0 Comments | The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star, Norfolk, VA, Nov 21, 2009 | by JAMESETTA M WALKER
By Jamesetta M. Walker
The Virginian-Pilot
VIRGINIA BEACH
Popular women’s clothier Beverly’s Fine Fashions is hanging up its hat .
“There comes a time when you have to make a tough decision,” said Beverly Bates, owner of the boutique in the Hilltop North Shopping Center in Virginia Beach. “It’s heartbreaking.”
Bates said Friday she wasn’t going to blame her decision on any one thing. She would not say it was the economy.
Earlier this year, Bates established a consignment corner in the store to capitalize on increased bargain-hunting by fashion shoppers.
Bates described herself as a hope-springs-eternal type of person. “There are so many times you can pull a rabbit out of the hat,” she said.
Bates operated Beverly’s Fine Fashions for 13 years. She moved the store from Chesapeake to the bustling Hilltop retail area five years ago.
The store specialized in boutique-quality special occasion, resort and day wear. Consumers have voted the store gold in the Best Ladies Apparel/Boutique and Best Formalwear categories in The Virginian-Pilot’s annual Best of Virginia Beach awards.
The store started as a fashion house for plus-sized fashions, but Bates expanded her stock to include distinctive apparel for sizes 4- 24.
Beverly’s has three part-time employees, Bates said. She’d earlier cut back from six or seven.
The closure widens the void for independently owned stores specializing in special occasion wear. Karen Eagle, a bridalwear and special occasion shop in Hilltop North, closed in 2007.
On Friday at a fashion show benefitting Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters, Bates distributed invitations to a private closing sale that will run from Nov
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