Dugo
For the retail world, the most recent closure announcement hits particularly hard: Special occasion Galleria boutique Dugo (otherwise known as Dress Up Go Out) announced it will shutter its doors at the end of January.
Many consider Dugo owner Nancy Shank to be our resident occasion wear expert, having spent her entire career in retail. Prior to opening Dugo in 2005, the fashion veteran worked for legendary Twin Cities specialty dress shops of yesteryear inducing Harold, Edward Holmberg, Mainstreet Outfitters, and most recently, Sonnies, where she worked for almost two decades.
At Dugo, dresses have always been the stars of the store— from cocktail to black tie gowns—and Shank has worked hard to make for herself as the premier destination for high-fashion mothers-of-the-bride. (Shank also stocks a smattering of more casual, contemporary and popular lines like Marc Cain and Iris Setlakwe).
Since opening her store, she’s survived many peaks and valleys, including the 2008 recession, when, like today, few consumers were investing in formalwear. “It was scary–I remember many sleepless nights back then.” It made the spring shutdown due to Covid-19 a bit less daunting for the longtime business owner, yet, different from anything she’d experienced in her career. “I had our clothes covered with sheeting so they wouldn’t get dusty,” she says. But unfortunately for Shank, 2020 brought on an entirely new set of challenges, and after eight months of cancelled weddings, galas and special events, the state of evening wear is far too uncertain.
Even before facing the reality that Dugo wouldn’t outlast the pandemic, she had to back off on vendor orders, and was forced to retool her product offering and bring in pieces more appropriate for every day. And despite the Galleria letting her create her own hours to help keep overhead to a minimum, Shank says sales were just too low.
Shank reports that the hit has been two-fold: a combination of low traffic in the shopping center combined with the lack of need among customers. “It’s even been hard to sell sweaters and blouses,” says Shank.“I hear it daily [from customers] you have beautiful things, but I don’t have any place to go.”
This leaves us to wonder, in a post-pandemic world when customers have places to go and are in need of formal attire, where will they shop? There was a time when Galleria brimmed with speciality dress stores: Arafina, Epitome, Cedric’s, Len Druskin. Dugo was one of the last of that generation of independent boutiques where where women would go for that once-in-a-lifetime mother of the bride or gala dress and know they would get top notch service, even if it meant special ordering a color or size just for them. Does that leave the Twin Cities shopper to depend on nationals like Nordstrom and Macy’s? Those don’t seem promising, either, considering Nordstrom Ridgedale sales associates have referred dress shoppers to Dugo.
Despite everything, Shank’s passion for retail hasn’t wavered. “I see a need and I feel very capable of filling it, but the need just isn’t there at the moment. There are so many question marks and so much unknown,” she says.
All this to say, Shank also reports that if she were to find a partner or investor, she’d consider staying in business—but she’s not counting on it at this point. She went into 2020 still paying off a loan from a major store remodel five years ago. “That’s my goliath.”
Shank anticipates closing by the end of January. Until then, just about everything in-store is discounted. Shank has also acquired a few new racks of consignment, as well as a new collection of faux fur coats by Love Token. Ever the retailer, she just couldn’t resist bringing in a new style for the season. Galleria Edina, dressupgoout.com, @dressupgoout
