As I’ve learned this past week, downtown Selma is becoming a place where you can drop a pretty penny, or two.

Allez-oup (pronounced al-ee-oop), a new clothing boutique located above Carter Drug Co., has recently joined Selma’s steadily growing boutique family.

And of course, being the shopaholic that I am, I just had to check it out, and I’m so glad that I did.

Not only did Allez-oup offer a plethora of beautiful clothing, jewelry and many other accessories, their service was also outstanding.

I was immediately welcomed upon entering the stylish store, which was a refreshing comparison to big-city malls where you have to search long and hard for a sales associate.

Allez-oup fit in perfectly with the intimate “small-town feel” Selma so often claims.

Walking up the stairs to Allez-oup is like entering a shoppers’ paradise: tops, pants and accessories galore.

Shops like this are exactly what downtown Selma needs.

With such limited shopping selection at the mall and larger cities like Montgomery and Birmingham being more than a quick drive away, it’s about time high-end boutiques like Allez-oup took up residence in our downtown area.

Also, I believe with more shopping venues and restaurants in Selma, this could generate more competition, which is always a good thing to improve the quality of businesses.

Selma’s downtown needs to be challenged to be better, and the many historic buildings provide the perfect setting for this.

It’s easy to close your eyes and imagine restaurants and shops living on Broad Street and residents lining the streets at night, walking in and out of stores.

These old buildings are just begging for attention.

Shops like It’s All About Me, The Lilly Pad, Truax & Co., and others have already proven this.

Walk into a few stores downtown, and you are greeted with extravagant jewelry and a top-notch purse collection. Thankfully, there is more than one place in Selma that offers such an impressive selection.

If enough non-chain boutiques and restaurants move to downtown Selma too, this could encourage tourist traffic, thus creating revenue for the city.

If we’re lucky, maybe Selma can become a new hot spot for shoppers like myself.

Then again, I meet need to save up a few pennies before heading back out again.