We love Alexandra Roberts Photography.

The sweet and talented Alexandra Roberts photographed our little shop a few weeks back. To see the session at Helena's, click here.

Customer Appreciation Day-to-Night SALE is tomorrow!

Hello friends! In celebration of our 6th holiday shopping season in Arlington, we are hosting a Customer Appreciation Day-to-Night SALE this Thursday, December 1st from 10AM to 8PM. Any single item in the store is 20% off! If you have been coveting a pair of Red Engine Cinder jeans, or a one of the new sumptuous Made By sweaters, here is your opportunity to treat yourself! If you have a LOT of favorites that you are purchasing, the highest price item will be 20% off. (Limit, one single discounted item per customer, and cannot be combined with other discounts.) Also, ALL sale items will be an additional 10% off...which include all winter coats (previously 25% off), and we have a generous sale rack with lots of fall and winter apparel!

525 America Long Cable Sweater...for the real weather ahead!

This uber-cozy cardigan is endlessly useful in your wardrobe! Leave it open with a colorful top underneath, or button it off to the side and wear it with black leggings and boots!

The Cozy Shaggy Vest from Kensie.

The celebrity furry vest trend is wonderfully translated to a chic everyday look in this vest from Kensie. This open vest has drapey sweater lapels and a chenille shaggy sides and back. Looks great with denim!

Our Winter Coat SALE continues!

Our winter coat sale is ongoing, with all winter coats at 25% OFF! My favorite is the the burnt orange zip-up at the top!

Lots of colorful Fossil bags!

Looking for holiday gifts for the women in your life? We LOVE this line of laminate Fossil bags. The new pieces in the bird print and floral print are particularly charming. We have crossbody, shopper, and tote bag styles. In the smaller bags we have wallets, wristlets, make-up bags, coin purses, and zip-bags.

Helena's Post Thanksgiving Weekend SALE!

You have feasted and happily counted your blessings. Now, indulge in a bit of shopping! This Friday thru Sunday all winter coats are 25% OFF. This include stylish coats from Tulle, OXMO, and Young Essence. Also, all sweater and sweater dresses are 20% OFF storewide! And we have beautiful sweaters in store, like these, or maybe these. Also, we have an sale rack filled with fall and winter fashions marked 25% OFF. Come in this weekend and buy yourself something lovely!

Thanksgiving Holiday Hours.

Helena's will be closing at 4 PM today. Tomorrow, on Thanksgiving Day, we will be closed at well. We hope you have a wonderful holiday and eat lots and lots of delicious food.

Best to you all,

Jessica, Dianne, Valerie, Samantha and Katherine

Favorite tops from the Velvet collection.

Velvet as a brand is all about effortless style in soft luxurious fabrics. These are some of our favorite styles from the fall-to-winter collection. The Merina (top pic) we have in a few jewel tone colors and a chic black with lurex gold stripes (gorgeous). If you are swooning over the cashmere sweater in the bottom photo, come in soon...there is only one left!

Black Nails? Garance Dore chimes in...

One of our favorite sartorialist/ illustrator bloggers Garance Dore give her opinion on black nails for fall (click here to read). I, personally, love the glamour of dark painted nails, whether it be navy blue (a fav), inky purple, or the Vamp we all wore in the 90s. Pushing it all the way to true black is indeed a statement, but standing-up for the things you love is always a good thing.

4 Love and Liberty Arrives at Helena's!

This line, a division of the Johnny Was Collection, is so special and lovely. The defining details: lace and crochet overlay, trimmings in silk and cotton voile, and a soft sophisticated color palette. The two pieces that arrived for a holiday delivery are beautiful. The top piece is a jersey cardy with a delicate hook and eye closure. It has a wee bit o' sparkle at one side of the neckline and silk panels on the back. We have it in granite, a medium grey for $133. The second piece is scoopneck a tunic with crochet lace detail. We have it in a creamy white ecru for $113.

Local Hem Blog Highlights XCVI.

Our friends at the fashion blog and on-line retailer Local Hem, recently featured one of our best-selling lines, XCVI. To read about this innovative and casual LA design house, click here!

Chic ways to wear our favorite belts from Ada.

Our friends at Ada LOVE to show the versatility of their accessories. These style guides show the Inca and the Wrap belts worn in a multitude of adorable ways. Click on these images to get a bigger better look!

Nally & Millie Layering Tees are Back!

We always have these versatile layering tees. But, last month we had a HUGE run on them among faithful customers and sold out in every color. Today, the replenishments arrived. We have black, white, beige, chocolate, charcoal, purple and teal. They are as pretty as they are useful. But don't wait to get yours! Valerie was calling customers on a waiting list today....yes, they are that good.

Beautiful Alpaca sweaters from Made By...

