Local Love: Violet Boutique

Violet Boutique is all the rage with its chic atmosphere and affordable prices. The popular D.C. clothing store is every Washingtonian fashionistas’ go-to spot for unique, stylish pieces that work for any occasion. We got the chance to talk to owner Julie Egermayer about her journey with Violet Boutique and of course, what she loves about the capital city.

 How many years have you been in business?
Violet Boutique opened March 11, 2011 and we will be celebrating our 5th Anniversary this month.

What inspired the name of your business?
Honestly, I really struggled with naming the store.  I toyed with names that managed to sound high-minded, pretentious or both (it’s embarrassing to admit there were A LOT of double entendres tossed around, the absolute worst being City/State).
After a few months of naming nonsense, I stopped thinking about the name of my business representing a style or concept and more about my demographic and future customer. Right before I started the process of opening my store, I worked at Rue 14, a small clothing boutique on 14th Street, with this darling, young girl named Iris. She was fresh-faced, free spirited, sweet, excited by new prospects and experiences and I loved her casually polished, yet trendy style. Of course her name was the logical jumping off point to Violet. Once I landed there, I recognized the color could be interpreted as soft or powerful, shy or bold or a number of other dichotomies to a diverse range of customers.

How did you get into your line of work?
Age, luck and a crazy amount of determination. Obviously, like anyone who decides to go into fashion, I loved playing dress-up as a girl and always wanted to open my own clothing boutique. I don’t remember this, but according to my husband, I even told him when we first met that I was going to open one some day. How I got there was much different.
The age part: I moved to DC right after college to do the DC thing – work in politics, go to grad school, become a social worker. I’ve always been ambitious and driven, but as time passed, I started wondering who and what I was doing all this for? Around the time of my 30th birthday, I experienced a series of professional setbacks while working at a community mental health agency that left me shaken and disillusioned. I also had been depressed and unhappy for a very long time, so I decided f**k it, what did I have to lose at this point? It felt like every decision I had made up until then was for someone other than myself. I asked my husband if I could quit my job and go open my own store. I’m a very fortunate woman, because he was unbelievably supportive of my decision. So I quit my job the next day, and two weeks later, I started working part-time at the aforementioned clothing boutique and a trapeze school.

I was lucky because I have a cousin who is an incredible buyer and store owner, and having worn her clothes for years, I knew her product would sell well in DC. It was also just after the worst of the recession, and I knew young professionals would flip for the fun, trendy, budget conscious LA labels she bought from. There also weren’t any other boutiques in Washington at the time who carried these lines or had executed my concept of affordable clothing sold in a beautiful boutique with the level of customer service you would expect from a high end store. After doing my own research then working with a business coach to flesh out the concept and business plan, I recognized there really was a window of opportunity in front of me, and it was now or never.

Age and luck helped, but determination is everything. Getting into any line of work you’re passionate about doesn’t just happen – it’s a conscious choice that you live with and reaffirm every single day. When you’re a small business owner, your business lives and dies on your shoulders. Good or bad you have to choose it every day.