Frankie Welch of Virginia

Photograph, Frankie Welch in front of her shop, ca. 1968

Collection of Frankie Welch, Peggy Welch Williams, and Genie Welch Leisure

The frequent travel required to help her clients compose coordinated wardrobes created a schedule that Frankie Welch viewed as incompatible with her young family. So, in September 1963 she opened her own store, Frankie Welch of Virginia, where she could have all the elements of a coordinated wardrobe in one place. The shop occupied an 18th-century three-story brick home, known as Duvall House, in Old Town Alexandria at 305 Cameron Street. It remained a popular shopping destination for decades.