Material was scarce in Germany during World War II, but Inge Jones, then three years old, still somehow managed to dress her dolls in opulent outfits. That’s where her love of fashion began, and for the past 28 years, the boutique owner has been dressing women of the South Bay in similar gowns and casual clothing with a European flair. Now, after almost three decades, Jones is closing Inge’s, her Redondo Beach boutique. Health reasons have prevented her from continuing with the day-to-day management of the store.
“I’ve always loved clothing and I passed that love of clothing on to my customers,” Jones said. “But I fractured my femur last year and have pushed myself to the limit. If I didn’t have that, I’d still be going.”
As one of the few stores in the South Bay with gowns and European designers at reasonable prices, her boutique on the corner of Avenue I and Elena has been a go-to spot for wedding, prom and special occasion dresses.
“I looked everywhere for a formal dress for a wedding in Mexico,” said Rancho Palos Verdes resident Cheryl Rice who stopped by the store for its final sale. “I should have started here.”
Jones’ attention to detail and great customer service kept women coming back again and again. The store’s dressing rooms were plastered with photos of women she’s dressed in formal gowns and thank you notes of appreciation, a testament to her loyalty.
Jones, who often dressed in the clothes she sold, was known to draw customers in with her friendly personality and then suggest clothes that may have been overlooked, or feared “not right.”
Redondo Beach real estate agent Michele Brown said Jones has been her “stylist for life,” and would never sell anything that did not flatter a customer’s figure.
“If something didn’t look good on you, she said ‘take that off, it’s not for you,’” Brown said as she stopped by the boutique for the last time. ”I don’t know who’s going to dress me now.”
It was Jones’ attention to detail, her knack for understanding which outfits would look good, as well as her knowledge for which designs suited which personalities that kept customers coming back.
Jones’ knowledge of fashion was honed in her native Germany. She studied fashion at Munich’s Institute of Leather and Fabrics and worked at a high-end shoe store, where she was assigned to decorate the window displays. “That’s where I got a taste for the fine things in life,” she said.
Jones came to California in 1960 with her husband and two children, and worked briefly as a computer programmer. But she was miserable, and so decided to follow her passion.
She first opened a clothing store in Hawthorne, where she says she was robbed once a month.
“One time, these two guys broke down the steel door and grabbed a whole rack of leather jackets,” she said. “And I’m chasing after them in my high heels.”
She knew after that incident that she needed to find a new location. Jones discovered the Redondo Beach spot, which was originally a children’s toy store. She single-handedly launched the store, doing everything from buying the clothes to designing window displays.
“I love what I did and my customers gave me the incentive to keep going,” she said.
Inge’s did no advertising in local newspapers or magazines. Instead of advertising, Jones said she would rather pass on savings to her customers.
“My display windows were my calling cards,” she said. “Word of mouth is the best and cheapest advertising.”
One of her most loyal customers is Rolling Hills Estates resident Nancy Coors McIntire. McIntire praised Jones’ kindness, honesty and fashion sense, not to mention her sales skills.
“I could always find something special in her store,” McIntire said. “I would stay in there for hours. The next thing you know, your wallet’s empty and you have twenty bags of clothes.”
But she would receive tons of compliments on every single item she bought at Inge’s, she said, so she always came back.
Although the doors of her Riviera Village boutique are closed, and loyal customers won’t be able to come back to see Jones and her equally stylish dog Phantom, Jones plans continue to share her sense of style with South Bay women by making herself available to her customers as a personal stylist. She also plans to pursue her passion for design by creating her own skirt line.
