Remember the childhood game of asking your friends what animal they would like to be and why? If Apartment 202, a cozy little women's boutique tucked into Salt Lake City's 9th and 9th area, were an animal, it would almost certainly be a dolphin: compact, lithe and agile, intelligent and a little bit talkative.

The store's shopping philosophy is apparent from the moment you walk in. Here is a store with an abundance of breathing room, where each section, from dresses to jewelry, is arranged with grace in mind over attitude, and where the quality of items takes precedence over quantity. Apartment 202 is the kind of boutique that walks right up to you, then starts a conversation with your shopping impulses that seems so natural you never stop to second-guess it.

Owner and manager Ashley Rothwell wouldn't have it any other way.

"I wanted a very warm environment -- not stuffy and pretentious like a lot of boutiques," Rothwell said. "I think a lot of women walk into boutiques and feel nervous about themselves. I wanted a warm, inviting environment."

After 10 years in California as an advertising account supervisor for high-powered firms such as Chiat/Day handling high-profile accounts such as Adidas footwear and Elizabeth Arden cosmetics, Rothwell knows all about hectic, high-pressure living. Planning her reprieve from professional life, she envisioned a store of her own, and a more forgiving atmosphere. Leaving her California base, she came back home to Salt Lake City, found a retail space not far from her old high school stomping ground of Rowland Hall St. Mark, then opened in September 2007.

Rothwell's yellow lab, Eiger, roams the boutique floor on most days, when Rothwell dotes on customers between quick tasks behind the cash register. Remnants from her grandmother's old Salt Lake City home adorn throughout, from an old watering can atop a dresser to a chandelier and a window frame next to the jewelry. The boutique's name pays homage to Rothwell's old San Francisco apartment number. In many ways, the connection is no mistake. That's because Rothwell likes blurring the line between shopping and making a personal connection with clientele.

"My customers come not just to look around, but also to get advice," she said. "They call, and I will set up a dressing room for them in advance so they don't have to waste any time.

"That kind of old, boutique service -- when women used to go to a store for personal service before an event -- has gone by the wayside, I think."

Then there's the merchandise, all the result of Rothwell's painstaking research for the best items at the right price. The store strives for that elusive sweet spot between quality and affordability. Among the BCBG apparel and 12th St. dresses on display you'll also find one-of-a-kind items from niche clothing designers hand-picked from Paris and Los Angeles.

"I will go all out to find a great brand no one carries," Rothwell says. "Everything I pick for display here, I would wear myself."

Vanessa Di Palma Wright, who owns a Latino marketing company in Salt Lake City, said she returns to the boutique for its prices and Rothwell's expertise.

"I'm all about boutiques," Di Palma Wright said. "A lot of them come and go either because they're too expensive, or the owners don't know what they're doing. [Rothwell] has got the right balance."