Mourning the Closing of My Favorite Go-to Boutique

Dressing Washington’s fashionistas for decades

For 32 years, Betsy Fisher – and her eponymous Washington, DC boutique – has curated collections of inspired – yet not outrageously expensive – designer clothing. A magnetic trove of treasures, Betsy and her store pulled in women who defied Washington’s reputation as a place of bland professional wear and backwater fashion. Our love of Betsy’s talent for selecting the best of standard bearers like Hilton Hollis and creative teams like Philadelphia’s Heyne Bougut – and her excitability for dressing you when you walked in the door – brought us back time and again.

Betsy’s loyal devotees kept her business healthy and thriving even as Washington endured a series of economic recessions and an urban renewal that spurred ever higher rents. But as with so many retail establishments, COVID-19 has been one storm too strong to survive. With downtown streets empty, workplaces reinvented, and special occasions moved to a virtual universe, the search for a fresh piece for your everyday wardrobe or that special occasion ground to a halt. My heart broke when I read Betsy’s letter that she would be closing up shop.

I’ll admit it: Betsy saved me from a bland and uninteresting Washington wardrobe. She’s been my fashion navigator and muse for over a decade. Betsy turned business casual into something creative not just comfortable; sold me gala dresses that turned heads but didn’t break the bank; and saved me when I was trying to figure out what at girl at 52 should wear when marrying her wife at a farm wedding. It’s true. With her help, I bought the first dress I tried on. And, because Betsy and I are built so similarly, from the moment I walked into her boutique, she always knew exactly what would fit me.

With a heavy heart, I went downtown to wish Betsy well on her next adventure. She heads west to Colorado with her husband Lyle at the end of the month. We spoke about the future of retail, what looks best on smaller-busted women like us, and the value of a versatile piece like Free Reign’s Everyday Tank in your wardrobe.

Liz nailing her wedding dress in one try with Trina Turk

The Future of Fashion Retail

Betsy: It will be prolonged – and it is a devastating downturn. A positive aspect is that excess retail per square foot per person and excess inventory will decrease. A huge downside is that we can’t even conceive of how badly this will affect people all around the world who manufacture clothing and components but live on the margin of starvation.

This type of specialty retail will always be appreciated by the few who can take the time, enjoy the personal attention and care deeply about their appearance. Stores like this will reemerge, but it’s going to take special entrepreneurs who love both the challenge of finding the pieces and matching them to people who come through the doors.

It takes skill to make money doing this. There is nothing easy about it.

The point of choosing a boutique for shopping is that when you come in, there’s somebody (owner or staff) who cares about what you’re wearing and sees you. Seeing is more than visual, it’s getting a sense of who you are. You can’t do that on e-commerce. You might be able to get a sense of personality with repeated Zoom meetings, but the in-person benefit of touching and feeling fabrics makes the experience less compelling and interesting. Good shopping is an incredibly tactile experience. The need and the desire to participate in the personal, tactile experience will drive merchants and customers back to specialty retail businesses.

The Best Styles for Smaller-Busted Women

Liz: You and I have connected over our similar bust size and the limited offerings of bras with the comfort, coverage and shape for our needs. Having dressed so many women over the years, what clothing styles work best for those of us whose busts fall on the smaller end of the spectrum?

Betsy: We have more options open to us. It’s slightly easier to be smaller-breasted and find clothes that work. We can wear crew necks. We can wear v-necks. We can go with a deeper v without too much cleavage showing. We don’t have to worry about our breasts walking into the room before we do, and our shopping experiences don’t revolve around making sure that doesn’t happen!

Crafting a great look depends on shoulder size. If you’re narrow in the shoulder, you need to consider how to balance your top and bottom. If you’re broader in the shoulder, relative to your hips, you balance more naturally, and that proportion and good posture make it easier to wear clothes.

A Tank Top with Polish and Built-in Convenience

Fashion curator extraordinaire Betsy Fisher sporting Free Reign Everyday Tank
with her Marie Saint Pierre jacket