Dynamic Duo

Photo by Stacey Doyle

"Comfort is important to us when we are at the store, so you will almost always find us wearing jeans. When I go out, I feel best in a dress.  And you will most likely find Bill in a pair of jeans with a jacket.

We have owned J Marcel for 10 years and it is a huge part of everything we do. When shopping for ourselves or for the store, we are always buying two categories of items:  basics that you can wear with anything and statement pieces that make you feel special when you put them on.  After that, we look for items that have a flattering cut, lay properly, comfortable material, and feel great to the touch.  

Accessories make up a large part of our business and we feel a special connection to the costume jewelry industry since we are based in Providence. Bill’s father (the namesake of J Marcel) used to work at Imperial Knife Company in the Jewelry District and ran in the same circles as jewelry executives where they all traded wares. Although I didn’t grow up here; my mother loved jewelry, so it’s something that I’ve always seen as a way to complete an outfit. One of my favorite looks is a cool t-shirt and lots of interesting jewelry. And as soon as there is a chill in the air, I start wearing scarves and don’t really stop until the spring.  

Since we work really long hours in retail, we normally don’t want to shop as a way to relax. We spend a lot of time in Texas and California, which is where we go shopping for fun — we’re similar to the plumbing contractor with a leaky faucet at home. 

Fall is a great time to stock one’s wardrobe. Pattern continues to be a huge trend with lots of florals as well as plaid. We are so glad that denim is back! The ‘athleisure’ trend is still here, but people are going back to denim, especially dark denim for fall."