Store Events
Fashion's Night Out come to DC!

Friday, September 10
Georgetown Shop
6pm - 11pm

Fashion's Night Out: NY, London, Rodeo Drive ... and GEORGETOWN! Drop in for wine & convo as we host a Fashion Chat with Washington Post FW & Post Express Styles Editor Jenn Barger & DailyCandy editor Annie Lou Bayley. Ask the experts about trends for fall! We'll also be premiering new collections from Study, H. Frederiksson, Yoana Baraschi, E.Y. Wada, and Stewart + Brown - along with favorites Tracy Reese, Abigail Glaum-Lathbury, Susana Monaco, plenty, and more. Learn more about Fashion's Night Out here.

District Sample Sale RETURNS!

Thursday, September 16
3336 M Street NW
6:30pm - 9:30pm

The District Sample Sale, the season's most charitable fashion event, is back! Save the date to scoop up massive savings on Susana Monaco, Tracy Reese, plenty, Abigail Glaum-Lathbury, and more! This season's sale benefits GW's Mammovan, a program that provides state-of-the-art, digital mammography screenings to women in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Northern Virginia. This event sells out quickly, so buy your tickets today!

and recently enjoyed...
Lend a Hand
 
During our sale, we collected donations of gently-worn baby & maternity clothes and small toys for BabyLove DC (no car seats, large toys, beds, vehicles, etc. - sorry!), and women's and men's in-season (spring/summer) clothing for Martha's Table. These organizations do wonderful work in our community, and your donations will be greatly appreciated.
Twenty (20!) Years of Wonder!

Anniversary Sale & Celebration
Friday, June 25th - Monday, June 28th

Where were you in June, 1990? WE, dear friends, were nervously readying to open our doors. Twenty years (and many great stories) later, here we are!

You joined us to celebrate two delightful decades! There was bubbly, sweet deals (TWENTY PERCENT OFF STOREWIDE 6/25 through 6/28!), & great giveaways with which to thank you.

Don't miss our Flashback Contest - come play!

Play Time RETURNED!

Sundays in June (Weather Permitting)
Georgetown Shop, 11 am - noon
Free Fun for Kids & Parents

Wanna play? Join us Sunday mornings this summer for a rockin' good time in our garden. Plan on bubbles, music, an occasional story reading or craft project & general giddiness.

We started Play Time 3 years ago, after fire destroyed our local library, as a gathering spot for displaced Story-Time tots. We sold t-shirts & cds and collected donations for the Georgetown Library Recovery & Restoration Fund. With the restored library set to open this fall, we're hoping Play Time families will open their wallets again and help buy a Play Time brick ($1,000) for the Library's Wall of Honor, to memorialize the children & families who came together to play - and to help.

snapshots from last year...

BabyLove DC serves Milk + Bookies!

Saturday, June 5: BabyLove DC Carnival
Games, music & fun to benefit BabyLove.
Tudor Place, 10 am - 1 pm

Proper Topper joined BabyLoveDC at Tudor Place with Milk + Bookies. Buy a book, give a book to a child in need. We brought along our fabulous library of children's titles, including the books that special storytime guests George Stephanapoulos and Mariska Hargitay read aloud. And: Stay tuned for more details about Milk + Bookies, including how you can throw your own M + B party in our garden! 

Author Kitty Kelley BOOK SIGNING!

Saturday, May 1
Georgetown Shop
2 pm - 4 pm

We were delighted to invite you all to join us in our secret garden at Proper Topper this Saturday, 2 pm - 4 pm, to meet and swap secrets with our charming neighbor Kitty Kelley. We sold (and she signed) Oprah: A Biography, which premiered at #1 on the NY Times Bestseller List that Sunday, May 2.

ALL PROCEEDS FROM BOOK SALES benefited the Georgetown Library Peabody Collection.

 

French Market Days:
Chapeaux + Champagne!

Friday and Saturday, April 23 + 24
Georgetown Shop
noon - 6 pm

In conjunction with Georgetown's French Market days, we served up champagne, icy lemonade, special discounts & spectacular spring millinery. Ah, precisely the right ingredients for a perfect spring day!

With an abundance of hat-worthy events just around the corner (Mother's Day! Garden Parties! Weddings!), it was a wonderful chance to scoop up chapeaux AND get a gift from us (*a bottle of champagne*) with purchase of any hat costing more than $150.

SPRING CELEBRATION in Rose Park

Flip through last year's Photo Album

Saturday, April 24th
27th & Dumbarton St., NW
10:30 am - 12:30 pm

The Friends of Rose Park & Proper Topper were pleased to host the 6th Annual Rose Park Spring Celebration. This year's festivities featured: bonnet trimming for girls and boys, pony rides & baby farm animals, face painting, and live rock & roll music from acclaimed DC band Vandaveer.
 
