A designer fashion shop in south Arkansas that drew wealthy clientele and national acclaim will close at the end of the month after 70 years in business.
Lois Gean Kelly opened Lois Gean's in downtown Magnolia in 1948. Since then, shoppers have included Hillary Clinton and actor Jerry Van Dyke and his wife.
Kelly died in 2003. Kathy Gean, owner and operator of the store for the past 15 years and relative of the late founder, said that a combination of slow recovery from the 2008 recession and online shopping trends led to the closure.
The shop was featured in Southern Living magazine and had advertisements in Vogue and Harper's Bazaar, according to the newspaper. At one point, an estimated 70 percent of the store's patrons were from out of town.
"People have come from all over recently -- from Tulsa to south Texas -- for one last shopping trip," Gean said.
Through the years, customers from Hawaii to Memphis called upon Lois Gean's for the latest fashion house trends from New York and beyond. And last Christmas, customers bombarded the shop with orders, just to see the store's famous Old English lettering one more time on a gift under the tree.
The doors of Lois Gean's first opened in 1948 as a gift shop, specializing in cards and scarves. Soon, "Terri Lee" dolls hit her shelves and the business took off. The 16-inch painted, collectible figurines were all the rage for little girls of the period.
Even recently, especially after the store closing was announced in late 2017, customers occasionally took their antique dolls to express their fondness for their prized antique possessions and re-live the memories they had as children.
In the early 1960s, Kelly wanted to further set herself apart from other retailers. That's when Lois Gean's, as it is today, became a reality. With the re-model of her store, the shop took on the eclectic look, style, and feel that still drapes every inch of the building in the "Lois" style.
Vintage mailboxes near the counter came into play when the city of McNeil planned to discard the metal containers. The owner saw promise in the wall of post receptacles and, since then, they have sat as stationary and giftwrap holders, as well as decoration, for more than 50 years.
The red chandelier -- described once by Women's Wear Daily as "something only seen in a bordello" -- hangs over the center sitting area, giving a warm ambiance to the room. The distinctive gray wooden beams in the form of a classic barn frame, however, offered the most enduring and eye-catching flavor of the shop's decor.
"The rustic look was a bit ahead of its time. Not many people were decorating their buildings in that style in the 1960s. It just gave the place such a unique feel," Gean said.
During the 2008 recession, when Lois Gean's nearly closed, clothing orders stopped and the owner thought the business had run its course. But word spread of the closing and customers rallied to bring in more business, eventually keeping the shop going for another decade. Prices were also tweaked to compete in the new age of retail.
But the market changed drastically, even in the past 10 years, and the time to close down once and for all arrived. Citing a combination of a snail-like economic recovery and online shopping trends, the decision was difficult but had to be made.
"I think there's such an increased pressure on brick-and-mortar retailers now," said Gean. "When everybody's gone and the stores are all boarded up, I think people will wish they had their favorite old places back."
State Desk on 03/27/2018