Scammers are the cockroaches of the internet, and their latest infestation is online clothing boutiques dressed up to look exclusive, personal, and trustworthy.
I’ve been digging into these for about three days now, and I’ve already found almost 40 of them. Most follow the exact same pattern: two women’s names, an ampersand in the middle, and a well-known, high-brow location tacked on the end. Avery & Marin New York. Brooks & Bennett Newport. Carol & Nicole Charleston. Charlotte & Rose Charleston. On and on it goes.
And these are just the tip of the iceberg.
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About This Investigation
This investigation is based on publicly available information, including domain registration records (via whois.com), reverse image searches, Hive Moderation’s AI-detection tool, and posts from Facebook Groups and Pages associated with these storefronts. No claims are made beyond what the evidence directly supports. The goal is consumer education.
Grammy’s Big List of Scams
Every boutique I mention in this post, and dozens more I haven’t gotten to yet, are already documented on Grammy’s Big List of Scams. If you just want the boutiques, type “boutique” into the search field. It’ll pull up around three pages of them, roughly 15 per page. I’m adding to it constantly, so bookmark it and check back.
The Faces Behind the Brand Aren’t Real
Every one of these boutiques puts a warm, familiar face front and center. A mother-daughter team. Two best friends. A woman going solo to finally open the shop she always dreamed of. It’s relatable, it’s aspirational, and it’s designed to make you trust them before you’ve even looked at the clothes.
None of it is real.
I ran the “owner” photos from every boutique on my list through Hive Moderation’s AI-detection tool. Carol & Nicole of Charleston: 99.9% likely to be AI generated. Charlotte & Rose, presented as mother and daughter: also 99.9%. And that pattern held across every single boutique I tested. Every mother, every daughter, every best friend, every solo entrepreneur pictured on these sites is fabricated.
There are real people behind these operations. But the faces they’re using to earn your trust are not those people.
The Harrington Family and the Wilson Family Are the Same Family
Here’s where it gets sloppy.
Meet the Harrington Family of Palm Beach: father, mother, son, daughter, all smiling in front of their boutique. Now meet the Wilson Family, also of Palm Beach, also running a boutique.
They’re the same family. Same faces, same shop, right down to the last detail. Two different business names, two different websites, one recycled AI-generated family. There’s very little doubt this is one scammer running both operations and didn’t bother generating new photos for the second site.
The Copy-Paste Boutique: Eleanor Rose Monterey and Carter-Monroe New York
This one is even stranger.
Eleanor Rose of Monterrey and Carter-Monroe of New York have identical backstories, word for word, aside from the name swap:
“Hello, I’m [Name] and I’m so glad you found your way here. I opened my first little shop in 1994 in [City]. It wasn’t much, just a small place with a few racks.”
Same sentence. Same year. Same story. Different name stapled on top.
The photos follow the same script too. A woman at a sewing machine. A woman standing in the doorway of her shop, right down to the number on the door: 9494 for one, 94904 for the other. A stockroom shot with two women in the background. The scenes were regenerated, but the storyboard never changed.
I ran both domains through whois.com, a free tool I use in nearly every investigation I do (you’ll find it, and every other tool I use, over on my Scam Investigation Toolbox, no cost, ever). Carter-Monroe was registered October 21, 2025. Elellanar Rose Monterrey didn’t show up until February 12, 2026. My read: Carter-Monroe was the original, and once people started catching on, the same scammer launched Eleanor Rose as a fresh start.
What You’re Actually Buying
I picked a dress off the Carter Monroe site to show you what’s really going on behind the pretty photos. The Serena Flowing Buttonfront Maxi Dress, regularly $174.95, on “sale” for $69.95.
A reverse image search turned up the exact same photo, jewelry and all, on Shein. Price there? $24.99.
Here’s how the scam works: you order from Carter-Monroe, they take your money, and only then do they place the order on Shein and have it drop-shipped to you from China. You wait weeks. What arrives is very unlikely to match the quality the photos implied. The Carter Monroe listing never actually claims the dress is cotton or linen, it just lets the picture do the lying for it. Shein’s own listing calls it a generic “woven fabric,” which is a good bet for polyester.
The Refund Policy Is Designed to Trap You
Before you buy anything from a boutique like this, read the return policy. Carter-Monroe’s includes language refusing “not as described” claims based on:
- Personal preference or dissatisfaction
- Perceived quality differences in fabric type, even if it matches the description
- Construction or seam finish, unless explicitly guaranteed
- How color appears on your screen versus in person
In plain English: they’ve pre-written every excuse. And if you are allowed to return an item, you’re often on the hook for return shipping to China, which can cost more than the dress itself. A lot of people just give up and eat the loss.
