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Queen of Rumors

"The name Rumors came from how so many people in Richmond talk about doing things and nothing ever happens from it. All these people were coming up to us and were like 'We hear you are opening up a store. Is it true? Is it just a rumor?' And we just thought "'Rumors,' that's what we would call it." 

 

After spending four or five years in school, many people want to take those precious few years after college and focus on having fun. However, Casey Longyear and her best friend, Marshe Wyche decided to give birth to an idea they had been thinking about for a while. Without any financial aid, they opened Rumors, a boutique located at 404 N. Harrison St., right next to the Village Café.

 

What is the history of Rumors, how was the idea born?

 

My best friend Marshe Wyche and I opened Rumors together and we actually decided it was something we wanted to do the day I graduated from VCU two years ago this spring. We talked about how Richmond had so much potential but there was really nothing here that embodied the whole artistic and music community ... On the day I graduated we got serious about it and said we would deicide about it fully at the end of the summer ... When I went traveling that summer in Spain I was looking at all these boutiques and labels and sketching all these store designs and I texted Marshe and said "let's do it." We gave ourselves a year to do it and we gave ourselves a date. We wanted to originally open on June 1, 2007 and we came across this empty space.

Did you renovate and decorate the store yourself?

 

We did all the decorating ourselves with help from the community and our friends. We never hired anyone to do anything. There was no bathroom so we had to install one. We knew the clothes would be really colorful so we wanted a backdrop for it where they would stand out. I really like the color gold so we spray-painted a lot of the store gold.

 

Where did the name Rumors come from?

 

The name Rumors came from how so many people in Richmond talk about doing things and nothing ever happens from it. All these people were coming up to us and were like "We hear you are opening up a store. Is it true? Is it just a rumor?" And we just thought "'Rumors,' that's what we would call it."

 

Where are you from originally?

 

I'm from Rappahannock County in rural Virginia. I grew up with sheep and cows. My school was tiny. I graduated with seven kids. I moved to Richmond for school and fell in love with it.

 

How were you able to maintain a successful boutique right after graduation?

 

For me it was really good because I came straight from school where you had deadlines and things you had to do at a certain time. So I could maintain that here as well. It's a bit harder when you're doing it with a friend ... we don't have any employees but this summer we did get three interns from the fashion department and they have been amazing.

 

What made you decide that being almost directly on VCU's campus would be the best location for Rumors and not Carytown or Short Pump?

 

Originally, we wanted to be around the art galleries on Broad Street, but those places were too expensive. We didn't go to Carytown because it was too expensive as well, and we were paying for this all on our own. We didn't get a loan or anything. This location happened to work for us. We didn't really plan to be by VCU, but I'm glad it worked out that way.

 

Has being close to VCU helped or hurt your business?

 

It has definitely helped. The fashion department has been amazing. Whenever there are school tours they send people over here. [VCU] helped me find three interns, they suggested people and they come in and check on me all the time.

 

On your Web site, it says that many of the clothes are unique and "indy" designs, which they are. Where do the clothes come from? Are they imported from New York City or D.C.?

 

I find the clothes online mostly, but they are from all over the place. We've had clothes from nine different countries, from South Africa to Japan, Iceland, Italy and Belgium. We also have a lot of domestic and local stuff. I find lines through blogs, through magazine write-ups ... and fashion spreads.

 

Are any of the clothes your own designs?

 

We have a thrift store area upstairs and I've sold a lot of shirts that I've sewn. One day I would love to have a line but I didn't go to school for design. I went for merchandising.

 

What lessons have you learned from owning your own business?

 

Yeah, I've learned a ton because everything is directly hands-on. You just learn what from what people look at, what people say and what you need to adjust without compromising yourself.

 

There are music shows here many nights during the week. Is that planned to help out business?

 

When we first opened, we had no idea we were going to have shows and within a week we had one. It was because the Nancy Raygun had just closed down ... and all these tours were booked for the summer and they had no place to play in Richmond. So we were like "we have a space." Our landlord was alright with it and we can't have alcohol in here so it can be "all ages," which is great. We really just wanted to help out the community. We sell independent music labels, too.

 

Has the popularity of Rumors increased in the one year it has been open?

 

Yeah, everyone I've talked to has heard of it before, if not been here, which is really cool because it was such a short time period. We haven't done much advertising. It has all been word of mouth.

 

What is your favorite thing about owning/working at Rumors?

 

It's hard -- there are so many things! It's awesome working with your best friend and working towards something that's really like your baby. You get to pick how everything looks. We really started from absolutely nothing and I love watching where it's going.

 

What is your favorite article of clothing that you sell at Rumors?

 

I have a favorite line called Control, which is from Finland.

 

How did you become interested in fashion, what made you want to go to school to study it?

 

I started sewing by hand in high school and I guess it went along with being in the punk and music scene. I would alter some clothes that I didn't like the fit of and people told me I should go to school for fashion. I didn't know what I wanted to go to school for, but I got here and I fell in love with [fashion.] 

 

Besides Rumors, what is your favorite clothing store in Richmond?

 

I love Clementine in Carytown. They have Betsey Johnson dresses and things like that for half the price. There is also a really cool thrift store in the Southside called the Good Samaritan and it's huge and cheap.

 

When many people describe Rumors, especially those who are not familiar with the store's underground, indie feel, the words "scene" and "scene Kids" come up a lot. Do you think this term applies you, the store and the shows that play there?

 

That's really interesting, because I thought that mainly so-called "scene" kids would be shopping here and they don't. Sorority girls come in here, young freshman who have just started at VCU and a lot of young moms and professors in the art departments. [Scene kids] definitely come in here and they come to all the shows, but as far as shoppers go it is widely varied. We originally formed this store because of the lack of "scene" stores around Richmond, but we're interested in fashion of all kinds. I've been so glad to see variety because I didn't expect that at all.

 

Do you think Rumors has helped Richmond become more familiar with the underground indie music and clothing look and sounds? You know, something other than "let's go to Willow Lawn and go to Old Navy?"

 

I think we really have. I love when people come in here who have just moved to the city. We literally sit them down and write them out lists of restaurants and stores for them to go because it can take so long to find the awesome places. I love being able to tell people what is going on.

 

Has the recession and the slouching economy hurt business at all?

 

It has, especially lately. We have felt it. We could tell it was going to happen in the winter so we adjusted orders accordingly, because we can only buy as much as we can afford. We do not take a cut from the store profits at all. Over the past year we both have taken about $500 each, which is nothing. We have had yard sales for extra income, anything we can think of to make extra money.

 

What are your goals for the future, for yourself and for Rumors?

 

The store has grown so well, but one day we could love to have a [concert] venue. We have so many options. We signed a three-year lease, but I don't really feel that at this age we can grow very much here, I want to open a store again in the future, but I also want to travel a little bit and get inspired. Marshe and I are going to work together for the rest of our lives. We both love each other and we love fashion and we want to continue doing things.