Photo courtesy of Frances Valentine
Frances Valentine interior photo.
Luxury brand Frances Valentine, founded by best friends and business partners Elyce Arons and the late Kate Spade in 2016, will open in Alexandria Friday, May 19.
The store will open at 924 King St. in Old Town Alexandria. The location was formerly home to popular retailer Bloomers. Bloomers has moved to 706 King St.
Frances Valentine shops feature clothing, shoes, handbags, jewelry, home goods and more.
Frances Valentine's locations are located in upscale neighborhoods including in New York City, Houston (River Oaks), Atlanta (Buckhead), Palm Beach, Sag Harbor, N.Y. and Birmingham, Ala. The brand can also be found at a specialty shop at The Greenbrier hotel and at the La Quinta resort in California.
The new location in Alexandria is part of a "Southern expansion" the company has undertaken and will soon also be opening a store in Naples, Fla. according to an interview with Arons in The Atlantan.
With Spade and Spade's husband, Arons helped create the Kate Spade brand, which launched in 1993 with signature handbags. Over a span of 13 years, the brand branched into clothing, accessories and home goods. It was sold in 2006 for a reported $59.4 million to Neiman Marcus, after the legendary department store first purchased a stake in the company for $34 million in 1999. It was later sold to Liz Claiborne and Coach.
Kate Spade was found dead in her apartment of an apparent suicide in 2018 at age 55.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text "help" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741, or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
