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66 | DECEMBER 2015 nshoremag.com La Mia Moda 28 Chestnut St. Andover 978-409-2797 lamiamodaboutique. com CONTACT dresses himself, for example: "I can be really preppy one day, and very urban or daring the next. Or both in one outfit. I think on more of an international level. For myself, I definitely dress more European. I love skinny pants, and very tailored pieces. I love easy pieces of pretty much any color palette." Is there one unifying influence? Yes, he says. But what he describes sounds less like inspiration and more like a mission statement: "I go for qual- ity in my buys first, every time," he says. "That's what I do for myself and my client." That can be a challenging goal if you don't know precisely where your client's goal line is located. Nunez works to find it by listen- ing to clients and absorbing what they share. He also gauges what will be most flattering and makes selections for them. "I always listen first when styling someone," he says. "How do they live? What do they feel most comfortable in? I have to pay attention to what they're wearing when we meet, how they move in it, and what they gravitate toward. I have to un- derstand their body and what will look great on them. And most of all I have to put my ego aside and let the customer lead me instead of trying to lead them." And where does that leading take him? That all depends on the person, insists Nunez. And the very name of his boutique may be the biggest indicator of all. "In Ital- ian, la mia moda means 'my own fashion,'" he says, with the kind of sly, small chuckle some peo- ple emit when they're discussing something they truly care about. "It's a way of describing individual style," he says. That's clearly some- thing Nunez is heartily in favor of. "I want people to express who they are every day with what they wear. It's a badge of honor." Having studied under Beagy Zielinski, Nunez knows how to select choice lines. I WANT PEOPLE TO EXPRESS WHO THEY ARE EVERY DAY WITH WHAT THEY WEAR. IT'S A BADGE OF HONOR." — LUIS NUNEZ