About Girlfriends

Katherine Ryan and Susan Margolis have been friends for nearly 20 years – a friendship that has proven to be as fun and as fabulous as the retail market in which they do business. In 1993, a couple of years after they graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, they opened girlfriends – a new kind of clothing boutique where customers could hang out with their friends, sit on a sofa, sip a latte, nibble on some candy, and of course, shop “We wanted to create a shopping experience that customers could really enjoy – like if you were shopping at your girlfriend’s house,” says Ryan.

Armed with a colorful logo, a comfy couch and a jar of licorice, Ryan and Margolis rented a cozy shop in a bustling neighborhood in San Francisco and opened their doors for business. They knew they were on to something good when on the opening day, the first sale was to a woman who purchased ten of the promotional tee shirts featuring the girlfriends logo –
tee shirts that Ryan and Margolis had originally planned to give away that day.

Thirteen years later, the girlfriends logo now adorns more than 25 different items – from baseball tees to baby tees to caps, sweatshirts, tote bags, water bottles and more – all of which continue to be bestsellers among the store’s customers. “The girlfriends logo has taken on a life of its own probably because our name alone is something nearly every woman can relate to,” says Ryan.

And just like any loyal friend, girlfriends has grown and evolved with Ryan and Margolis as their lives have taken new paths. From college, to boyfriends, to marriage, to babies and more, Ryan’s and Margolis’ boutique “gets it,” offering a range of fashions to suit a girl’s busy lifestyle. “We know our customers’ lives are as busy if not busier than ours, so we try to offer the clothes that bring out our best (and cutest!) selves, no matter what we’ve got going on – a cocktail party, a play date, a girls weekend, a final exam, you name it,” explains Ryan

Today, you can still find the original girlfriends boutique on San Francisco’s Union Street and a store in Portland, Ore., where Margolis moved in 1997, in the city’s trendy Northwest district. With stores already in two of the West Coast’s most happening cities, girlfriends has plans to hang its cheery clothesline in new cities across the country in 2007. Be on the lookout for it and don’t hesitate to stop in for a chat. Cheers and happy shopping!