How Julie Roberts Turned Elizabeth Anthony Into a Houston Fashion Power — This Former Miss Missouri Started With Just $500 and a Dream
As the calendar glides further into April, the ever-stylish Julie Roberts finds herself on the brink of one of the busiest months of the year. The owner Julie Roberts, the owner and founder of the Houston luxury lifestyle boutique Elizabeth Anthony, started her business with $500 in seed money and a small startup inventory in 1987. The former Miss Missouri (1982), Roberts grew from humble beginnings to become one of Houston’s most prominent luxury fashion retailers. Today, Elizabeth Anthony has 22 employees and operates across 8,000 square feet with designer stable including Naeem Khan, Jason Wu, Jenny Packham, Giambattista Valli, Georges Hobeika and Zuhair Murad. Roberts attributes her success to a loyal team and a thoughtful selection of merchandise that includes special needs of special customers.
게시됨 : 한 달 전 ~에 의해 Shelby Hodge ~에 Lifestyle
Elizabeth Anthony proprietor Julie Roberts with her children Justin (middle name Anthony) and Jennifer (middle name Elizabeth) at a United Way fundraiser.
As the calendar glides further into April, the ever-stylish Julie Roberts finds herself on the brink of one of the busiest months of the year. The owner and founder of the Houston luxury lifestyle boutique Elizabeth Anthony is gearing up for a wealth of designer personal appearances and trunk shows as well as special events for loyal customers. All set to take place in her posh emporium in Uptown Park.
Among this month’s highlights are personal appearances from Rieke Common of Maison Common introducing her new Wild West collection, Lourdes Chavez with her 2024 fall collection, and a trunk show introduction of Sylva & Cie’s latest jewelry collection.
Could Roberts have imagined this level of fashion immersion back in 1987 when she launched her first business endeavor with little means? Clearly, it was with a determined entrepreneurial spirit that the former Miss Missouri (1982) grew from these humble professional beginnings into becoming one of Houston’s most prominent luxury fashion retailers.
“I began my consulting business with limited working capital and five dresses that I had personally worn to the Miss America Pageant,” Roberts says. “With $500 in seed money and a small startup inventory I pioneered the rental gown business.
“With every client I would coach and consult, I just kept reinvesting, reinvesting, reinvesting”
Julie Roberts’ client base grew from an initial three, she recalls, to 30, to 300 and then on and on from there.
Today, Elizabeth Anthony (the store consists of the middle names of Roberts’ daughter and her son) has 22 employees and stretches across 8,000 square feet with a designer stable that includes Naeem Khan, Jason Wu, Jenny Packham, Giambattista Valli, Georges Hobeika and Zuhair Murad.
It is rare in today’s retail environment to see not only the survival but also the prospering of a family-owned business, in particular one specializing in high-end fashion. Credit Robert’s business acumen, her dedication to the business (she is in the store every day) and her focus on personal service.
“I wouldn’t say it’s 24/7,” she says when asked about her work commitment. “I’m an early bird. I start my day about 5 am every day. I have my whole life, in my entire career. And so I spend a solid hour and a half to two hours every morning just thinking about the business, thinking about ways to grow the business, thinking about my customers.
“What could I do to provide a better service to them.”
For this interview, we are seated in a private nook off of the main floor of the two-story Elizabeth Anthony emporium, which on this day is hosting a Jenny Packham trunk show, the second floor buzzing with a to-die-for collection of dazzling gowns. Designer formal wear is in the DNA of Elizabeth Anthony, which has dressed a host of gala chairs.
Among the many notable community leaders who have found their special gowns here are Bobbie Nau, Frances Moody Buzbee, Jordan Seff, Kristina Somerville, Kelley Lubanko, Leigh Smith and the late First Lady Barbara Bush.
But there is more to Elizabeth Anthony than the posh salon for designer frocks.
“I appreciate the trust that my clients have in me,” Roberts tells PaperCity. “They come here when it counts. When they’re chairing the ballet ball or other events, they think of us, and they come here, and that’s wonderful. But I want them to come here when they’re ready for new jeans when they’re ready for casual fun, pieces to run around in and vacation type clothes. We have that too.”
Roberts attributes her ongoing success to a loyal following, a committed team and the thoughtful selecting of merchandise that includes the needs of special customers. She has been so successful in serving the ladies over the past 37 years that clients who began shopping with her in their forties and fifties continue today and bring along their daughters and even granddaughters. It’s a testament to the quality of the merchandise at Elizabeth Anthony.
“I don’t lean into fast fashion,” Roberts says. “That’s never been a priority for me. We really try to capitalize on finding collections that are very polished. We have well curated merchandise. And the level of service that we’re providing and what we’re willing to do to make the client experience amazing is just not found out there.”
Fine jewelry is another aspect of the Elizabeth Anthony purview, an addition to the store that came about with the encouragement of one client. But rather than just stock up on pricey gems, Roberts and some staff have taken accredited professional jewelry certification and her team now includes a full-time fine jewelry specialist.
“I’ve got some amazing jewelry brands,” Roberts says. “We try to focus on brands that are not all over the department stores and not in traditional fine jewelry stores. We don’t really do well with those. We just do better with something that has more of a fashion edge to it.
“That can parlay back beautifully to our apparel and can give a style a total look . . . It’s become a significant part of the business.
Throughout the Elizabeth Anthony history, Julie Roberts has lived by her motto: “Giving back, one dress at a time.” Her philanthropy extends across a field of Houston nonprofits, none more than the American Heart Association. She supports the AHA Go Red for Women campaign, annually hosting an elegant designer-centric cocktail reception and al fresco fashion presentation. It’s so popular that it is regularly a standing room only event.
Roberts also has supported through her time and resources Memorial Hermann Razzle Dazzle and Breast Cancer Research, Children’s Assessment Center, Dress for Success, Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce, Houston Junior Women’s Club, Houston Museum of Natural Science, the Houston Symphony, the KnowAutism Foundation, Salvation Army Reflections on Style and the national organization No Kid Hungry.
주제: Fashion, Style