Poor Little Rich Girls outfits the beach
Lizzie Wilson and Megan Churchman share the memory of Shirley Temple films they once watched with their grandmothers.
So the two women knew exactly what they would call their new boutique even before they came up with the concept.
“I approached Megan with the idea of opening a boutique in Rehoboth, and she said ‘I just walked by the perfect spot’,” Wilson recalled. “So we brainstormed that night and decided to do a part-modern, part-vintage boutique as it reflected both of our styles.”
Once they realized the location they scouted had formerly housed a soap company, the owners said the name was a natural fit. Poor Little Rich Girls boutique is now open in Rehoboth Mews.
The namesake Shirley Temple film features the child star as the daughter of a widowed soap manufacturer. “That helped us come up with the whole concept,” she said. “The name came before the concept.”
Once the lease was signed – no more than three days after the collaboration began with their boutique brainstorm – Churchman said the real work began for the pair, scrambling to stock the store with unique merchandise mid-summer, while simultaneously working other full-time jobs.
“Literally we had alarms on our phones so we could wake up for online auctions closing so we could catch these sales,” she said. “We both like vintage a lot and obviously with vintage there is no real vendor, and mid-summer there were no new product lines, so we started scouring the internet and sample sales in New York and Philly.”
Arranging the business so Wilson purchased most of the jewelry and new items while Churchman buys vintage items and clothing, the partners said they always encounter new items when they come to work, and their products don’t last long.
“It’s a new store every time, so it’s even exciting for us,” Churchman said.
“We don’t converse every time we purchase something,” Wilson added.
“We trust each other,” Churchman finished. “We have a mix where you can find a $30 piece of clothing all the way up to a Chanel skirt, and it’s the same with our bags.”
Wilson said the first season has been a mad dash to get their business up-and-running, but with their first Labor Day weekend out of the way, the pair will be looking forward to events like the sidewalk sales and other shoulder season events.
“It was a ton of work, but I think it was well worth it,” she said. “Since opening, I haven’t shopped at any of the corporate stores. We’ve definitely seen the fruits of our labors, and you can tell when you get something good because it always goes so fast.”
Churchman said she hopes the business continues to be a place where local customers and those on vacation can find unique, eclectic clothes, gifts, art, stationary and home furnishings well into the future.
“Essentially we want people to come into the store for something different,” she said. “When I go on vacation, I buy that one thing, and I want it to be special. So that’s what we want to do, we want people to feel like every purchase is special.”
Poor Little Rich Girls boutique is located in the Rehoboth Mews shopping throughway at 129 Rehoboth Ave. For more information, contact the owners of Poor Little Rich Girls at 703-725-8930 or 302-542-3748 while their website is under construction.
