Fifi's Story

Fifi Queen grew up in the Great Smokey Mountains of western North Carolina. As one of five children in a very poor family, Fifi could only dream of wearing the clothes that she saw in magazines and store windows. There was no money for the finer things in life and the children were lucky if they got one new pair of shoes each year. As Fifi grew up she never forgot about all the beautiful clothes and, not so surprisingly, found herself wanting to be in the clothing business. She opened her first consignment boutique in Jacksonville, FL in 1986. Within 6 months she had opened her second store. Known as “The Clothes Connection”, these stores prospered and were sold when Fifi relocated to Amelia Island, FL in 1988. It was here, in 1992, that she planned and opened her new and improved consignment store, “Fifi’s Fine Resale Apparel.” This store and all subsequent stores are still in business today.

Fifi’s next store was opened in the San Marco area of Jacksonville, FL in 1993. It became a very popular place for women to find current designer fashions at low prices.

With this success, investors from Gainesville, FL asked Fifi if they could open a Fifi’s Fine Resale Apparel store in Gainesville. Fifi was obviously excited with the opportunity to expand her chain of stores and the Gainesville store became a reality in 1994.

Then in 1997, Fifi opened Fifi’s Fine Resale Apparel of Mandarin, FL. Mandarin is just south of Jacksonville in Clay county. This store quickly became another success story. A veteran of the U.S. Navy and a computer expert became intrigued with Fifi’s after his wife came home from one of her shopping trips to the Mandarin store. After taking a look at Fifi’s business plan, he bought the Mandarin store in 1998 and continues to operate that store today. In addition, he bought the San Marco store from Fifi and has also opened an additional store in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL. He is currently in the process of opening his fourth store in the Jacksonville area near Queens Harbor, an exclusive Yacht & Country Club community on Atlantic Blvd and, right beside a Stein Mart. All of his stores have become very popular with upscale shoppers in the area.

In 2001 Fifi decided that St. Augustine, FL would benefit from one of her stores and opened Fifi’s of St. Augustine in the cities historical district. In December of 2001 Fifi relocated again, this time to Southern Pines, NC. She sold the St. Augustine store in February 2002 and it, like the others, has become quite successful.

Now in North Carolina, Fifi rented an 8,000 square ft. building in downtown Southern Pines where she opened the largest Fifi’s Fine Resale Apparel yet. This store became so successful that she started thinking about another store in nearby Pinehurst. But first she wanted to open a store in her hometown of Waynesville, NC.

In 2003 Fifi found a space on Main St. in Downtown Waynesville that was the perfect location for the store she had envisioned. It had previously been occupied for 80 years by the areas most successful ladies dress shop. It wasn’t long before this store opened and, like all the others, became an immediate success. Fifi sold this store to its current owner in 2004.

With the Waynesville store in the very capable hands of its new owner, Fifi returned to thoughts of the Pinehurst store. She found a free standing building there on Route 5 and decided this was the perfect place for the store she had in mind. In February 2005 Fifi’s of Pinehurst opened. In addition to designer clothing, Fifi decided to include furniture and home accessories in this store. The combination has been enthusiastically received by Pinehurst area shoppers.

After visiting Lake Norman at Cornelius, NC several times since moving to the state, it was clear to Fifi that this area needed a Fifi’s Fine Resale Apparel. So she found space in a shopping center near the Peninsula, the areas most prestigious neighborhood and opened her store there in November of 2005. Again, like all the others, this store is growing nicely.

Fifi is planning many more stores and is continually looking for the next location in which to open.