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Tuckernuck targets the preppy crowd with its first physical location — in Georgetown, naturally

December 30, 2015 at 7:01 a.m. EST
The founders of Tuckernuck, retailer specializing in preppy clothing, from left Madeline Grayson, Jocelyn Gailliot, and September Rinnier, in the Georgetown space that will be their first brick and mortar store. (Photo by Katherine Frey/The Washington Post)

Jocelyn Gailliot was tired of searching for preppy clothes in a sea of flannel shirts. Everywhere she looked, she found combat boots instead of boat shoes.

When she did find something she liked, it was generally at J. Crew — but everybody else shopped there, too.

“I would walk into parties and literally every other person would also be wearing J. Crew from head-to-toe,” Gailliot, 35, said.

It was time for an alternative.

Three years ago, she and two co-founders co-opted a space above her parents’ garage in Georgetown and set up the online lifestyle brand Tuckernuck, named after an island off Nantucket. They specialized in what Gailliot calls classic, all-American wear: structured dresses, wool blazers and a lot of stripes. The company also carries home goods, barwear and a host of monogrammed items.

“Every single new company targets hipsters,” Gailliot said, citing brands like Urban Outfitters and Free People. “No one is realizing that most of the country doesn’t exactly dress like that.”

Now armed with $5 million in annual sales, Tuckernuck is preparing to open its first brick-and-mortar store in Georgetown this winter.

The 830-square-foot shop will be on the first floor of a luxury condo building at 1055 Wisconsin Ave. NW. (All seven units of the building, priced from $3.6 million to $5.5 million, sold to all-cash buyers within three weeks of hitting the market.) There will be a Sweetgreen salad shop and Soul Cycle cycling studio across the street, making it a prime location to target 25- to 40-year-old women, Gailliot said.

“Georgetown is a little less trendy and more classic” than the rest of the city, Gailliot said. “People here aren’t slaves to buying new trends every single season.”

Analysts say younger, more “hip” brands such as Nasty Gal and Revolve Clothing have excelled at giving shoppers a more complete experience, whether it’s by offering styling tips on their blog or posting outfits on Instagram. Brands that sell classic apparel, meanwhile, have been slower to adapt.

“It’s not that there aren’t preppy clothes out there — there are,” said Liz Dunn, chief executive of retail consulting firm Talmage Advisors. “What is different is that [Tuckernuck is] selling a rich experience that feels curated.”

Tuckernuck’s upcoming store, scheduled to open in March, is to be considerably smaller than many in Georgetown. The back of the store will be dedicated to custom monogram orders. (The company’s most popular item is a monogrammed canvas bag that sells for $120.) The front of the store, meanwhile, will be filled with ensembles put together by theme or event, such as holiday parties, sailing or ice skating.

“Whenever we’re buying our products, the first question is always, ‘Where would we wear this? ‘” Gailliot said. “We think all outfits need to take you somewhere in life, whether it’s skiing, to a hunt race or a cocktail party.”

Items, which range from $18 striped socks to $825 Canada Goose parkas, will be grouped by outfit and rotated out regularly, Gailliot said. The idea is to keep from overwhelming the customer.

“We love the Anthropologie model, but that kind of huge real estate footprint is antiquated,” Gailliot said. “That’s what hurts you in downturns, so we came up with a leaner formula.”

Gailliott and her sister, co-founder Madeline Grayson, grew up in Georgetown and graduated from National Cathedral School. The company’s third founder, September Rinnier, attended the University of Pennsylvania with Moore.

Two years ago, the company held a holiday pop-up store in Cady’s Alley in Georgetown to test the waters. It was a success, particularly with older shoppers who prefer to see things in person. With the new store, they are hoping to introduce Tuckernuck to even more shoppers. Eventually, they plan to open physical locations in places like Dallas, Nashville and Chicago, where many of their online customers live.

The company’s website has grown from carrying 10 niche brands to more than 200. Monthly sales are consistently double or triple what they were a year ago, Gailliot said.

“There are small boutiques that carry these really nice brands — all-American, classic brands — but nobody was putting them all together in one place,” Gailliot said. “That’s why we’ve had such great reception, because this is a really under-served market.”