Our Story
I'm Gabby Mathias, the owner behind Dawson & Daisy Boutique! You might already love the clothes and everything else we offer, but let me give you a little insight into my life and how we got here! . . . I was born in New Orleans, Louisiana and grew up all over the country because of my dad's profession in college basketball. The South is where I feel the most at home. I love the hospitality, the style, and the grit. I love the femininity and strength southern women are known for and I try to bring that into the boutique. Sometimes it’s bringing more ruffles than the Midwest is prepared for, but most of all we try to bring the hospitality and customer service up to a southern woman’s standards.
D&D is all about bringing style and comfort together. Finding an outfit that is stylishly comfortable is what gives me a confidence boost, so I wanted to share that with all of you. I don't believe you have to choose between being stylish or being comfortable. It doesn't have to be high style or sweats. We have found harmony between the two.
Now for how we actually became D&D... It was the summer after my freshman year (2016) at Purdue University and my family was taking a once-in-a-lifetime trip across Europe, making getting an internship for that summer almost impossible. But was I going to just hang by the pool and do nothing all summer until then? Not if my parents had any say in it. My family is made up of the most supportive and encouraging people, which is why my parents asked me what I was going to do with my summer at home before we left… My planned career at that time was sports broadcasting, it’s actually what I ended up focusing my degree on, but I’ve always had a love for fashion. I grew up dressing my mom and three sisters and always picking out outfits for my friends. This turned into everyone asking me for fashion advice. So, I chose to take the summer and explore my passion. I researched for a few days and found that I could open my own online boutique. I figured, let’s give this a shot. Maybe I love being my own boss and this is my passion…
The boutique was online only for our first year of operation because I was in school and working as a Student Manager for the Men's Basketball team at Purdue, basketball still being what my life revolved around. Through the loyalty and support of our awesome customers, I took the plunge into our first storefront in Wabash Landing in May 2017. After a larger spot opened in that same Wabash Landing, we moved to our current location in October 2017. Then we opened our second location in Broad Ripple, IN in December 2017. I managed the 2 stores from abroad (my husband plays professional basketball and we lived in Barcelona for the 2018/2019 season), with a HUGE help from my family/store managers.
In March 2019 we were back in the United States and my family moved from Purdue to Mercer University and that is how the Macon, GA pop-up store was born. We moved the Indianapolis location down to Macon and had 2 operating locations, as well as an online store. During all of this, my husband got his first NBA contract and we moved to Philadelphia. Fast forward to the present and we still have our flagship store in West Lafayette & our online store is growing by the day. It's been an incredible journey with the different locations and when 2020 happened, I was so thankful to be able to focus on West Lafayette & our online presence.
I am still managing from afar because we live all over the country, for Dakota’s career, but I'm back to the stores often so I'm sure you'll see me! We are always building and growing and we love meeting every customer that walks through our doors (virtual or in real life)...
