Japanese-inspired boutique to close after 44 years in downtown Palo Alto

Phyllis Newhouse and her family have a long history as business owners in Palo Alto’s downtown. Her father, Mose Newhouse, ran his own secondhand and Navy surplus store on Emerson Street starting in 1935, and when he retired, she took over the family business, moving the store a block over and exchanging the rentable tuxedos and vintage outfits for designer women’s clothing. Now in her 80s, Newhouse has decided to retire and close down the business this Saturday, Aug. 31.

Phyllis Boutique, located at 540 Ramona St., has undergone quite a transformation since Newhouse took it over in 1975. She stopped selling used clothes and military outfits, choosing instead to scour stores in Berkeley that offered interesting, quirky styles that would be hard to find elsewhere in Palo Alto. She also stopped selling men’s clothes altogether, focusing exclusively on women’s attire, particularly garments with Asian and European influences.

“I started out with some stuff I found in Berkeley from India,” she said. “After a while, I found some clothing trade show up in San Francisco in a hotel, and then I bought stuff.”

In recent years, she found inspiration primarily from Japanese stylists and brands, including Yohji Yamamoto, Issey Miyake and Comme des Garçons. Sleek, brightly-colored accent furniture is placed strategically around the store, complementing the apparel on display. Most of the clothes are textured, neutrally colored and loose-fitting, often paired with a bold statement piece, such as a hat. During a recent visit to the store, sunlight streamed through the skylights onto the tiled floors of the narrow space, where several racks holding garments stood with sale signs. Store mannequins with metal fixtures around the neck modeled an assortment of dresses, each adorned with a unique necklace.

One of the aspects she loved about running her own business, she said, was finding the right clothes for her store. “I’m so particular when I buy,” Newhouse said. “I mean, it’s got to really move me. I’ve got to love it.” In addition to trade shows and stores in Berkeley, Newhouse found many of her store’s pieces from runway shows. But now that the store is closing, all of the items remaining in stock are from consignment.

Newhouse said she also found joy in helping her customers find clothes they loved from her handpicked selection.

“For me, it’s thrilling to have people look good in stuff,” she said, adding that she even pays close attention to people’s fashion on the street.

However, she said, operating the business was a big adjustment.

“One of the first things I learned is … nothing was set in stone. And you’re learning all the time, people don’t want this, or this looks good on a person,” she said. She has to constantly keep up with changing trends and methods of doing business, as well as rising rents that are driving many local businesses out of Palo Alto. When she started, the rent was $75 each month, but it is now upwards of $7,000. While she loves having her own store, she said, within the last year, “the business got so bad and I realized there would be such a learning curve to try to make this business work. And I can’t do it, I don’t have the money.”

Although she’s letting go of the business, retirement will not stop Newhouse from pursuing new skills and experiences. She’s signed up for several classes through Stanford University’s continuing studies program. One of the classes focuses on artist Rembrandt van Rijn’s paintings, another examines different eras in history through film and the others are more movement-oriented, focusing on improv and dancing.

While she said she is sad to see her store go, retirement gives her a chance to slow down and appreciate parts of life she was too busy to notice before.

One morning before coming into the boutique, she said, “I sat in the sun on my patio with my plants. And I like doing that. I like taking time for the squirrels or the lizards. I want to have time to look at other stuff that’s not this (store).”