New owner, same store
Helen Ainson changes hands after 45 years
DARIEN — After 45 years at the helm, Helen Ainson founder Erica Jensen is retiring and passing ownership of her boutique to longtime general manager Corrie Belardinelli.
Opened in 1977, Helen Ainson is a Darien institution best known for selling cocktail attire and special occasion gowns along with everyday wear and accessories. The store is named for Jensen’s mother Helen, who owned her own dress shop in Greenwich where Jensen first started working in high school.
In her time running the store, Jensen has sold gowns for every kind of event from local fundraisers and weddings to Academy Award red carpets and royal dinners. Many of her repeat customers have become friends over the decades, she said.
“It’s just so wonderful to see them and help them find things to make them look beautiful and feel great,” Jensen said.
Belardinelli has studied and worked in fashion her whole life, joking that after turning 50 this year, “life is just beginning,” as she takes on her new role running the business.
“It’s a dream to finally get to own your own business at 50,” she said.
The transition has been in the works for years, the two said. Jensen said she had hoped to retire years ago but chose to stay on through the pandemic after in-person events were canceled, temporarily costing the store much of its business.
As general manager for 16 years, Belardinelli said keeping store leadership within the team helped make the transition easy for the rest of the store’s five-member staff.
“We’ve all been together for a long time,” she said. “For them to find out that I decided to buy the store, they were all very excited, and they knew how I managed already.”
Jensen said she was thrilled to pass on the business to someone who already had an intimate understanding of what it takes to run a boutique with such a loyal customer base.
“Corrie knows all of our customers, she knows all of our manufacturers,” Jensen said. “The store is basically going to run the same, except she’s owning it.”
Just because Jensen sold her store doesn’t mean she plans to leave entirely. She said she is happy to come in when needed, whether a staff member goes on vacation or one of Jensen’s personal clients stops in for a special appointment.
“It’s kind of exciting because I can stay in the business a little, but it couldn’t be a more smooth transition,” she said.
The shop will soon relocate to a larger space in Darien’s upcoming Corbin District shopping center.
Even with the new location and new owner, Belardinelli said the store will still run as a one-stop-shop for women’s clothing, just as it always has.
“It’s been a staple in the town for 45 years,” Belardinelli said. “Hopefully we’ll get another 20 years, at least, with me running it. Maybe I’ll pass the baton to someone else after that.”