Francesca’s Collections

Francesca’s is a new store in the Short Pump mall… it looks and feels very much like a boutique, though it turns out it’s a chain… This is the only location on the East Coast between Boston and North Carolina, though there is another location in Charlottesville…
However, Francesca’s has a pretty local model, and not every store carries the same items… the store in Short Pump Mall has a great selection of jewelry and accessories situated in the middle of the store, and racks upon racks of trendy dresses and separates are on the walls.
This is the ultimate location for a unique graduation dress (high school or college), or an adorable date night dress. The dresses are all very reasonably priced (most are between $ 32-​$ 48) and while I wouldn’t say they are appropriate for a semi-​formal, they would work for anything less formal than that. When I was there I saw several young women trying on dresses for dances and graduation…
While the dresses definitely stood out for me, they also had some adorable skirts and really cute tops. Some of the tops could definitely be work-​appropriate, when paired with some more conservative pieces… they were all pretty unique and fresh– lots of dusty pink, teal and grey and everything had ruffles and fabric flowers and jersey matte fabric… the jewelry section featured lots of oversized pearls in colors like grey and pink, plus large bohemian style earrings and chunky cocktail rings.
This place is definitely worth a trip if you are updating your wardrobe for vacation, looking for a dress for a specific event, or if you want to update your look with a few new affordable trendy pieces.
However, three things to note– 1. The selection is pretty small– only a few items in each size go to each store. So if you see something you like– GRAB IT. 2. There aren’t that many dressing rooms (maybe 3) but I was there on a Tuesday night and it wasn’t too crowded… 3. Just like a boutique, the service is personal, and not rushed. The ladies who run the store are awesome, will point you in the right direction if you are looking for something in particular, and said that they get new merchandise Monday through Friday, so if I am ever looking for something in particular, to just let them know and they’ll order it for me and let me know when it arrives! Awesome!