On the Move: Stephanie's in St. Paul

After a dozen years in the Highland Park neighborhood of St. Paul, women’s clothing boutique Stephanie’s is making a big move—across the street. The store will take up residence at the Finn, a boutique-style apartment building that will have retail on on its first floor level when it opens this summer. Stephanie’s owner Stephanie Morrissey says that her store will join other tenants including Agra Culture Kitchen & Press, exercise studio Alchemy, and a to-be-announced salon.

Morrissey, a St. Paul native, founded Stephanie’s in September 2004, stocking the store with classic looks from brands such as DVF, Nicole Miller, Ecru, and Shoshanna that are appropriate for any age. Since then, she has opened and closed a second location, added a dress rental service, and continued to evolve within a challenging retail climate.

“Every time my lease is up, I think about moving,” Morrissey says. “I love the store’s original location, but I feel like it has been getting a little stale.” She says she had considered renovating the current store during the store’s tenth anniversary, but decided to hold off. Two years later, she received a call from the Finn’s leasing agent, and the timing worked out perfectly with her lease. “I thought, this it exactly the kind of thing I imagined for Stephanie’s,” she says of the lifestyle aspect of the Finn. “The fact that I get to be a part of it is everything I hoped for.”

Morrissey expects the move to be relatively seamless, with a tentative opening set for August. Morrissey says that the new store will bring in some new designers and concepts—beyond that, she’s mum on the details, but promises that “all the things you know an love about Stephanie’s will only be getting better.”

Until then, shop Stephanie’s current location at 758 Cleveland Ave. S. in St. Paul. stephaniesshop.com