Andrea Villegas and her mother, Tamara, have a saying that sums up their shared outlook on life.
“We believe in Tuesdays,” declares Tamara, as she sits in the pair’s Fredericksburg boutique, clad in a brightly colored dress. “I wear (a dress like this) on a Tuesday. We like to dress nice when we feel good, but it’s important to also dress nicely when you don’t feel good. It brightens your day.”
In other words, you deserve to look and feel your best whether it’s a typical weekday or a special occasion.
That’s the philosophy behind the Villegas’ new Fredericksburg boutique, Gersemi & Hnoss (pronounced Her-se-mi-and-noss), which opened in May. The origin story behind the store has a written-in-the-stars feel to it. The retelling goes: Tamara, a military wife who found herself in Fredericksburg a few years ago when her husband was stationed here, was vacationing in Amsterdam when she spotted a boutique out of the corner of her eye bursting with bright colors.
“My mom and I love color,” says Andrea, of why it caught her mom’s eye. The store was home to Dutch fashion brand, Lien & Giel, which is known for its splashy colors and bold prints. “My mom said she never felt sexier,” when she tried on the dresses, recalls Andrea.
When she returned home, dresses for Andrea and her other 20-something daughter packed in her suitcase, she announced she’d had a dream that they opened a store in Fredericksburg. Tamara was already in business with her other daughter—they run Cocoa Nook (formerly The Frenchman’s Corner)—so it was Andrea that went in with her mother on this new venture. As luck would have it, a storefront became available across the street from the chocolate shop.
They named the store Gersemi & Hnoss after the Greek goddesses of sensuality and beauty, and stocked it with the fun and frothy dresses Tamara had fallen in love with in Amsterdam.
The dresses, says Andrea, fulfilled all the important criteria many women want in a dress. “The price is reasonable, they’re unique and they feel good.” Plus, there’s that “magic ruching” that makes nearly everyone look great in the dresses.
The Lien & Giel line also comes in a range of sizes, from XS to 3XL, a rarity in the fashion world and even less common in a European brand.
The designer “knows how to cut dresses for women. That meant a lot to me,” says Andrea. “Someone heard my cries for wanting cool clothes in large sizes.”
If you stop in the store, you’ll typically be met by the mother-daughter duo (that is, when Tamara isn’t across the street at her chocolate shop) and their infectious happiness.
They know that the Fredericksburg fashion scene is fairly conservative, but they’re aiming to change that with Gersemi & Hnoss.
“The idea is women come in and feel as beautiful as those goddesses,” says Andrea. “It’s how we felt when we first tried on the dresses.”
And, at the end of the day, it’s all about making their customers happy. “We’ve always been in the business of making people happy,” says Tamara. “I sell chocolate and clothes for a living. It doesn’t get any happier.” // Gersemi & Hnoss: 806 Caroline St., Fredericksburg, 540-373-7555
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