Famed women’s boutique Frank Murphy opens possibly permanent new store at Rosedale Center

Famed women’s boutique Frank Murphy opens possibly permanent new store at Rosedale Center - TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press

Posted: 10 Dec 2020 01:33 PM PST

The legendary women's clothing store Frank Murphy is testing the waters in a new location, Rosedale Center in Roseville.

The shop, which was founded in St. Paul in 1931, has temporarily closed its White Bear Lake location and opened in a new space next to Williams Sonoma at Rosedale. It's set to run through January and, according to a news release, "if all goes well, it could be a permanent spot."

The original Frank Murphy store was in business from 1931 to 1996 at Fifth and St. Peter streets in downtown St. Paul. It was reportedly the first store in Minnesota to bring European couture fashions to local customers. Co-owner Madeline Murphy befriended numerous designers, including Pauline Trigere, Oscar de la Renta and Ralph Lauren.

Carol Channing, Gloria Swanson and Carol Burnett were among Frank Murphy's most famous customers and the store's annual Give-Away sale earned national headlines.

Murphy also gave a young Gordon Parks his start when she hired him to photograph models wearing her store's apparel. One of Parks' photos caught the eye of Marva Louis, wife of heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis, who encouraged Parks to move to Chicago to further pursue his career. Parks later landed a job at Life magazine and went on to make a name for himself in film, the literary world and music.

In 1998, Jack Mutchler bought the Frank Murphy brand and relaunched the store in Vadnais Heights. Fifteen years later, real estate agent Krista Wolter reopened Frank Murphy in White Bear Lake.

It's been a particularly challenging year for special occasion retail, as the pandemic has either shut down or severely restricted large, in-person gatherings. Earlier this week, Nancy Shank announced she was closing Dugo (which stands for "dress up, go out"), her boutique at Galleria Edina, at the end of January. She told Mpls. St. Paul magazine it's been difficult to sell even more casual sweaters and blouses, as customers tell her daily that "You have beautiful things, but I don't have any place to go."