Boutique

from the story, Helix by Banana Yoshimoto

A boutique, from the French word for "shop," is a small shopping outlet, especially one that specialises in elite and fashionable items such as clothes and jewelry. It can also refer to a specialized firm such as a boutique investiment bank or boutique law firm. The word is often used to describe a property in the independent section of the hotel market (such as The Rockwell in London) in order to distinguish themselves from larger chains (such as Hilton Group). In such cases the idea is that the operation is elite and highly specialized.

In the strictest sense of the word, boutiques would be one-of-a-kind but more generally speaking, some chains can be referred to as boutiques if they specialize in particularly stylish offerings. In the U.S., Shaper Image might be described as a boutique chain or selling boutique items. In Japan, chains such as 3 Minutes Happiness, MUGI, and RanKing are well-known boutiques.

Boutique (ブティック) is a wellknown word in Japan.