We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rachel Kelley a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Rachel, thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

After spending over a decade in the style industry, I knew I wanted to create a customer experience different from a typical shop. I envisioned something more personal — a boutique rooted in elevated service and genuine connection. I wanted more than a clothing store; I wanted a space where women in our community could feel seen, valued, and empowered. Our mission is to create a welcoming, inclusive environment where women of all ages and sizes can rediscover their confidence through personal style.
We serve a wide range of women, from professionals and mothers to retirees and artists—many of whom have struggled to find clothing that fits both their body and their lifestyle. Our personalized styling service helps women understand how to dress for their body shape, and our size-inclusive offerings (S–3X) ensure no one is left out. We aim to lift women up, not just with fashion, but with encouragement, education, and connection.
In a world of fast fashion and impersonal retail, we’re proud to offer something deeply human: authenticity, beauty, and community. We’re not just selling clothes — we’re helping women feel at home in their own skin, right here in the heart of Biloxi.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My love for fashion began as a little girl. My mother would buy old prom dresses from thrift stores and alter them to fit us so to play dress up. This nurtured my passion for personal style and creative thinking.
After being in the style industry for over a decade, I opened The Cornerstone Boutique in Historic Downtown Biloxi and the experience has been both a dream and a challenge. While the area is slowly revitalizing, it’s still recovering from the long-term effects of Hurricane Katrina and, more recently, Hurricane Zeta in 2020. Many businesses never returned, and foot traffic remains limited.
As one of the few women’s clothing boutiques in the area, I opened with the mission of helping women rediscover their personal style in a welcoming, size-inclusive space. To make this dream a reality, I took a DIY approach—refinishing furniture, building displays by hand, and designing the interior layout myself.
I remain committed to serving my community with affordable, elegant fashion and personalized service.
I pick styles for the store that can be put together to create many elegant and timeless looks inspired from art and soothing colors. In our accessories department you will find handmade earrings with an art-deco inspiration; shoes, handbags, hats and sunshades. Something else you’ll see in my store is original art. I don’t have formal art training; it’s always been a passion and I just love doing it. The space is deeply personal—handcrafted displays, refinished furniture, and art I’ve created.

Our shop is small but mighty (less than 600 square feet). We have small collections from loungewear to black tie. We are size inclusive (small-3X), offer unique handcrafted jewelry, shoes and accessories as well as original art pieces.
In addition to the carefully curated collections on the sales floor, we offer personalized styling services to our clients. These services are tailored to each individual: professional measurements, body shape analysis, facial analysis. Each service comes with a personalized digital style book. We also offer personalized checklist for building a capsule wardrobe and a style finder workbook to further customize recommendations.
Our goal is to take the guesswork out of shopping. These guides not only help our clients understand what works for their body, understanding style empowers them to make confident choices. It’s our way of adding real, lasting value to the boutique experience.

We recently celebrated three years in business, and we continue to be humbled by the gratitude and support of our clients.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I follow through with my customers. I am honest with them on timelines, prices, and delivery of products. These small things will kill a small business.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

I created small client cards outlining our services and offering a discount for booked appointments. I shared them with local salons, and they’ve become a major referral source — hairstylists send many new clients our way. I also collaborate with other nearby businesses so we can mutually refer clients. We truly go further when we lift each other up. Our close-knit downtown community includes a strong circle of partners, and we all support and refer to one another.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.cornerstonebiloxi.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cornerstonebiloxi/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cornerstonebiloxi/