Have you ever been born to do something? I come from a long line of creative, vintage-loving, deal-finding, and fashionable women, so you could say it was practically in my blood to live, breathe, and sweat vintage and antiquities. Since childhood, my Nana, my mother, my Yia-Yia — all of them — would bring me to antique stores and thrift stores galore to hunt for treasures. Nana would have me dressed from head to toe in her vintage silk hats and gloves, she’d let me dig through drawers and drawers of her jewelry to wear whatever I wanted. My mother was always dressing up my sister and I in giant bows and outfits to match, fake furs, rhinestones and bedazzled everything (she has always believed the bling-ier, the better). My version of dress-up was rummaging through Nana’s attic, digging out her old clothes or the clothes of my SEVEN aunts and uncles to play around with. I was a princess, a fairy, an angel, a superhero, a forest nymph, a Grecian goddess. I was always daydreaming, head in the clouds, and I could be anything I wanted to be — so why not vintage store owner?

Blue Hour Vintage may be new today in 2024, but it has been 29 years in the making. Operating online since 2019, I always knew someday I wanted to open a brick and mortar location — a fanciful, ethereal spot for grown-ups (and not-so-grown ups) to play dress-up — and since attending UMW from 2013-2017 and falling in love with Fredericksburg, I knew this was the perfect place. Still, it always seemed like something in the far-off future. It wasn’t until the beginning of this year, 2024, that my father — a man who built his own business from the ground up — encouraged me to follow through on the dream.

Blue Hour Vintage is a family affair. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the inspiration of generations of fabulous women before me and around me, without the most supportive and loving husband, and my dad.