This year has been full of surprises for the fashionistas of Louisville, from the impending arrivals of H&M and Nordstrom Rack, to Gilt’s month-long pop-up boutique experiment at Shelbyville Road Plaza. Come August 15, yet another retailer will make their debut in Louisville.
The Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Monkee’s [4] will set up shop on the ides of August at 3624 Brownsboro Road, occupying the space that formerly held a PNC Bank according to our friends over at Insider Louisville [5]. The regional chain’s history dates back to 1997 when founder Dee Dee Shaw wanted to bring collections by the likes of Marc Jacobs, Chanel and Michael Kors to her native Wilmington, N.C., instead of traveling to the citadel of fashion that is New York City. Sometime thereafter, future co-owner Brenda Maready opened the first franchise in Winston-Salem.
Since then, Monkee’s has entered markets in eight states, all in the Southeastern United States; the franchise has a footprint in the commonwealth with a store in Lexington.
Photos: Facebook/Monkee's of Louisville [6].