Boutique in Lafayette Hill Reopens Its Doors

On the heels of its annual summer hiatus, Claire Dickson Boutique, located at 545 Germantown Pike in Lafayette Hill, reopens its doors Wednesday, August 10, completely refurbished and restocked with all new merchandise. The boutique, which was started over 30-years ago by Claire Dickson as part of a local salon before moving into its own standalone location, will have bubbly and light snacks on hand throughout the day in celebration of the new Fall season.

“We always have a big blowout sale in June to clean the store out, and then we close for the summer and reopen the second Wednesday in August,” says Debbie Dickson, who co-owns the store with her mother Claire. “When we reopen, it’s a totally new store. Everything has been totally refurbished and painted and the rugs have been cleaned. More importantly, we open with entirely fresh merchandise; nothing is old for the Fall season. We do continue to add new pieces throughout the year, but the complete overhaul does make for a really exciting launch every Fall.”

A new season brings new trends. Dickson says European designers tend to set the pulse, and notes that major lines like Moscheno, Alberto Ferretti, and Schumacher are combining hot colors like bright orange and pink with browns, camels and grays.

“They all seem to be mixing those palettes,” she says. “Right now, my whole window is bright orange backed by camel, which is a wonderful color because it looks great on just about everybody.”

Expect the store, which features merchandise from over four dozen designers, to have an interesting selection of jeans as well.

 “Jeans are always a staple; everybody has denim, but now they are introducing it with burnt orange, chocolate brown,” Dickson says. “A line we carry, Red Engine, they have a purple jean and an evergreen. It all looks great, and you still get to be in jeans, but it’s something different and exciting, which is a reason to buy.”

Dickson, who, along with her mother travels to New York once a week just to keep up on the latest in fashion, says the aim at Claire Dickson boutique is to incorporate the latest trends into the modern suburban wardrobe.

“Trends tend to be eclectic,” she says. “If you go to a runway show, the outfits can almost be costumes. We extract hot looks from trends, and we combine them back to something a little safer. The girl in the suburbs, realistically, she isn’t going to run around in a totally trendy look. It’s too costumey, but she may love a burnt jean with a boot. Feathers are hot right now, so a modern woman may add a dash of feather. Maybe some feather earings, or something on a top or dress; just a bit, not everything covered in feathers.”

In addition to a trendy touch, the boutique also ensures uniqueness by offering rare lines and by never stocking deep multiples of any particular item.

 “It’s always been our policy to not have a lot of anything,” Dickson says. “Even though there are hot lines everyone has, we look for lines that aren’t in other stores. I love when people say, ‘Oh, I’ve never heard of that manufacturer.’ We explain to all our clients, if you love it, buy it, because it’s not going to be here next time.”

According to Dickson, the boutique is about more than just merchandise; it’s about the total shopping experience. The center of the store has sofa chairs and a coffee table for customers to relax and talk, but more importantly, the service is top-notch and individualized. It’s almost like having your own personal shopper.

“Nobody has time anymore,” Dickson says. “ You can waste a lot of time in department stores, going this way and that way to find things that fit together, and there you’re doing it on your own. Here, It’s not just about selling as many clothes as we can. We try not to just offer clothes, but to also offer a relationship, so that the client knows we are there to help them.

“Many of our clients call ahead and let us know they only have an hour so we can get the dressing room filled with pre-coordinated looks. We’ve weeded through looks that won’t be for them to save our customer the step.”

Even better, Dickson says her staff gets to know the customers – not only their likes and dislikes, but their actual wardrobes – thus enabling them to offer better, more informed assistance.

“I’ll sell a camel pant with this and that to complement it, but I also know what’s going to be coming in, maybe things that work back to that pant,” Dickson says. “That means that when it comes in, we can call the customer and let them know. My girls all follow up with their customers; we have lists for clients – we know what they like and what they have – and we know to call them when certain items come in the store.”

Although the store has been around for decades, it has gotten increased media attention in recent years, placing in the last two Best of Philly Issues of Philadelphia Magazine as “Best Women’s Boutique, 30’s and Up” in 2010 and as “Best Evening Wear” in 2011. Despite this, Dickson assures that the store doesn’t just carry high-end clothing that it also features items for all women, regardless of age and size.

“Anybody can shop here,” she says. “We can dress somebody at any age, any size; we go from 0 to 18. We also carry everything from $30 t-shirts to $3000 gowns. We are not solely over the top with all high-end things, and we offer a lot more than just dressy fashion, fashion, fashion. We are very comfortable with a customer who just wants to pick up a cardigan sweater and jeans, but we’ll show her a way to make it more fashion forward.”

For more information on Claire Dickson Boutique: www.clairedicksonboutique.com