You know you’ve got a following when a customer moves off-island — to Florida, then to Germany — and continues to call with her monthly apparel order.

Forget about buying local; she’s buying loyal.

For Blinx, the women’s clothing boutique that’s been going strong at Winslow Mall for 27 years, those relationships aren’t an afterthought, they’re a survival strategy.

The other side of success, said Blinx co-owner Janet Davis, is finding quality products.

“It’s the brands that we bring; we really work hard at our buying,” she explained.

In the winter months, when Bainbridge is ultra-sleepy, that means scaling back.

“January’s a very dead month,” Davis said. “People just don’t shop so you’re really careful with your dollars. You could really overbuy and extend yourself and be in debt for two months and never catch up.”

Davis can’t take all the credit for the shop’s longevity — she didn’t come on until 2011, when she purchased the business from Stephanie Jackson — but she’s going to have all the glory (and pain) going forward, as Blinx launches a new chapter called Covet.

It’s the same store, just updated with distressed slat walls and new flooring, plus a modern moniker.

“While Blinx is a name that’s known, it’s also old,” Davis said. “It felt a little, almost tacky to me.”

“Blinx didn’t really have any meaning to us,” added Davis’ partner, Pamela Kinkead. “That came from the very original people, their two names mixed together. So we just wanted to bring a name that had some meaning to it.”

Covet was the perfect fit for the shop’s tagline, ‘Love what you wear.’

“We were thinking about when you enter a store and go, ‘Oh! I really want that,’” Kinkead explained.

As the pair sifted through synonyms for “want,” “covet” jumped out.

“We thought, that’s a great name; It happens to be kind of a trendy word right now,” Kinkead said.

One word she hopes doesn’t come to mind when you think of Covet is “overpriced.”

“A lot of people say, ‘Oh, I don’t shop local because it’s so expensive,’” Kinkead said. “Well, our Hudson jeans are $11 cheaper than they are at Nordstrom. We want people to know that you can shop on the island and you’re gonna get a better price, I think, for some of these items, than you would if you went to Seattle.”

The co-owners themselves are a good example of the diversity you’ll find in the store’s inventory.

Davis, who feels most at home in classic, conservative pieces, has been breathing in retail since she was 15. She worked for Nordstrom for 20 years and became a Pacesetter, a title conferred on the top 10 percent of sales associates, before transitioning to a part-time position at Blinx in 2003. Kinkead, on the other hand, adored fashion from the sidelines until joining Davis as a co-owner in August. She has a corporate background – she specialized in purchasing and supply chain interactions for the Dial Corporation – but her style is all about the fun and funky.

“I’ll wear anything,” Kinkead said. “I love the bohemian vibe right now; it’s all back to the ‘70s.”

The duo’s separate aesthetics will come in handy as they build their personal styling service, modeled loosely on Stitch Fix, the clothing subscription company. For no added cost, Covet will create customized ensembles for people who don’t want to shop or don’t feel comfortable putting outfits together.

“They’ll work with one of our stylists – probably us – or we can deliver,” Kinkead explained.

Unlike Stitch Fix, Covet clients won’t have to deal with the hassle of shipping.

“We’ll actually bring it you and we’ll pick it back up if you want,” Kinkead said.

Another unique service the entrepreneurs plan to provide is store takeovers.

“We’ve done events for PAWS where they have an event in the store, people get a discount and 20 percent of the proceeds go to  their charity,” Kinkead said. “We’re also doing Girls Night Out. When the store’s closed, you can bring in your friends and we do 20 percent off. We’ll provide the champagne and the cupcakes or whatever. There’s no charge; you just come in and reserve the party.”

Covet’s grand opening celebration commenced on Thursday, but continues from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, March 11 with special promotions, food and drinks.

The boutique is located at 278 Winslow Way East. For info, visit www.wearcovet.com.

Take stock

Faithful customers need not despair, Covet won’t be kicking any of the Blinx brands – Velvet, Three Dots –  to the curb. But there will be fun new lines to explore: With the closure of Island Sports, Covet will be carrying more at-leisure wear from Lolë, Beyond Yoga and xcvi. Also in stock: Free People, Paper Crane and an expanded collection of Love Stitch.