HEADING TO DALLAS: Frances Valentine intends to open a pop-up store in Dallas by year-end, and chief executive officer Elyce Arons began outreach on Monday with lunch for 20 women at Grange Hall, followed by a private home trunk show on Tuesday.
Guests included Michelle Nussbaumer, Cindy Schwartz, Capera Ryan and Chandra North Blaylock.
“We’re still small and haven’t been around very long, so we don’t have a lot of brand awareness,” explained Arons, who launched the label in 2015 with the late Kate Spade and her husband Andy, and Paola Venturi.
Yet Dallas is one of the brand’s “major” e-commerce markets and has been on her radar for a while, she noted.
“Last summer we opened a pop-up store in Sag Harbor, which we still have and are keeping indefinitely, and we had so many people come into the store and say, ‘You’ve got to be in Dallas,’” Arons explained.
It’s no secret that Dallas women are fond of bright colors and feminine style, which are hallmarks of Frances Valentine. Bestsellers at the trunk show were $695 linen caftans vividly embroidered with peacocks and Mexican-inspired motifs.
Arons was scouting for a space in Dallas’ hottest upscale retail spots –– Highland Park Village, NorthPark Center, the
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