20-year-old boutique files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, closing all locations | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

As the last days of 2025 wind to a close, many industries have seen a number of high-profile bankruptcies in a challenging economy.

In the airline world, travel companies and passengers are still reeling over the sudden shutdown of Scandinavian low-cost airlines Play and Braathens Aviation within a few weeks of each other while Spirit Airlines continues to search for a last-minute investor or other financial miracle that will allow it to emerge from a second Chapter 11 bankruptcy last fall.

Texas-based candy distributor Candy Warehouse Chapter 11 filed for bankruptcy in October 2025 while British watchmaker Fossil filed for Chapter 15 protection after being unable to pay its American creditors. Another clothing brand, Inca Boot Company, also filed for Chapter 11 protection in September.

Once a popular Newbury Street boutique, LIT Boutique to go straight into liquidation

Over in Massachusetts, boutique clothing chain LIT International Group Inc. has also just filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Contrary to a Chapter 11 filing, Chapter 7 bankruptcy is a section of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code that allows the company to skip over efforts to restructure and go straight into liquidation to discharge its corporate debt.

Operating under the name of LIT Boutique, the Boston-area clothing and accessories boutique first opened at in 2005 in the city’s wealthy North End neighborhood and eventually expanded to a peak two locations in Boston as well as one in New Hampshire and one in Rhode Island.

Since the start of the year, only the flagship one on the mile-long Boston Newbury Street shopping street has been open.

The boutique sold a range of hippie-chic clothes from major clothing brands such as Free People, Good American and Refine as well as a range of casual jewelry and women’s accessories.

The Dec. 11 bankruptcy filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the District of Massachusetts went public now after being dug up by local press; the company listed assets of just $28,000 compared to debts and liabilities of over $2.5 million in credit card debt, taxes and other unpaid charges.

Newbury Street is a stylish shopping area in Boston.

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LIT Boutique on Newbury Street likely to close forever soon

Over $2 million of that is owed to the U.S. Small Business Administration agency providing loans to small businesses like this one.

As Chapter 7 bankruptcy brings forward liquidation, the LIT Boutique store registered at 223 Newbury Street will likely be closed in the coming days or weeks. The boutique also faces a lawsuit from development company Ciao LLC after what it claims was a breached contract on a lease for the North End location.

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The store, which is owned by Ying Lisa Shah, has not issued a statement on the bankruptcy. Its Instagram account has been inactive since May 22 and, underneath the last posts, commenters have been asking about the status of the other store locations.

“What happened to the Portsmouth store?” one commenter wrote in June while others asked about the North End and Rhode Island locations over the last weeks. The boutique’s website remains remains active and allows customers to make online purchases.