The annual Spring Celebration was free to all, with donations to Friends of Rose Park gratefully accepted.
 
Friends of Rose Park is a non-profit organization that funds maintenance and improvement of our neighborhood treasure. 
ABIGAIL GLAUM-LATHBURY
Trunk Show + Personal Appearance

Friday, April 16th: 5-8
Saturday, April 17th: 2-5
Georgetown Shop

We met up-and-coming, artsy-meets-edgy designer Abigail Glaum-Lathbury and Washington Post Express Styles Editor/FW Editor Jenn Barger for cocktails and fashion!

Ms. Glaum-Lathbury presented her beautifully tailored, exquisitely made spring/summer collection and a preview of fall 2010.

rsvp: georgetown@propertopper.com

DISTRICT SAMPLE SALE!

Tuesday, March 16th
6:30 pm - 9 pm
3336 M St. NW

The District's "most fashionable charity event" returned with HUGE discounts on goodies from DC's favorite boutiques (including, ahem, Proper Topper).

This year's beneficiary was CityDance Early Arts, dedicated to bringing free dance classes and performances to the underprivileged youth.

 

HUGE SALE! (How progressive!)
 
We planned a whole month of amazing deals, and what a month it was. Blizzards & bitterness & transportation tangles. Oh my.

Included: ALL winter clothing (women's and kids'), ALL winter hats & gloves & scarves, assorted jewelry & bags & home accessories & gifts from throughout the shops.

Mother Nature, please: bring us a lovely spring!

MS. SPINACH POP-UP!

Saturday, Feb. 27: 11-7
Sunday, Feb. 28: 12-6
Georgetown Shop

Join us for the very exciting, first-time-ever Fashion is Spinach pop-up shop: vintage clothing, accessories, and collectibles, all hand-selected by Ms. Spinach herself! We'll be pouring bubbly, and our esteemed guest, fashion writer and blogger Betsy Lowther will be dishing fashion advice and vintage expertise.

Stop by for amazing deals, tasty treats, and style tips! (And don't forget to come back on Sunday--new items will be added on the second day!) 

Rules for My Unborn Son's
Walker Lamond
Signs Books & Talks Rules

Wednesday, December 16th
Dupont Circle Shop, 4 - 7 pm

Walker Lamond visited us in our Dupont Circle shop to sign his new book, Rules for My Unborn Son. Filled with witty instructions, fashion rules and music tips, Rules for My Unborn Son is essentially an  instruction manual for becoming a good egg -  industrious, thoughtful, charming, and, of course, well-dressed. A perfect gift for a new parent, or a son!

(Walker was selected by our panel for Best Dressed List:DC 2009.
AND, Walker & wife & son - yes! now born! - live in Georgetown.)   

Middle Kingdom's Alison Jia
Dishes Gift Advice

Sunday, December 13th
Georgetown Shop, 1 - 3 pm

Alison Jia of Middle Kingdom Porcelain joined us to give  Advice for the Gift-Lorn. Alison helped us find perfect pairings of porcelain and special treasures to create a custom-tailored gift, all wrapped & tied in Middle Kingdom's signature muslin box.
Ready. Set. Done.

See more Middle Kingdom pieces.

(Middle Kingdom fires its porcelain in the Jia kiln in China; the Jia family and Middle Kingdom call Georgetown home.)

Hip Holiday Crafting Party

Sunday, December 6: noon - 4pm
Georgetown Garden

Holiday cards, gift wrap, ornaments, shadow boxes – all made from repurposed papers, maps, tickets, fabric scraps, magazines. Embellished with found buttons & baubles & bits of nature. Projects for adults and kids alike! Led by craft*monger. Free.

AGES: adults & kids. FREE. WE PROVIDE: Instruction, supplies & hot cider BRING: A coat (it’ll be in our garden, weather permitting) & creativity!

Merriment in Georgetown

Sunday, December 6: 3 - 6 pm
Wisconsin + M Streets, NW

We celebrated the season at the 2nd Annual Merriment in Georgetown, a holiday shopping and family event in the heart of Georgetown, featuring a special book signing with American Girl Author, Valerie Tripp, creator of American Girl classics including tales of Kit, Molly, Felicity and Samantha. Valerie Tripp was available to meet girls (and their dolls!), sign their books and answer questions. Proper Topper offered American Girl books at the event, with 10% of all proceeds benefiting the Prevention of Blindness Society. 

