After venturing out into the world, Lori Hill returned to Joplin to pursue her passion.

Hill is the owner of the recently opened Well Dressed fashion boutique.

Once she finished high school, Hill resided in Tampa for 12 years to pursue a degree in public relations, but always had an interest in fashion.

“I have several friends in Tampa that own small clothing boutiques so I worked for them on the side, and I really enjoyed it,” Hill said.

Hill said when she returned to Joplin and saw limited opportunities for jobs in Public Relations, she decided to work for herself. She said she is more than satisfied with her career choice.

“I’ve loved it ever since the first day I opened the door,” she said.

With only one mall in the city, which is dominated by chain retail stores, Hill said she aims to provide shoppers with items not available in the area.

“We offer more at this boutique than at any of the stores in Northpark Mall in terms of servicing your client,” Hill said.

Well Dressed carries lines from Womyn, Laundry and Bejeweled to Mavi Jeans and Anna Capri. Hill also carries Leather Rock purses and belts, which she said were recently featured in the March issue of In Style Magazine.

Hill said the problem with fashion in Joplin is with it being a small town, not a lot of people are willing to throw caution to the wind and do what she is doing.

Some students may benefit from the boutique’s opening because some students find it hard to separate themselves from others because of the lack of variety in fashion stores.

Jessica Ruch, freshman respiratory therapy major, said coming from North Carolina, where there are several shopping options, she is not impressed with what is available in Joplin.

“I never find anything to wear, so I just wear my clothes that I got from North Carolina,” she said.

Joanna Degraw, freshman nursing major, said she agrees with Ruch.

“Everybody wears the same thing,” Degraw said.

With several different markets to visit, Hill said she mainly gets her items from Dallas but also has bought some of her products in Atlanta and New York Hill said although the store is only open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, she will make arrangements to open the store for a customer who is not able to make it during the regular hours.

“I’m trying to be all about my customers,” Hill said.

Well Dressed is located at 1901 E. 32nd Street across from Masterson’s. On May 7, Well Dressed will host a fashion show called Spring Fling that will be held at the Edison Conference Center. Tickets will be $10 per person, and proceeds from the ticket sales will benefit the Children’s Center.