Stars, animal prints, and embroidered apparel are on trend for spring, according to Karen Witt Kasper, owner of Witt’s End, a women’s clothing boutique located in Rock Prairie Crossing in College Station. “Stars is a new trend that started about a year ago,” and “it’s just getting stronger,” she says. “It’s on shoes, it’s on jewelry — it’s just crazy!” Kasper calls the star motif “the new animal print,” referring to the giraffe, leopard, snakeskin, tiger, and zebra patterns that never seem to go out of style. “They just keep changing it,” she says. Another style that’s in vogue includes combining fabrics — such as plaids with florals. The industry refers to this as mixed media, she says. Soft, tactile fabrics are especially popular, and of course, maroon clothes she says she can sell “all day long.”
“I carry a price range from moderate to medium to splurge,” Kasper says. “We have to appeal to a lot of different people, and a lot of different styles, and a lot of different budgets. It’s not about how much you make or have to spend, it’s your perspective — what [customers] see as value.”
“From stay-at-home moms to executives, I’ve got to help everybody!” she says.
Ever since the shop opened in 1991, Witt’s End has mainly catered to middle-aged and mature women who want to look current, and Kasper made this a conscious choice. “I didn’t want to cater to the university,” she says. “It’s just my theory — and it’s why I’ve been successful — that if you live by the student, you die by the student because they are so transient. By the time you get them [as customers], they graduate, so then you have to start over. I didn’t want to start all over. I want get to know my people and grow with them.”
Some of Witt’s Ends’ most popular brands are Tribal, a moderately priced line that’s both classic and comfortable; Johnny Was, known for its signature Boho look with intricate fabric patterns and embroidery; and Renaur, a company out of Canada, whose basic, easy-care pants are one of the shop’s best sellers. Additional lines Witt’s End carries include Layerz from Navasota, Vintage Havana (shoes), and jewelry by Lauren Ferrell Designs, Reanaldo, and Kori Green Designs.
Kasper enjoys making suggestions to her customers without being pushy. “I try to guide them,” she says. Occasionally, she encourages them to step out of their comfort zone.
“Just try it,” she’ll say. “Please try it because I think it would be super cute on you.” But it’s OK when they say no. “It’s not about me,” she says.
“When you feel pretty, you feel powerful or empowered or strong,” Kasper says. “If you get up and get dressed every day — not that you have to have to put on pearls and a dress — but if you look good, you’re going to perform better. You are going to feel better about yourself.”
Through the years, Kasper developed many contacts, not only through the store but through years of serving on boards, including the College Station Chamber of Commerce, BCS Prenatal Clinic, and the Junior League of Bryan-College Station. Many of her customers have also become friends. “So many people have touched my life. I feel like I have a really big [extended] family here,” she says.
“For almost 30 years this community has been so nice to me, and I’ve never asked for anything,” she says. But when the pandemic initially hit, Kasper had to close her store for more than six weeks. “I was frantically emailing my companies to say I was closed, don’t ship things to me.” she says. Kasper applied for and was awarded grants from United Way and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) that helped keep her business and six employees afloat. Meanwhile, she had an excess of inventory that she needed to sell.
“I needed help, and I wasn’t afraid to ask,” she says. She ran a 30-second commercial on KBTX-TV, where she had garnered a following as a monthly contributor on Twin City Talk. “It was pretty raw. It was pretty real,” she says of her on-air plea. “I can’t tell you how many people saw my ad and said, ‘I don’t need anything, but I’m here to help you.’”
Kasper also made the difficult decision to close her other store, Maddie Joy, also located in College Station. Maddie Joy was geared for young, budget-conscious moms in their 20s and 30s. “We remodeled this store to incorporate both,” she says. She also instigated the Witt’s End We Box program, in which customers to be shipped a hand-picked assortment of clothes and accessories from the shop, especially chosen for them based on their style preferences.
“I’m thankful for every sale,” Kasper says. “It takes a village, and I’m so thankful that I have a big village.”
