After just ten months in business, Farnham’s funky boutique Ju-Ju is becoming a firm favourite with fashion fans in the town and beyond.

Owned by 22-year-old Julie Conway, it aims to provide on-trend clothing with a level of exclusivity at good prices.

Julie, originally from Birmingham, moved to Farnham recently and found it lacking independent shops selling high-fashion labels.

She said: “I decided to open a shop stocking the latest looks but at prices young people could afford. Of course it’s possible to go to London and Guildford and so on, but there’s nothing right on the doorstep.

"Also Guildford has a good shopping centre but it has mostly high street names rather than small independent stores so you are likely to see someone else wearing the same thing.”

Women of all ages visit, said Julie: “My mother is 45 and she’s still fashionable.
“She wanted a younger, fresher look, and there are lots of women like her these days.

“Actually we get quite a lot of mums coming in with their daughters. Women of different ages might buy the same thing, but they’ll wear it in a different way.

“So despite what Mary Portas recommends, I would say we don’t have a specific core customer and we’re not working towards that goal. This may change as time goes on but at the moment it’s working well.”

Fashion changes constantly and customers expect to see new stock coming into their favourite stores.

Julie said: “The celebrities are a huge influence on what people want to wear. Women see someone wearing an outfit in, say, Heat magazine one week, and they want it the next, or at least something similar.

"For example, one of our brands, Motel, does four collections a year to keep up with the demand. Some of our pieces have featured in magazines, so when we see them we put the page up on the wall to give our customers ideas.”

She is shrewd when buying for the shop. Mum Angie, friends and staff all help make selections.

“This way I get lots of opinions and don’t just buy the stuff that I like,” said Julie.
“That would be an easy trap to fall into.

“Because fashion changes so quickly ordering is quite difficult, so what I do is buy a bulk of safe, staple items and then I short order more high-fashion items which are always changing to keep everything moving and up to date.

"I might only buy in one or two of a particular item such as a dress so that customers aren’t likely to bump into someone else in the same thing. I’ll also stock the odd quirky item.”

Julie stocks hot brands Arrogant Cat, Fornarina, Goldie, Joe’s Jeans, Lipsy and Pink Soda among others.

Dresses are particularly popular — they sold out in Ascot week and Julie had to rush out to top up the stock.

Currently, Julie’s favourite outfit is a floaty tiered mini-dress by Goldie with cute little pompoms hanging off each layer. Retailing at £99, it is one of the more expensive items in the shop but looks fantastic with the frill-trimmed leggings from Ceci Tokyo, which cost a more modest £20.

Other must-haves which won’t break the bank are PVC trenchcoats in various colours for £50, a fab woollen twinset with a funky twist from Y London for £45 and a versatile longline lightweight MissMiss cardigan again at £45, plus a covetable drop pocket coat by Arrogant Cat at £185.

“Prices start at about £20 and I’ve tried to keep everything affordable,” said Julie. “We give students a 10% discount to help them out a bit.”

The shop also stocks accessories, including high-fashion handbags which sell for £30 to £35 and, according to Julie, are among her best sellers.

There are also shoes, hats and brollies as well as jewellery and belts.

For real fashionistas, there’s a multi-stone belt from Arrogant Cat which is based on a stunning Fendi design, but this one retails at £59 instead of the several hundreds of pounds of the original.

“We’ve got lots of ideas and we’re planning a special social evening for our customers on our first birthday in October.

"We will have wine and nibbles and fun things like tarot card reading and hand massages,” said Julie.

“So far it’s going really well and what is particularly nice is when customers come in and say ‘we thought we’d come in here before we go up to London’.

"And that’s what we’re trying to do — give local people a little bit of London right here in Farnham.”