In 2016, Hobbs – the British shoe company that expanded into a women’s clothing brand – opened its first stand-alone store at The Westchester in White Plains.
“We think that the Hobbs brand embodies the successful, confident women who live in the Westchester area, and we hope that the new store will give them the contemporary clothing and accessories they need to manage their busy schedules in style – with a playful British twist, of course,” Hobbs USA President James Walters said at the time.
Apparently, Hobbs, which left The Westchester – it also has a concession with Bloomingdale’s – nonetheless still thinks that’s true as the brand has returned to the upscale mall.
Hobbs, which is on Level 1 in the Neiman Marcus Wing, offers tailored yet feminine styles – peblum suits, flowing garden dresses – for midlife urban women who are also in touch with their inner country girl. Think Catherine, Princess of Wales, but also any corporate executive or Wall Streeter who wants to transition easily to a weekend in Westchester or Fairfield counties.
Founded in 1981 on High Street in Hampstead, London, as a shoe company by Marilyn and Yoram Anselm, Hobbs was named for George Hobbs, maker of the horse box for equine transportation. Five years later, Hobbs the company added its clothing line and in 1990 a capsule collection of coordinating pieces, which is particularly good for no-nonsense businesswomen on the go.
With a factory in Porto San Giorgio, Italy, purchased in 1994, Hobbs continues to craft luxury leather footwear. The brand launched hobbs.co.uk in 2008 and three international websites in the United States, Australia and Germany in 2013.
Why is The Westchester reappearance important? Because as women of a certain vintage know, it’s hard to find clothes in brick-and-mortar locales that aren’t exclusively for the young. With the return of Hobbs, women who want to look stylish but in a grown-up, understated – dare we use the word ladylike? – way can say, “We’re back.”
