‘We’re Going to Make It After All,’ is a tribute to the late Kate Spade, and her best friend Elyce Arons shares their brand, Frances Valentine, at Windswept Clothiers
Written by Kristen Hampshire
Frances Valentine is rooted in a story and its pieces are designed with joie de vivre.
Best friends Elyce Arons and the late Kate Spade co-founded the brand in 2016, inspired by their love of feel-good fashion, timeless designs, patterns that make you smile, and practical wearability.
There’s a backstory leading up to Frances Valentine. Elyce shares it in a gracious legacy story, We Might Just Make It After All: My Best Friendship with Kate Spade.
Elyce is celebrating the book’s launch at Easton’s Windswept Clothiers (15 N. Harrison Street, Easton, MD 21601), where owner Debra Principi will hold a trunk show on Tuesday, Sept. 9 from 1-3 p.m., to be followed by a book signing at The Ebenezer Theater.
The book talks about the ultimate sale of the Kate Spade brand and Elyce also shares how shopping—only to find holes in the market—drew them back into business as Frances Valentine.
“Katy and I both missed fashion and creating things,” Elyce says.
They’d look for a piece to round out an outfit or just anything that would pique their interest. “There’s kind of a hole here that we need to fill,” they agreed.
Guided by the philosophy “Wear what makes you happy,” the best friends made a meaningful mark on the fashion world—one that Elyce and her close-knit team carry forward.
Love, Katy
Elyce’s book harkens back to good times, tough times and the fiber that lasting friendships are made of. The two reawakened their hunger for fashion when creating Frances Valentine.
Elyce wanted the brand name to honor Katy, so they tossed around family names and landed on Francis, using the feminine spelling for their women’s wear. Valentine is from Katy’s mother’s side.
After Kate Spade’s tragic passing in 2018, Elyce says the team “was sort of like, ‘What should we do?’” And we decided that we should keep going.”
“We wanted to do a tribute to Katy, but designing a new handbag didn’t feel like the right thing,” Elyce says. “So, we took two of her favorite vintage clothing pieces and remade those, and they sold out immediately. We called the line Love, Katy.”
Frances Valentine now offers handbags, shoes, and clothing. “It’s based on the pieces we collected over the years as inspiration. We want you to walk into a store and say, ‘Oh, my God, I have to have that,’ like it’s a piece of art you’re drawn to,” says Elyce.
The got-to-have-it vibe is what Elyce’s design team accomplishes.
Of the Frances Valentine line, Elyce says, “It’s like she’s still here. And I think she’d be really happy to see what we’ve done with it.”
Elyce Arons and Kate Spade made their mark on the fashion world guided by the words, “Wear what makes you happy.”
Feeling the Story
Debra Principi says the Frances Valentine collection in her shop includes colorful, fun-loving pieces, adding that the aesthetic is a natural fit for her Easton venue.
“We have a lot of fun here, and that’s why I love Elyce so much—she’s fun, energetic and extremely inspirational,” she says.
Katy and Elyce always wanted to open a retail location, and now there are eight Frances Valentine stores across the East Coast, Southeast and Texas. Expanding the brand into shops like Windswept Clothiers is telling the story in venues that share a love for creativity.
Just as the Kate Spade brand expanded into complementary offerings, Frances Valentine has been collaborating with vendors that align with its vision. Frances Valentine partnered with Caddis to create reading glasses, a nod to book lovers who want to soak up the story in style.
Next, the brand is introducing cosmetic bags in an array of prints for the book tour and trunk show.
Purchasing any Frances Valentine item fulfills that luxe “gift to yourself,” Elyce says.
She continues, “Creating pieces for a lifetime is what Frances Valentine is all about—a jacket you can wear five years from now and say, ‘This still looks good on me, and I get 15 compliments every time I wear it.’” CS
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