Boutique makes styles to empower

There's a new boutique in town ,and the owner is excited to bring ready-to-wear items to Rio Rancho.

Cathleen Daly has always had a passion for fashion and only just opened her online store last month.

"I've always been my creative person. I've always loved fashion. I used to collect fashion design books. I would always watch the Oscars and then the newspaper the next day, they'd release like all the top outfit picks," she said.

One of the things she noticed when she came came back to Rio Rancho, after a stint of living in another state, was that a lot of the options for shopping were similar to what they were when she was a little kid.

"I was thinking we really need something that's more boutique and more custom than just the usual stores. When I first moved back, I started down the rabbit hole of research of what would that look like if I were to start something," she added.

Though Daly would like to have a storefront locally, she has not had success in finding a spot yet. For now, the store is online and she will have pop-up shops around town.

Daly's reasons for opening her own boutique go beyond the fashion world, though. The name of the boutique, Muse & Matter, has a woman-influenced background.

"The inspiration behind it is for me growing up, and just in my professional career and personal life, women have always been a huge inspiration to me. Whether it's just my own family or whether it's friends or colleagues I worked with or bosses I've had, I always really admire working with women, and I've gotten a lot of my fashion advice from them," she said.

She says the "Muse" part means creative inspiration.

"The whole idea is that women are the creative inspiration behind the brand," she explained.

Then "matter" represents the actual product Daly creates.

"My immediate family, we're mostly women. My mom and my sisters, they're the ones who always fueled my passion for fashion because they are the ones who are buying me my fashion design sketchbooks or my fashion books, or my mom would take me to the library and I would always go to the fashion section and check out all the books from there," she said.

Furthermore, she says her store is all about empowering women by giving them a look that makes them feel good.

"The way that you dress can definitely can boost your confidence, and I think it's so important that women feel good in what they're wearing," she added.

"That's one of the things that I really took into consideration when I started. I wanted stuff that I would wear, but also that would make other people feel comfortable wearing, too. I'm also the kind of person that when I wear things, I want it to be stylish but I also want to be comfortable."

The items Daly has in store so far are meant to be easy to put on and comfortable to wear while also creating a sense of style for the wearer.

"I specialize in a variety of sizes, styles and silhouettes, able to take my own personal taste and pick out things and then be able to offer it to other people," she said.

She caries sizes extra small to triple extra large for each clothing item.

"I don't think that your size should limit your confidence," she said bluntly.

"I want people to feel beautiful as they are and that there is something for them."

One thing people will notice is Daly models most of her clothing items. Each item is curated by her and only her. She also picks out the materials by hand.

"It was really important to go in person and actually touch everything, feel everything because you can order stuff online and then you can kind of you don't really know until it arrives if it's good quality," she said.

Daly has new items coming in every week, so looks available on her site will change. She explained that she keeps limited stock of each item so people can buy it and know they are one of the few wearing it.

"You don't have to worry about if you buy that that means you're gonna see 10 other people wearing that dress and it's all gonna be the same dress. You'll know that when you're buying it you'll be one of the few people here that have it. You also know that's high quality, that it's been specifically curated and that it's been tested out because I try everything on that comes in and make sure it works out and tested out at my own events and everything," Daly said.

People can also expect styles to change with the seasons.

"If you to shop with me, you're gonna love what you wear," she said.

She says starting with an online boutique experience has given her the opportunity to offer unique, high-quality clothing to women both locally in the Rio Rancho/Albuquerque community and to women across the country.

"I'm super thankful that even though Muse + Matter Boutique just opened, it has already seen customer support in New Mexico and beyond," she added.

To check out her online store, visit museandmatterboutique.com.