Other festivities will included a live performance by popular kids' rock band Milkshake, free photos with Santa, complimentary horse-drawn carriage rides, and candlelight caroling – followed by the 4th Annual Tree Lighting and Boat Parade of Lights at Washington Harbour.

Here was the line-up on the Holiday Stage:
3:00 — Noggin and PBS Kids’ acclaimed rock band Milkshake
3:15 — Santa arrives!
4:15 — Holy Trinity School and Church Choirs
5:00 — Special holiday performance
5:30 — Candlelight caroling with the National Philharmonic

More information here.

Abigail Glaum-Lathbury Trunk Show:
Winter/Holiday Collection + Spring Preview

Friday, November 20th: 2 - 8 pm
Saturday, November 21st: noon - 7 pm
Dupont Circle Shop

This inventive, inspired, exciting Chicago-based designer is at the forefront of sustainable design. Her pieces are characterized by painstakingly tailored flourishes. Abigail's collection showcases her knowledge of fabric and construction, and it combines a sense of history (folds, pintucks, pleats) with a quirky, modern vision.

Christine A. Moore Millinery:
Personal Appearance & Trunk Show

Saturday, November 14th
12-4 pm
Georgetown Shop

Christine’s fall/winter/holiday collection was full of treasures: romantic riding hats, cozy cloches, fabulous fascinators, hip fedoras (including her “Blake” collection of dashing men’s styles). Christine herself was on hand to advise and assist hat shoppers, to take special orders, and to woo us all with her amazing talents.

Christine A. Moore hats are made by hand in NYC.

Kids' Crafts + Tee Party!

Sunday, October 18
Georgetown Garden
Kids' Crafts: 12 pm (cancelled for rain)
Tee Party: 4pm STILL HAPPENING!
FREE!

On October 18, craft*monger hosted a day of crafting! It started at noon with a kids' workshop, featuring mask-making, gourd-painting, leaf-stamping, and MORE! Then at 4pm, Megan Nicolay, author of Generation T, led a T-shirt re-fashioning workshop, where we brought an old T, and left with something new! Email craft*monger for more information. (And find the book here.)

District Sample Sale

We were pleased to participate once again in our favorite shopping extravaganza, the District Sample Sale, on Wednesday, September 16th at 3336 M St., NW. Proceeds from the event benefited Rachael’s Women’s Center, a non-profit organization providing help and hope to homeless and formerly homeless women. To learn more about the event and peek at the photo gallery, visit Labels for Love.   

Happy Hour!

Wednesdays through August
3:00pm - 6:30pm
Georgetown Shop

This summer saw the first Happy Hour in Georgetown! We enjoyed delightful treats and drinks while shopping, PLUS weekly promotions (coupons! discounts! oh my!).

 

 

Community Sharing

July 11th - July 25th ~ Georgetown Shop

Lend a hand to neighbors in need. During our summer sale, we were collecting donations for Martha's Outfitters (women's, men's and kids' clothing; Martha's Outfitters provides free or low-cost clothing to those in need) and for Babylove DC (maternity, infant and toddlers' clothing & gear; Babylove DC distributes items through a network of community-based organizations.)  Thanks, neihbors: your donations made a huge difference in others' lives!

 

Spring Celebration


Flip through our Photo Album

Saturday, April 25th
27th & Dumbarton St., NW
10:30 am - 12:30 pm


The Friends of Rose Park and Proper Topper were pleased to host the 5th Annual Rose Park Spring Celebration. Festivities included: bonnet trimming for girls and boys, pony rides & baby farm animals, face painting, a moon bounce, and live rock & roll music from Josh Read.

The annual Spring Celebration is free to all, with donations to Friends of Rose Park gratefully accepted.

Friends of Rose Park is a non-profit organization that funds maintenance and improvement of our neighborhood treasure. 


Chapeaux and Champagne

Friday and Saturday, April 24th & 25th
Proper Topper – Georgetown
Noon to 6

In conjunction with Georgetown's French Market weekend, we toasted glorious spring with champagne and spectacular spring millinery, the perfect finish for all spring festivities.

 



 
Help Restore the Georgetown Library!

"Harold + the Purple Library" Tee
Show your support for our library's recovery! As in the children's classic, Harold draws the library to life with his purple crayon, and the quote on the shirt reads: "luckily, he kept his wits and his purple crayon."
 All proceeds from the tees will go to fund re-stocking the Georgetown Public Library, severely damaged by fire on April 30th, 2007. Order online or visit the shops to purchase men's ($20), women's ($24) and kids' ($14).

