Boutique shopping is a unique experience that always brings us back for more. The intimacy of the little shop, the knowledge of an invested boutique owner and an ever-changing supply of eclectic items from lesser known brands defines what makes a boutique special. And as someone with an affinity for the special experience that boutiques deliver, Kim Edwards set out to imitate that experience online.

Step. & Lizzie, Boston’s new online-only boutique, launched Monday, and it’s shaping up to be a go-to for nifty products like the ones found in boutiques, housing the accessories, home goods and miscellaneous items you never knew you wanted but suddenly need. Edwards handpicked all the items that are currently featured on the Step. & Lizzie store, and, in an interview with BostInno, said that these are all products she chose because she “wants to own them personally”; she asks herself when choosing new products and brands, “Would I make the effort to purchase this item?” Edwards also looks out for goods that have an element of craftsmanship, like the luxurious Leigh & Luca scarves that are made on 100-year-old looms, a personal favorite of Edwards’s.

While you’ll find throw pillows, earrings, bags, necklaces, scarves and more on Step. & Lizzie, one thing you won’t find is clothing. Edwards said she wanted to keep the experience enjoyable, without shoppers having to worry about the hassle of trying clothes on and then returning them.

“I’m trying to get away from the utilitarian shopping experience, and do something that only brings joy,” she said.

With a strong background in retail and e-commerce, Edwards left her former job at home goods site Wayfair to pursue her dream of starting a business. She knew she wanted to recreate the boutique shopping experience online that would be a go-to for women, and her previous job at Amazon, as well as her time spent as Wayfair’s director of inventory planning, gave her the experience, exposure and confidence she needed to launch Step. & Lizzie.

While the e-commerce site is perfect for those who want to shop special items from intimate brands (the collection is also perfect for gift shopping, Edwards advised), Step. & Lizzie has an edge that many new online retailers don’t. It’s one of the first e-commerce stores to be part of the Internet’s first “boutique street”: 11 Main, a shopping platform culled by Alibaba, the China-based online mecca for selling and buying goods. The new e-commerce company hand-selects online boutiques and specialty shops to be part of their retailer by invitation only, in order to replicate a hometown “Main Street” that sells everything from home goods, to jewelry, to outdoor gear to clothing.

The site is newly launched, and can also be shopped by invitation only – to be invited, enter your email address and wait for a username.

As 11 Main gets up and running, Edwards’s main concern is creating a place for women looking for that special item to shop and feel good about what they’re finding. Rather then focusing on trendy pieces and of-the-moment items, Edwards wants Step. & Lizzie to be a return to the “classic customer.”

“I want to bring that classic customer back,” she said. “It should be a place where people are coming and getting that item they’ll love for years and years to come. There’s no flash sales or deadlines, just people who want to enjoy the shopping experience and, right now, find it a little exhausting.”