This sumptuous sweater line was first revealed to us at a small NY fashion show by our friends at True Collaborative Fashion. TCF are the folks who represent Prairie Underground, as well as Pendleton and other superbly innovative lines. Made By...is breathtaking, and created in natural alpaca colors. It's soft and fits wonderfully close to the body. My favorite is the first piece, "Granma's Love" shown here with the Prairie Underground Neo Country top. The second piece is a creamy white open cardy with mixed knits on the shawl collar and sleeve. The bottom piece is an open tie cardy in grey with a chic black pattern on the hem.

The Made By... concept is just at wonderful. As they write, "Our concept is to bring about a clothing line where we can practice respect and transparency to our Mother Earth also to our Artisans who make the clothes and raise standard of living for these talented individuals...At Made By... a profound gratitude for our Nature and our people frames our work. We are dedicated to practice fair trade. Made By... supports happy and healthy work environments free from forced labor. We choose Eco friendly and fair trade Alpaca yarns because it makes us part of an ancient and valuable heritage that holds the secret of preserving the equilibrium of our home planet, the Earth."

4 Day SALE! All XCVI is 20% off. All JWLA is 20-40% off today thru Sunday!

To celebrate the holiday shopping season, we are having a four day sale on two of our favorite brands! This Thursday thru Sunday, all XCVI and Johnny Was LA will be discounted, storewide. XCVI jackets, skirts, pants, and tops will be 20% off. JWLA dresses and tops will be 20-40% off. There are beautiful pieces on the racks. Come shop early! These lines are customer favorites!

Happy Birthday Helena!

Helena, the girl, is 8 years old today. Happy Birthday sister! Your love and enthusiasm for nature inspires me every day.

What's in the Window!

So, as you may have guessed, Jessica is an art school grad. This is why the window is always a savory delight to the eyes. This week there is a mix of orange, light grey, charcoal and purple. At the top: Kensie light grey pullover sweater (one of my all-time favorites) at $78. Second pic: a menagerie of fall accessories, Fossil zip bags in bird prints, woodenships gloves, a Linaloos key wristlet and our great bracelets. Third pic: a beautiful Tulle coat in on-trend orange. Fourth pic: grey Mystree long sweater ($73) over a London Times striped sweater dress ($78) all pulled together with an Ada wrap belt (73).

Get your bright, pretty coat at Helena's.

I know. It's super sweet. We love this tiered jacket from Young Essense. Come in now and try it on!

New Nally & Millie Reversible Skirts at Helena's!

The prints on Nally & Millie reversible skirts just keep getting better and better. And we, at our adoring boutique, are not the only ones to notice. Designer and owner, Nally Park, recently won a design innovation award at Style Fashion Week in LA (click here to read more). These two skirts for fall are abundant with rich color and divine patterns. Here's the low-down: top look, Nally & Millie jagged stripe knee-length skirt ($78), "Tipper" colorblock top from Velvet ($83). Second look: Nally & Millie Mayan print long skirt ($89), Three Dot henley top in Neptune ($68). Of course, these skirts reverse to black!

The Freedom and Style of a Crossbody Bag.

On Thursday, I purchased one of our Fossil crossbody bags with the hope of simplifying the contents of my enormous leather tote. Like many women, the size and shape of my pocketbook has evolved in my life from woman-of-the-workplace (slouchy satchel), to new mom (backpack diaper bag) to working mother of three children (tote bag receptacle for my belongings + all the things my kids don't want to carry: water bottle, library book, shin guards, work-in-progress drawing, etc). I need my large totes, including my lovely KeyPer print tote that I adore. But I am seriously tired of carrying it as my primary handbag.

I happily transferred my wallet, cellphone, keys, planner, and my mini-make-up bag to my new black and brown Vintage Reissue crossbody bag (shown above). I strapped this beauty across my torso, over my Prairie Underground hoody and moved effortlessly thru my Friday workday errands. When I was lugging boxes into the post-office and shopping for new store fixtures, I miraculously had both limbs at the ready. And to access anything in my bag, I simply turned a latch, lifted a leather flap and instantly located my wallet, or answered my cellphone. It was beautiful.

We have all the above bags in the store now. Come in, pick you favorite, try it on and take a gander in our mirror. The woman looking back at you will be smiling.

The Neo Country Top from Prairie Underground

Prairie has a new top for Holiday! This knit top has the look of a chic bolero jacket over a tonal tank, with soft washed-silk panels on the shoulders. And the colors are fantastic. The Roobios is a warm rose with a cocoa tone, and Chambray is a silvery blue. Both look lovely with a pencil skirt from Only Hearts or Red Engine.

New Nomi Jacket from Prairie Underground!

Can you say urban-chic? The "Nomi" is the new number that all the Prairie fans are talking about. It's constructed of a light-weight recycled fleece. I love the details at the pockets. This piece is a smashing and hip addition to your Prairie collection!

The Big New Totes from Fossil.

When I ordered this collection in NY at the beginning of this month, I was giddy. First, the prints are glorious. The flower print is on a vibrant violet background. And the birds...seriously, there are not words. Fossil also re-designed all the shapes of the Key-Per collection, just to keep it fresh. This tote is really roomy and wonderful. We also have it in solid, quilted version. All this for $128.