BabyOkraBoutique

Baby Okra Boutique is an online fashion boutique offering chic African fabric clothing, cute baby clothes, adorable toddler clothing and other unique apparel and accessories for babies, toddlers, girls and women.

My name is MiMi, and I am the owner of Baby Okra Boutique. A litigator by day and fashionista after-hours, I grew up dreaming of working in the fashion world, but took a different route, landing instead in the accounting and legal field. In 2004, armed with the Grace of God, CPA, MBA, JD, and a passion for design and styling, I combined my two loves, fashion (designing and making), and philanthropy, and created the Miatta-MiMi brand, which includes Baby Okra Boutique.

The name Baby Okra stems from my pregnancy with my first child, who has been nicknamed Baby Okra. Due to extreme all day "morning" sickness, all I could keep down was a variety of spicy okra dishes from my native Sierra Leone. After nine months of eating okra, it was only fitting we nickname our daughter, Baby Okra.

I discovered and joined Etsy as a buyer in November 2008, and opened my first shop, Boutique Mix on Etsy in October 2015. In November 2015, my life changed significantly after the loss of my best friend. The loss gave me some much needed perspective, and motivated me to be true to myself and to live my best life. With faith that God will grant me the wisdom I need to make the right decision for my family, and sheer determination that I would rather fail and pick myself back up than never try at all, I challenged myself to pursue my true passion. I resigned from job as an attorney on May 31st, 2016, and started this wonderful, unpredictable, journey of designing, creating, and running my fashion business full-time, while working toward becoming a life coach.

Prior to my pregnancy, I loved working with African print fabric, and designed and made clothing and fashion accessories under my Miatta-MiMi label for Boutique Mix. The Miatta-MiMi collection is born out of my love for a mix of beautiful, bold African print fabric + a desire for modern, minimal style. Growing up in my beautiful home, Sierra Leone, West Africa, I fell in love with the richness and diversity of African fabric. The bold, vibrant and unique colors and patterns still put a smile on my face.

During my pregnancy and after my dear Baby Okra was born, I was drawn to designing and making children's clothes and accessories, as well as women's fashion that could be worn before, during and after pregnancy. I am a one woman shop, making and offering a diverse Mix of handmade products that cater to a variety of tastes and budgets. The vibrant colors and designs in every Miatta-MiMi product aim to inspire, uplift and add a little sunshine to everyone's day. I hope you enjoy wearing/using Miatta-MiMi pieces as much as I enjoy making them.

The Miatta-MiMi brand is built on two concepts; Fashion and Charity. Designing and making stylish fashion, and giving back to our community in a way that allows others to fuel their dreams and passions, and live their best lives possible.
Supporting entrepreneurs in developing countries, working with others to provide medical resources to those fighting cancer, and educating children and providing them access to food, shelter and clothing are a few top priorities for Baby Okra Boutique.

While I enjoy bringing Baby Okra Boutique clients a diverse collection of chic global looks, I also believe that giving back is even more rewarding. With this goal in mind, I created the Miatta-MiMi “Doing Good While You Shop Campaign” (“DGWYS Campaign”) from which a portion of Baby Okra Boutique’s net profits go towards monthly donations to each of the following five main charities: Kiva, Saving Moses, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Plan USA and ChildFund International. Further, starting in 2016, a year-end annual donation from head wrap sales will be made to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Please Visit the Charity page at http://www.boutiquemix.com/charity to learn how your purchases contribute to, and make a difference in the lives of others around the world with the ongoing DGWYS Campaign.

Pregnancy lasts only nine months. Trends come and go, but style is timeless. Whether you are looking for traditional maternity dresses or non-maternity maternity dresses, let Baby Okra dress you, and eventually your adorable kid as you embark on one of the most challenging, yet rewarding journeys of your life.

I enjoy making each skirt, head wrap, bow, etc., and I hope each item you buy brings you as much joy and love as I feel when making it.

The best thing about Baby Okra Boutique maternity clothing and accessories is that you can wear them before, during and after pregnancy.

Congratulations to all our pregnant shoppers and new mommies, and here's to praying for good news for those hoping!

Handmade with love,
MiMi