In 2012, Christy Butler and Holly Neff set out to answer a quiet but persistent question: why should a woman have to choose between practicality and beauty in the things she carries every day? A decade later, their brand Modern + Chic stands among the nation's 103rd fastest-growing companies, a testament to what happens when a business is built not around a product, but around a genuine understanding of how people move through their lives.
Modern + Chic Celebrates a Decade of Functional Fashion for Women
A single bag can transform depending on what you're doing
Mark
What made you decide that bags needed replaceable straps in the first place?
Mimi
It came from watching women we knew. They'd buy a bag they loved, and then one strap would fray or break, and suddenly the whole thing was ruined. We thought: why does it have to be all or nothing?
Mark
So you're not just selling bags. You're selling longevity.
Mimi
Exactly. And flexibility. The same bag works for a commute, a weekend trip, a night out—if you can change the straps. It's about meeting women where they actually are.
Mark
You've made the list of fastest-growing companies in the country. Does that feel like validation, or does it change how you think about the work?
Mimi
It's validation that the idea was sound. But honestly, what matters more is that women keep coming back. The ranking is nice, but the real measure is whether someone feels confident carrying one of our bags.
Mark
You're hosting an event in October. Is that part of the growth strategy, or something else?
Mimi
It's both. We want to build community around the brand, not just move product. An event like that—it's a chance to meet the people who use our bags, to listen, to celebrate together.
Mark
What's next for Modern + Chic?
Mimi
We're still learning. But the principle stays the same: listen to what women need, and make something beautiful that actually works.
The Pulse
- The accessories market is crowded, yet Modern + Chic carved space by solving something real — bags whose straps can be swapped or adjusted, turning one purchase into many possibilities.
- Ranking 103rd among 5,000 of the country's fastest-growing companies signals that functional, affordable design isn't a niche — it's a market force.
- The brand is pushing beyond retail, building an app, a social media community, and live events like October's 'Witches in the Warehouse' gathering to deepen loyalty beyond the transaction.
- Ten years in, the company's trajectory points outward — more platforms, more touchpoints, and a 25% discount code ('GOODTHINGS25') inviting new customers into the fold.
In 2012, Christy Butler and Holly Neff set out to answer a quiet but persistent question: why should a woman have to choose between practicality and beauty in the things she carries every day? A decade later, their brand Modern + Chic stands among the nation's 103rd fastest-growing companies, a testament to what happens when a business is built not around a product, but around a genuine understanding of how people move through their lives.
Christy Butler and Holly Neff founded Modern + Chic in 2012 with a straightforward premise: women shouldn't have to sacrifice style for practicality, or practicality for their budget. Their answer was a line of bags built around replaceable, adjustable straps — a feature that sounds modest until you consider what it actually offers. One bag shifts with your day, your mood, your destination. When a strap wears out, you swap it rather than replace the whole thing. It's sustainability and versatility folded into an affordable design.
Ten years later, that premise has proven itself. Modern + Chic now ranks 103rd on a national list of the 5,000 fastest-growing companies — a number that reflects not just a clever product, but two founders who stayed close to a real insight about what women want to feel while moving through their lives: capable, confident, and unburdened by false choices.
The brand has grown beyond its original retail roots. An app, an active social media presence, and community events — including an October 'Witches in the Warehouse' party — signal a company thinking about belonging, not just selling. What Butler and Neff built over a decade is less a boutique and more a point of view, and by most measures, the world has been receptive to it.
Christy Butler and Holly Neff have built something that works. Modern + Chic, the accessory brand they founded in 2012, has spent the last decade solving a problem most women face every day: how to carry what you need without sacrificing style or breaking your budget.
The core of their business is deceptively simple. Their bags come with replaceable and adjustable straps—a feature that sounds small until you realize it means a single bag can transform depending on what you're doing, where you're going, or how you're feeling that morning. The straps wear out; you swap them. Your needs change; the bag adapts. It's functional design that doesn't apologize for being practical, and it's priced so that women don't have to choose between looking good and staying solvent.
This year marks a milestone. A decade in, Modern + Chic has earned recognition as the 103rd fastest-growing company among five thousand tracked across the country. That ranking reflects something beyond a clever product idea. It reflects two founders who understood that women wanted to feel capable and confident while moving through their lives—not despite their accessories, but because of them. The boutique brand has grown by staying focused on that insight.
The business has expanded beyond the original retail model. They've built an app, cultivated a social media presence, and are now hosting events that go beyond selling bags. In October, they're throwing a "Witches in the Warehouse" party, the kind of gathering that signals a brand thinking about community, not just transactions. For anyone interested in checking out their current collection, Modern + Chic is offering 25 percent off orders placed with the code "GOODTHINGS25."
What makes this story worth noting isn't just that two women built a successful company. It's that they built it by paying attention to what women actually need—and then refusing to make them choose between function and beauty. Ten years in, that approach seems to be working.
Notable Quotes
The boutique has a goal of empowering women to feel confident and capable while on the go— Modern + Chic mission
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