New to You: The Chic Boutique of Downtown Falls Church

Consignment shopper Jessie Querl hit the jackpot when she found New to You. The avid consumer of consignment shops for the past decade said the challenge is and has always been finding “the shop” that has the upscale design and quality of clothing you can find in Neiman Marcus or Bergdorf Goodman’s without the price.

“New to You is the epitome of chic eco-shopping,” Querl said. “It is the only store to find chic, classy, sassy, beautiful vintage and anything else! I love it.”

Querl is just one of many devotees to the chic boutique located in the heart of downtown Falls Church. The shop opened its doors in 1992 and moved to its current location on West Broad Street five-years ago. The boutique offers an eclectic mix of contemporary clothing and accessories with a smattering of vintage.

Owner Christina Novak was born overseas but grew up in Northern Virginia and moved back to the area when her daughter, Arianne Llerna, was very young.

“I wanted to do some kind of work but I didn’t want someone else to take care of Arianne,” Novak said. “I thought – ‘I know! I love clothes! I’ll open a business!’”

Novak previously worked for an insurance company but always had a great eye for lines, color and quality fabric.

“My parents were both snappy dressers and so I liked high-quality things,” she said. “That was the way I was brought up!” 

The bubbly shop owner said resale is perfect for the woman who is a really confident dresser and who knows who she is and what she wants to wear.

“I think women expressing themselves through clothing is really important,” Novak said. “I love the avant-garde. I love completely bizarre design and detailing. Then again, I can also appreciate a beautifully made pencil skirt with a fabulous fabric.”

Novak said it takes a lot of energy to be consistent in the clothing she sells but also to switch things up to keep customers interested. She has found a delicate balance between keeping her consigners and her customers happy.

“You want to put your best foot forward and give the prospective buyer what they want,” she said. “But that can be quite difficult sometimes when you’re appealing to two separate markets.”

Almost everything for sale in the shop comes in from consigners, but Novak will go out and find things on occasion. She visits a friend in Pennsylvania to hit some of their favorite resale shops and seems to find thrift shops wherever she goes. She is always buying for the stylish customer who appreciates a bit of savoir-faire in her clothing.

“I’m looking for upscale clothing,” she said. “It’s really nice when somebody comes in and looks around and says, ‘Wow! You have really nice quality here!’ Then they look further and become more and more impressed. They appreciate what we have, they enjoy themselves, they’re extremely polite and they’re intelligent, interesting and fun. All of those things make a wonderful customer.”

Novak described a recent Saturday when she and her sales team commented to one another about the constant stream of nice people who came through the boutique all day.

“Not only did we make money, but it was pleasant,” she said. “It’s like the perfect job!”

One thing Novak would change is making Falls Church more of a unique destination. “I would love Falls Church to step it up a bit,” she said. “We have so many vacancies here and I would love some boutiques to come in. I think Falls Church has ever opportunity to build a customer base that is middle class and up. We need more places that really make people say, ‘Let’s go to Falls Church!’”

Novak’s daughter, now 25 years old and a frequent customer and member of her mother’s sales team, shares similar aspirations. “My hope for the shop is that there will be more of them throughout the area and that New to You’s customer base and exposure will continue to grow,” Llerna said.  

“New to You has a great selection of clothes for women of all ages. The items are in amazing condition and my mom’s passion for what she does shines through in every aspect of the shop.”

But Novak’s top priority isn’t her sales. It’s making sure that her customer has the best experience possible in her store.

“You never know what you’re going to find when you hit a thrift or resale shop,” she said. “I want my customers to find the gem, the needle in the haystack. It’s really fun to watch them find something magnificent."