3:40 interesting fact, White House Black Market was founded in Baltimore! They got their start back in 1985, as a women’s boutique selling clothing and accessories exclusively in white (they were known as “The White House” back then). In 1995, a parallel concept selling just black started (Black Market), and shortly afterwards, the two concepts were combined into White House | Black Market. Note that WHBM removed the vertical bar from their brand in 2016, although many of their stores, Pentagon City included, still display the old logo on their storefronts. WHBM initially grew and expanded in the mid-Atlantic region, and would expand to Florida in the mid-1990s (they are now based in Fort Myers, FL), and I’m pretty sure that an expansion into Texas/Oklahoma/Kansas came by the early-2000s. I grew up in DFW and first recall seeing WHBM at Stonebriar Centre in Frisco, TX in the early-to-mid-2000s. With respect to their expansion into TX/OK/KS, I’m pretty sure that WHBM’s founder, Rick Sarmiento, has family in Oklahoma and Texas, and also went to college in Kansas. Chico’s FAS bought out WHBM a little over two decades ago, back in 2003. As of January 2024, the three Chico’s FAS brands, Chico’s, WHBM, and Soma, are now sister brands to Ann Taylor, LOFT, and Talbots under Sycamore Partners’ KnitWell Group. From the time that the two concepts were combined in the mid-to-late-1990s until the late-2000s, WHBM only sold clothes in white and black. WHBM introduced other colors in their collections around 2009 (and rotated out these other colors with every new collection), while still retaining a heavy focus on white/black.
After I came out as trans, I had a profound customer service experience shopping with WHBM. They are my favorite women’s clothing brand; I love their aesthetic! I felt encouraged to look up the history of their brand.
lol this my hometown i'll miss it
3:40 interesting fact, White House Black Market was founded in Baltimore! They got their start back in 1985, as a women’s boutique selling clothing and accessories exclusively in white (they were known as “The White House” back then). In 1995, a parallel concept selling just black started (Black Market), and shortly afterwards, the two concepts were combined into White House | Black Market. Note that WHBM removed the vertical bar from their brand in 2016, although many of their stores, Pentagon City included, still display the old logo on their storefronts.
WHBM initially grew and expanded in the mid-Atlantic region, and would expand to Florida in the mid-1990s (they are now based in Fort Myers, FL), and I’m pretty sure that an expansion into Texas/Oklahoma/Kansas came by the early-2000s. I grew up in DFW and first recall seeing WHBM at Stonebriar Centre in Frisco, TX in the early-to-mid-2000s. With respect to their expansion into TX/OK/KS, I’m pretty sure that WHBM’s founder, Rick Sarmiento, has family in Oklahoma and Texas, and also went to college in Kansas.
Chico’s FAS bought out WHBM a little over two decades ago, back in 2003. As of January 2024, the three Chico’s FAS brands, Chico’s, WHBM, and Soma, are now sister brands to Ann Taylor, LOFT, and Talbots under Sycamore Partners’ KnitWell Group.
From the time that the two concepts were combined in the mid-to-late-1990s until the late-2000s, WHBM only sold clothes in white and black. WHBM introduced other colors in their collections around 2009 (and rotated out these other colors with every new collection), while still retaining a heavy focus on white/black.
Thanks for sharing! This was very informative and didn’t know the background of their store.
After I came out as trans, I had a profound customer service experience shopping with WHBM. They are my favorite women’s clothing brand; I love their aesthetic!
I felt encouraged to look up the history of their brand.