There is the insidious realization that folks from outside your neighborhood are entering it as consumers, buying expensive, boutique versions of the food you eat and the clothes you wear.
The Internet has made steady inroads in Morocco; major institutions have direct access to it, while private individuals can connect via telecommunications "boutiques," a version of the cyber cafés found in many Western countries, and through home computers.
As part of the turn towards webbiness, the New Republic started imitating others last June, launching QED, a boutique-y version of Wonkblog-Vox.com, FiveThirtyEight, The Upshot — you know, smart people explaining stuff with a bit of opinion thrown in.
On the Lower East Side, the eco boutique Kaight sells versions by Linda Loudermilk, Prairie Underground, Good Society and a few discontinued lines, each for less than $200.
Many shoppers know that the two farms are owned by members of the same family, but few realize that they offer two versions, boutique and commercial, of production that now comes mostly from the same land.
Over the previous several years, Mr. Marriott watched with some envy as rivals rolled out their version of boutique hotels.
In the past year, about a dozen boutique bakeries serving expensive versions of all-American desserts like banana pudding and $3 red velvet cupcakes have popped up around the city, many run by second-act bakers.
"This is found business," said Tim Schroeder, president of Duravit U.S.A., adding that residential clients are more receptive to the idea now that they have seen fancy versions in boutique hotels and restaurants.
In function and design, the B Akasaka closely resembles Starwood's soon-to-be-opened Aloft chain of hotels: an express version of the boutique hotel.
This version from online boutique Hush (above) is a wearable, easy classic in neutral cream or black (£140, hush-uk.com), while Reiss's Dahlia looks sweetly vintage in duck-egg blue with Deco stitching on the collar (£125, reiss.com).
