About the business: Bitter Grace is a boutique and growing fashion brand — a lifestyle company “that helps women elevate their self image,” founder Anne Marie Johnson said.
How it started: Johnson, who immigrated to the United States as a child in the mid-1990s from the Philippines, grew up in the D.C. area around career-oriented people who believed a government job was just the way to go. That was how she started, after graduating from Trinity Washington University, with stints at the White House and State Department before rolling into a six-year post at Rockville’s Topdown Systems Corp. as a project manager.
“But I’ve had this knowing in me, that there’s something in me that wanted more,” Johnson said. “Fashion was never something possible in my mind, or spoken about or encouraged.”
In 2018, Johnson and her husband, Andrew, were traveling, celebrating their fifth anniversary, when something just clicked. After they returned, Anne Marie applied for her business licenses to start up a new retailer under the name “Bitter Grace” — the name Annamarie commonly means “bitter grace,” but it was also a catchy name, the founder said, and symbolized her tumultuous life’s journey.
The store, which Johnson curated herself with only sustainable and ethically made clothing and accessories, launched online in 2019, but something was missing. Her prospective clients wanted to try things on. Rather than invite them all into her home, where she kept her products, Anne Marie and Andrew decided to go brick-and-mortar, signing a lease in May 2020 for a space on Barracks Row. They opened in October 2020.
“It was very much a destiny moment,” Anne Marie said. “To that point it was a side huddle. If it wasn’t for the space, I don’t know if I would have left my full-time job.”
Pandemic effect: With a storefront, Johnson could deliver more than just inventory, including the candles her husband makes in the back, to sell. Bitter Grace became part boutique, part self-care space — open for walk-ins sometimes, but more often than not, available for hourslong styling appointments not only about clothing, but also self-image.
"We carry everyday timeless and sustainable clothing," Johnson said. "We always tell our clients to invest double now and save long-term."
It started well, Johnson said. Covid cases were down, and 2020 closed strong.
“The challenge came after the new year,” she said. “January and February were very tough. No one could come out. No one felt comfortable coming out. Everybody was home and they didn’t feel the need to do anything. This is beyond just clothing. No one wanted to invest in themselves at the time.”
They rode the wave and navigated chaos, even boarding up the store ahead of the Jan. 6 protests at the U.S. Capitol. But as vaccines emerged in early 2021, things began to turn around for Bitter Grace. This October, she said, was their best month yet, and most of their sales were through private appointments.
“People felt more optimistic,” Johnson said. “That’s when we saw a huge shift and traffic.”
Pandemic pivot: By 2022, Johnson said, private appointments will dominate the work at Bitter Grace. The plan is to open the storefront for walk-ins only on weekends, to take advantage of foot traffic on Barracks Row. The company employs two people in addition to Anne Marie and Andrew.
But Bitter Grace is more than a storefront. As of October, it is also a brand with the release of Johnson’s athleisure collection, the “Elevated Every Day” line, which she designed and developed out of California. Next year, she said, a second collection — work wear, this time — will be released. Over time, the Bitter Grace line will become a greater percentage of what the store sells.
The challenge: One thing Johnson will not compromise on is her commitment to sustainable products, but even that has proven a challenge — on occasion, a nonsustainable article has snuck through.
"I trust their word," she said of the makers. "But when I start asking questions, I’m finding there are certain things that we’ve carried that are not sustainable. That’s OK. That’s part of growth."
What's next: Johnson describes Bitter Grace as a "journey." That could very well mean new boutiques outside of the District as the brand continues to evolve. "I really love creating spaces that foster beauty and community," Johnson said, adding later, "I see us having multiple locations."
An earlier version of this article misidentified the decade Anne Marie Johnson immigrated to the United States. She arrived in the mid-1990s.
