Frill Seeker

Diann Newell treats her customers to a wonderland of frilly fashion.

“You’re never fully dressed without a bow. That’s been our motto,” says Diann Newell, co-owner of Hansel & Gretel children’s boutique in Cape Girardeau, MO. That more-is-more approach to kids’ fashion has enticed moms to stop by for 42 years to check out a selection fit for a fairy-tale princess, bedecked with ruffles, ribbon, smocking and, of course, bows.

Along with her husband (co-owner Mike Newell), the duo crafts almost all of the boutique’s bows by hand—in a color palette to match the apparel. It’s not the only way hubby pitches in: When customers’ kids are napping in the car, he’ll often run outside to keep an eye on them while mom shops. That commitment to customer service is just one reason why its shoppers remain loyal fans. Today, women who dressed their daughters in the store’s dainty frocks decades ago now come by to buy gifts for their great-great-grandchildren.

The shop’s name was inspired by its first location in downtown Cape Girardeau, a 600-square-foot brick cottage the couple opened in 1973.  A teacher, Newell decided to cash out her teacher’s retirement fund to purchase the store’s merchandise, an adorable array of American-made apparel. (Many of the store’s current lines are still made in the USA.)

Next came a move to the town’s new mall in 1981, which the couple quickly regretted. “I thought I had hit the big time. But I was young, dumb and naive,” she jokes. Thankfully, a 3,000-square-foot spot across from the mall became available—the spot that the store still calls home today. And while retail has certainly seen its share of revolutions since the Newells first opened up shop, their secret to the success remains: Stick with what works. “We’re enough to the south that people wear fluff,” she says of the store’s abundance of bows and frills.