, they'll be participating in "Pink Friday," a nationwide celebration of local businesses and boutiques to counteract big box stores pulling Black Friday traffic later this month.

Vintage Cotton is open now in Midtown Village between LOFT and South Boutique from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, and 12 to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

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