Downtown proprietor keeps style fresh

Jennifer Peer White is preparing her store, Downtown Cowgirl, for spring. She is buying new merchandise, setting up window displays and updating the store’s website, downtowncowgirl.com, from which she hopes to start selling accessories and other small merchandise by the end of March.

But this isn’t White’s first rodeo; at 33, she has accomplished more than many women twice her age.

White and her business partner, Erin Johnson Kesselring have owned the clothing and accessory boutique on Rehoboth Avenue, for nearly eight years.

White has been working on Rehoboth Avenue almost continually since she turned 14. She landed her first retail job at a surf boutique; eventually, she said, the owner was taking her along on buying trips.

After graduating from Cape Henlopen High School, White said many of her classmates went on to attend college. "All my friends were leaving," she said. "I never really knew what I wanted to go to school for."

White said she took an art history class at Delaware Technical and Community College, but she soon decided to stick with her blossoming career in fashion retail. "I just felt like I was getting the experience I wanted," she said.

White said her parents were supportive of her decision. "Do what you feel is best for you," they told her.

White’s parents owned a store in Harpers Ferry, W.Va., where they sold her father’s art – etched nature landscapes on mirrors. The family moved to the Cape Region from Charleston, W.Va. when White was in seventh grade.

Like her father, White loved art, but she was not sure how to translate it into a successful career. "He really struggled with it his whole life," she said of her father.

"Somehow, it just translated to art as fashion," White said.

White worked at the surf boutique for five years.  At 21, she said she had a health scare – doctors thought she might have cervical cancer.  “I didn’t,” she said.  But the scare motivated her to leave her job for one that offered health insurance.

White left to work at the Ann Taylor outlet on Route 1. "I could not stand it," she said. "I missed the avenue, the pace, the people."

After eight months, she left Ann Taylor and secured a job as assistant manager at South Moon Under on Rehoboth Avenue; it was there that she met Kesselring.

Her future business partner applied for a sales position, equiped with a fashion merchandising degree from University of Delaware.  "I remember telling her, 'You are way overqualified for this position, but I hope you take it,'" White said.  "And she did, and we've been friends ever since."

White and Kesselring worked at South Moon Under together for about three years, White said.  When Kesselring was passed over for an assistant buyer job at the store, she left to work at White House Black Market.

Around that time, the two women decided to open a boutique of their own.

White said she and Kesselring held weekly meetings for one year to plan the opening of Downtown Cowgirl. "We bought things for the store before we even had the lease," she said.  "Major leaps of faith."

Looking back, White said, she is not sure how their plans came together so perfectly.  When the owner of Loungin Lizard told them he was moving to a different location, White and Kesselring had a business plan ready.  "Somehow, it magically came together," she said.  "I remember the day we both put in our two-weeks notice at the same time.”

White said she will never forget unlocking the doors on the opening day of the store in 2005.  "I still remember some of the things we sold that day," she said.

White said the business had a great first year.  The hardest part, she said, was not taking customers' comments personally.  "Everyone who walks by just comes in," she said.  "You hear the good, you hear the bad."

But even when the economic downturn hit in 2009, White said, the store remained profitable; she credits the unique merchandise, reasonable price point and Kesselring's business savvy.  "Erin is the best business partner anyone could ask for," White said.

But, White said, she tries not to dwell on the good things.  "I don't want to jinx myself," she said.

"We just wanted something fresh and unique," White said.  "We want people to walk in and say, 'I want a piece of this store to take home with me.'"

Though styles have changed over the years, Downtown Cowgirl has kept its unique edge.  The shop is packed with pieces that shoppers would never find in a corporate store – beachy nautical tops with a bohemian twist, retro pattern coats and dresses with a modern fit and chunky, bright jewelry. "We know our customers now better than ever," she said.

White said she has gone through a plethora of fashion phases, from purple hair and Mary Janes to board shorts and Roxy T-shirts. Recently, she said, she has been able to create her own looks and step outside of what is popular. "I'm still figuring it out," she said of her style.

To look at White, you would think she had style down to a science. She pairs neutrals with pops of bold color and modern cuts with vintage prints.

White lives in Lewes with her husband, Marcus White, and their dog, Stella.   She said Kesselring introduced her to Marcus one night in 2001, at Third Edition, once located on Lake Avenue in Rehoboth Beach.

The couple went on their first date a few weeks after being introduced. "And we've been together ever since," White said.

White said her husband's support was essential to her success as an entrepreneur.  "His faith in me being able to do this is what made me pursue it more," she said. "He didn't once question our ability to do it successfully."

As her husband inspired her to pursue one dream, her dog inspired her to pursue another.

Stella, an English bulldog, is the source of White's roller derby persona, Adorabully.

White joined Southern Delaware Roller Girls in October 2011.  She said she had always been afraid to play competitive sports; the closest she ever came was cheerleading from the sidelines at Cape High.

But, White said, she was drawn to the sport.  "It was something I wanted to do with every bone in my body," she said.

Since White has progressed on the track, she said she has seen a difference in herself off the track.  "Joining roller derby has been overcoming multiple fears," she said.

White said her confidence has soared, and she is less shy than she used to be. "I play roller derby," she said.  "Anything I put my mind to, I can probably do."

Her derby persona has even translated to her career.  "I've been dying to catch a shoplifter," she said.  Luckily for her – and the shoplifter – she hasn’t caught one yet.