Casual, Trendy Spring Styles from Max and Gino's

One of the many luxuries of living in the Five Towns area is the endless shopping options, especially when it comes to style and fashion.

This week, Five Towns Patch is introducing its newest column, Fashion Fix, just in time for the spring and summer season to highlight local shops and boutiques. For our first feature, Patch got an exclusive look at , which has grown to be a staple in the Hewlett area for the past 13 years.

Max and Gino's; 1317 Broadway, Hewlett; (516) 295-6895

Fashionista: Tracey Goldberg, store manager for two years.

What's in store: Max and Gino's is home to trendy and stylish jeans, activewear, tees and tanks, dresses and popular accessories. Seasonally, the shop carries a limited selection of footwear, like sandals and flip flops for the summer, or boots in the colder weather.

Max and Gino's styles are primarily for females, and although the store was founded for younger women, today's items are geared towards all ages. Various name brands are in stock including Butter, Chaser, Free People, Alternative Apparel, So Low, Flying Monkey, Junk Food, Freeloader and Wild Fox, just to name a few.

Spring style guide: According to Goldberg, this season's trends are all about bright colors, oversized tops and rompers. Rock tees are another growing craze, even more so than in past years. Goldberg also noted that shoppers will be seeing a lot of crochet and lace in dresses and tops.

Oversized tops have been a rapidly growing fashion statement, whether it be a winter sweater, v-neck tee or warm weather tank. A lot of new products emerging this season feature oversized pockets in the tops as well.

Rompers are available at Max and Gino's in solid black or bright seasonal shades, and also in vibrant floral prints, which have been making their way back to the shelves in past summer seasons.

Fitting in the local scene: The experts at Max and Gino's of Hewlett know just what it takes to succeed in the Five Towns community. Within 13 years of business, the Hewlett shop has moved twice to better service its clients. With the change in the economy in recent years, Max and Gino's adjusted as well.

"What separates us is the size of the store," Goldberg explained. "We have the largest selection of the manufacturers that we carry, and our prices are the best. We are much more affordable now."

At Max and Gino's, the sales associates often see entire families from the local community shopping together. Butter offers clothes for young children, teens and adults, and the store's other brands are targeted to women of all ages. "We are very honest when women or their daughters try clothes on, and they want our opinion," Goldberg said. "Those are the customers that always come back."

A bit of history: Max and Gino's started in 1983 in Queens when two friends opened up Mango Tango. Just a few years later, the duo opened their doors to Long Island shoppers in Merrick to bring a bit of trendy New York City flair out east.

Over the past two decades, Max and Gino's has grown to be one of Long Island's favorite boutiques with locations in Hewlett, Merrick, Woodbury and West Hampton, and Butter stores in the Roosevelt Field and Walt Whitman malls.