Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Jane Chalfant dress shop turns 85
WEST CHESTER >> Jane Chalfant is celebrating a birthday.
The 123 N. High St. borough shop recently turned 85 years old.
Staff will soon be busy hanging mistletoe and holiday decorations dating back more than 50 years.
Times have changed and the former dress shop now predominately sells sweaters, tops and pants. The shop still sells dresses for work and play.
Co-owner Patrick Comerford said that borough shoppers have everything they might need within a short walk—including a stop for lunch, at one of more than 50 of the borough’s restaurants.
“Combined with other women’s shops in downtown West Chester, these businesses offer the best that fashion has to offer,” Comerford said.
“We love being in the borough,” said Jane Chalfant/Kiki Boutique co-owner, and Patrick’s wife, Kiki Comerford. “It has that hometown feel.
“The downtown is a destination. People are making an effort to shop here.”
Kiki Comerford helps purchase the fashions, clothing and accessories. She said Jane Chalfant/Kiki Boutique makes shopping fun.
“We really do enjoy shopping to keep new things for our customers and to interpret fashion trends appropriately,” she said.
Patrick Comerford said the shop is always evolving.
“Any business has to constantly change, particularly in the fashion business,” he said. “Things change three times a year.
“We’re constantly trying to update our image.”
With several staffers serving for decades, customers feel comfortable.
“They feel like they are shopping among friends,” Kiki Comerford said.
During the Fall of 1933, namesake Jane Chalfant, along with her partner Winifred Sharp, founded a dress shop in the Warner Theater Block. Chalfant sat on the front steps of the First National Bank in a successful bid to secure a bank loan.
In 1955, Patrick’s parents, Richard and Eileene Comerford, acquired the shop from the founders, with a handshake deal.
Now, since 1992, after several expansions, the shop is owned and operated by Patrick and Kiki Comerford.
The shop has extensively used mailers to promote the business, including one from 1943, which was mailed during WWII.
“What will this New Year bring? Perhaps it will be a great year for our victory,” reads the mailer.
Patrick Comerford, 63, grew up in the business. He has worked with and known several of his coworkers for decades.
“People want to shop local,” Patrick Comerford said. “It’s a nice downtown destination.
“We try to treat it like you are visiting our home.”