Benefit CD for All DC Public Libraries
Track list:
1. Revival - Fog Rolling In
2. Kitty Hawk - Some Kind of Monster
3. Vandaveer - Roman Candle
4. These United States - So High, So Low, So Wide, So Long
5. Mikal Evans - Holding On To
6. Brandon Butler - Fire and the Wheel
7. Shortstack - House on Fire
8. Let's French - Boys and Girls
9. John Bustine - Ballad of Big Snake and Mister Frog
10. Rose - I Fill Up the Time
The loss of the Georgetown Public Library to fire in April, 2007, led us to think about the fragile state of our neighborhood public libraries. A group of us who have a hopeful vision for building better, stronger libraries throughout the city came up with an idea. The artists contributed their work, Gypsy Eyes Records and The Federal Reserve Collective contributed use of the works, and Proper Topper contributed production costs. All proceeds from sales of this CD go directly to the DCPL Foundation. CDs are available for $10 at either Proper Topper location or on our website.

 



 

Inaugural Weekend 2009


Our city was a very exciting place, and we were thrilled to be a part of it. We outfitted many celebrants for activities from parade-viewing to ball-going to gathering with friends to watch history unfold.

We also designed some special items to help commemorate the historic event: aged stone coasters and magnets featuring Gandhi's words "Be the change you wish to see in the world" with the date January 20th, 2009. A nice, solid reminder of a wonderful experience. Available only at Proper Topper.


A Tribute to the Party Dress!

Our Tracy Reese Trunk Show featured party dresses galore. Known for feminine, flattering, elegant frocks, (take a peek at her sketch for Michelle Obama's Inaugural Gown)), her collection surely holds just the right gown for this season's festivities. Champagne and other bubbly beverages will flow.

When: Thursday, December 4, 3 pm - 8 pm
Where: Dupont Shop

AND AGAIN
When: Sunday, December 7, 1 - 6 pm
Where: Georgetown Shop

 



 
Wooly Adventures at PT

On Saturday, December 6th, Proper Topper hosted Solitude Wool, growers and sellers of beautiful, hand-dyed artisanal wool. The ladies of Solitude led hat-making classes for beginning to intermediate knitters, a chance to create the perfect, handmade gift for that special baby, guy, friend . . . or for oneself, of course! The class offered a variety of hat patterns and all the materials needed to produce the perfect topper.

When: Saturday, December 6 
Where: Georgetown Shop  



 

Trunk Show & Personal Appearance
Milliner Christine A. Moore

From show-stopping chapeaux to ear-warming cloches, this collection is full of treasures. All Christine A. Moore hats are made by hand in NYC.

When: Saturday, November 22nd
Where: Georgetown Shop
 

Trunk Show: Linda Loudermilk, Maggie Ward + Kiyomi

Thursday, September 18th
Dupont Circle Shop
3 pm – 8 pm

As part of our ongoing fall series celebrating Homegrown Goods, beautiful womenswear collections from LA-based designers Linda Loudermilk (sustainable chic), Maggie Ward (a new star) and Kiyomi (our favorite for lounging about the homefront).
 

With local Farmers Market treats and music from DC's finest bands, including These United States, Vandaveer, Rose, Revival and Brandon Butler.

New Lease on Life Celebration!

We were happy to unveil and celebrate our spectacularly transformed Dupont Circle shop (bigger, brighter, more bountiful than ever!) and our new lease on life.

The party featured champagne and other bubbly beverages, great music and special gifts with purchase.

Dupont Circle Shop
Thursday & Friday, June 26 & 27th

4pm - 8pm

Woodrow Wilson House
20th "Perennial" Garden Party

Wednesday, May 14th, 2008
Woodrow Wilson House, 2340 S St., NW

Proper Topper was pleased to support the Woodrow Wilson House Foundation at the 20th Annual Garden Party, a benefit held in President Wilson's beautiful mansion on S Street, the only presidential museum in Washington, D.C.  Proper Topper was on hand during the event with a collection of spectacular millinery and was pleased to contribute a percentage of all sales for the WWH event to the WWH Endowment. To learn more about the Woodrow Wilson House, please visit www.woodrowwilsonhouse.org.



 
A Night of Great Music for a Good Cause!

Proper Topper joined forces with Gypsy Eyes Records and The Federal Reserve Music Collective for the first-ever Rock Benefit for a Public Library. The ground-breaking event was held at DC's famous 9:30 Club, and it also marked the debut of the Benefit for the DC Public Library CD.

Proceeds from the evening went to the DC Public Library Foundation to fund libraries serving communities throughout Washington, D.C.