Friendly faces and great finds are always at Annie’s Frugal Finery in Whitesburg, KY
I have heard that late January and early February are some of the most depressing months of the year. New Year’s resolutions have likely failed, and bills are piling up from the holidays and heating expenses. It is dark and cold and muddy and mushy. Layer on a global pandemic, and we all certainly have an excuse to feel down. I don’t know about you, but I am ready for a pick-me-up: something a little indulgent, but without any worry or guilt. And I am here to share a small, woman-led business in Appalachia that will solve all of these issues while making you feel good about yourself and your purchases.
Annie’s Frugal Finery has a selection for all ages
Annie’s Frugal Finery is an upscale consignment boutique that is led by a mother-daughter team with a big commitment to environmental sustainability. This great business is located in the heart of the Appalachian coalfields in Letcher County, Kentucky. If you get a chance to travel to Whitesburg, you will definitely want to stop in, because the shop is adorable. Painted a cheery pink and perched alongside the mountains, it is a very fun place to visit, full of sweet and feminine touches. The staff are friendly, and the store even smells fantastic. You may, like me, get so immediately caught up in perusing racks of garments that you don’t even notice some of the features that make it far from the ordinary boutique.
There are some serious luxury goods among the more everyday treasures
Although some of the clothes on the racks are new with tags, they are all being passed from previous owners who receive a consignment when the item is sold. The boutique gives us a way for us to steer away from what is called “fast fashion:” clothes that were meant to be worn a few times, then tossed into a landfill. The fashion industry is one of the most polluting industries in the globe, creating 20% of waste water and 10% of carbon emissions. Not to mention that cheap clothes are created through low-wage labor, often in developing nations. But the clothes at Annie’s Frugal Finery have all been saved from the fate of buy-and-dump. Whether or not they have been worn before, they now have the potential for a new life, perhaps in your hands.
The consignment model is just the beginning of the socially responsible actions Debbie and Annie, the mother-daughter team, have taken. They applied for a special program from the Mountain Association so that they could install solar panels on the roof of the building, which now supplies all of the power to the building. They also have a focus on creating career-worthy jobs, and pay their staff far above minimum wage. Even the consignment model puts money back into the hands of women, which is particularly important in places like Whitesburg, where 44% of children live in poverty.
Mother-daughter owners, Debbier and Annie, who are guided by a desire to care for the environment and their community
All of this is well and good, but it is the quality of the shopping experience that keeps you coming back. As you move through the store, you will find that there are a variety of options. I am pretty short, and I was delighted with the petite section and noticed there were also options for tall women and extended sizes. Even better, there are some really good men’s options as well as adorable children’s clothing. There are even household items in a separate section upstairs. Shopping in the store feels very safe, thanks to very strict measure enacted after Covid-19. Masks are required and staff are protected by a plexiglass shield.
The big upside is that the clothes are also well priced. I bought a new with tags dress from Ann Taylor for $12, for example. Affordable, professional clothes are very hard to come by in rural America, let alone in rural Appalachia. I can imagine how helpful it is for women who consign their items. You can easily load up on fun items for less than you would pay for a single outfit in a department store.
A cheerful pink building among the mountains
The good news is that Annie’s now has a full website. So even if you aren’t local to Whitesburg—or you aren’t up to shopping out in public yet—you can still find great items. They are constantly updating their inventory, and particularly have some nice luxury finds. For example, they have several Louis Vuitton purses for sale.
This means that all of us can support an awesome, woman-led business in rural Appalachia from the comfort of our own home. We can save money and feel extra good that the clothes we are buying did not create extra global waste, and also helped create good jobs in an area undergoing immense economic strain and transition. Plus, you can imagine that cheerful pink building, full of wonderful treasures and friendly faces, entirely powered by solar energy.
See, doesn’t that feel good? It is just what we need to combat the winter blah’s and put our face towards a better future.
There are so many great options at Annie’s Frugal Finery!
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Sky and Geoff Marietta are passionate about rebuilding Main Street businesses in Appalachian Kentucky. Look for some of our blog posts below, or find out more about our start here.