Don’t. Contact your credit card company or PayPal and request a chargeback. That protection exists specifically for situations like this one.
The Second Scam: Fake “Customer Service” Groups Preying on Victims
Just when you think scammers can’t sink any lower, they find a way.
I’m seeing an emergence of Facebook Groups, not Pages, Groups that require you to join, claiming to be “customer service” for these exact scam boutiques. Using Sophie & Grace Savannah as an example, I found six different groups positioning themselves as the place to go if you’ve been burned. One of them has 9,800 members.
Here’s how it works. Real, frustrated customers post honest complaints in the group. Mixed in among them are fake, glowing “reviews” planted by the scammers themselves, always featuring a phone number and a suspiciously smooth story about how easy their refund was. It’s bait, dressed up as peer reassurance: it worked for her, maybe it’ll work for me.
Call that number, and you’ll be asked for your card information “to process your refund.” You won’t get a refund. What you will get is your card number in the hands of scammers, who may use it themselves or sell it on the dark web.
This isn’t isolated to Sophie & Grace, either. I found the same setup attached to Carol & Margaret Wilmington.
If you’ve already been scammed by one of these boutiques and you go looking for help online, be careful where that search leads you. And if you’ve already called one of these fake “customer service” numbers and handed over card details, contact your card issuer immediately and request a new card with new numbers.
Every Boutique I’ve Found So Far
Here’s the running list, alphabetized, of every fake boutique I’ve confirmed as of this post. If you ordered from one of these, or you’re trying to figure out if a shop you found is legitimate, search this list first.
- Adams & Baker Charleston
- Adelaide Aesthetic
- Avery & Maren New York
- Brooks & Bennett Newport
- Carol & Margaret Wilmington
- Carol & Nicole Charleston
- Carter Monroe New York
- Charlotte & Rose Charleston
- Claire & June Malibu
- Eleanor & Daughters
- Eleanor Rose Monterey
- Eleven Forest
- Elizabeth’s Seaside Boutique
- Elliot & Harper New York
- Elyra London
- Everly & Brooks Washington
- Grace & Ella Beaufort
- Hailey & Ruth
- Harper & Wells Boston
- Isabelle May
- Jennifer & John Charleston
- June & Faye
- Lily’s Costal Boutique
- Linden & Lane
- Lucy & Clara Charleston
- Margot & Ivy Greenville
- Margot & Pearl Charleston
- Martha & Lily
- Nora & Ella
- Roselyn & Carter Boston
- Rovelora
- Sharon & Ellen Savannah
- Sharon & Rowe London
- Sophie & Grace Savannah
- The Harrington Family Palm Beach
- The Wilson Family Palm Beach
- Vchics
- Vera & Lily Charleston
This list will keep growing. For the most current version, along with every other scam I’ve documented, check Grammy’s Big List of Scams at AskGrammy.com.
Red Flags to Watch For
- Reverse image search the product photos, not the owner photos. If the exact item turns up on Shein, Temu, or AliExpress for a fraction of the price, that’s your answer.
- Run “owner” photos through Hive Moderation. It’s free, and it will flag AI-generated faces in seconds.
- Check the domain age at whois.com. A site claiming decades in business that was registered a few months ago is not telling you the truth.
- Read the return policy before you buy. Pre-written excuses and expensive international return shipping are a hallmark of this exact scam.
- Be cautious searching for “customer service” or “refund help” after a bad purchase. Stick to the boutique’s official contact info, your card issuer, or PayPal, not a Facebook Group that popped up promising a fix.
Quick Checklist
- Domain registered within the last year, despite claims of “decades in business”?
- Owner or family photos flagged as likely AI-generated by Hive?
- Product photos traced back to Shein, Temu, or AliExpress?
- Return policy loaded with vague exclusions or expensive international shipping?
- A “customer service” Facebook Group with a phone number front and center?
If more than one of these is true, close the tab, and skip the phone call.
The Bottom Line
This is a big problem, and it’s growing. I’ve documented nearly 40 of these fake boutiques so far, out of 123 total scams currently on Grammy’s Big List, and I’m adding more all the time. If you’ve spotted a boutique that fits this formula, or if you’ve run into one of these fake recovery groups yourself, I want to hear about it.
Check the list before you buy, before you call, before you click.