1350 Connecticut Ave, NW. Photo by Flickr user Dan Zink
From a press release:
“2020 marks the 30th anniversary of local retailer Proper Topper, which will commemorate the occasion with Throwback Thursday happy hours, weekly drawings, pop-up sales, and a big celebratory bash in June. What began as a hat shop in historic Union Station – drawing famous hat lovers from Fugazi to the Clintons to the Queen of England – has evolved into a thriving neighborhood institution with two locations, devoted customers, and a diverse collection of goods far beyond just hats.
Store owner Anna Fuhrman was a recent Georgetown Law graduate looking to combine her love of fashion, art, and storytelling when she opened Proper Topper. The shop took off with the highest per-square-foot sales in Union Station, prompting proposals from would-be franchisees, investors, and retail developers around the globe looking to expand her success. Fuhrman resisted the lure of quick growth and investors, sensing that her shop’s success was too personal to be cloned, but she did self-finance an expansion to a second location in 1992; a catalog business in 1993; a third shop in 1995; an e-commerce site in 1997; a fourth shop location in 2001; and a fifth in 2017. Two locations remain today: Dupont Circle and Cathedral Commons.
The shop’s collection has shifted over time, reflecting customers’ changing tastes and needs, and Fuhrman’s own changing path: home accessories as she became a DC homeowner, gardening goods when she developed a green thumb, baby clothes when she became a mother, books galore as her family’s love of reading grew.
Over the decades, the business has weathered dramatic twists and turns in the economy and the changing nature of retail and consumer buying patterns – still thriving in an era when goods and services are only a click or tap away. The shop’s collection of unique, unexpected items with a story has excited and delighted customers over the years, creating a dedicated base of shoppers who have become extended family and marked their special life events at the shop. Proper Topper has also become an integral part of the neighborhood tapestry, strongly supporting and hosting fundraising events for local organizations, schools, and artists.
As she reflects on the shop’s journey, Fuhrman says, “It’s almost impossible to believe that three decades have passed since opening my doors that June day in 2020. Thirty years into this adventure, I continue to learn new things and find fresh connections every single day. I think the thirties are going to be Proper Topper’s best age.”