When Marcy McCollum arrived Sept. 17 to her San Marcos clothing boutique, Trends & Traditions Boutique, she was shocked to see the street lined with parked cars and the parking lot in front of her business filled with people.
Her employees put her in the back of a convertible, gave her a crown emblazoned with “50” and drove her around the building as the Rattler Band from San Marcos High School serenaded her.
“We had a celebration like you wouldn’t believe,” McCollum said. “I had my own parade. How many times do you get to have your own parade?”
Kelly Leinneweber, McCollum’s daughter, set up the surprise parade for McCollum to celebrate her 50th anniversary in business.
“I wanted to throw the celebration because I felt like 50 years was monumental, and she has been extremely diligent,” Leinneweber said. “Being a small business and self-employed, no one gives you a gold watch. You have to celebrate yourself.”
McCollum’s latest business endeavors is Trends & Traditions Boutique, which opened in 2001. The store offers Texas Hill Country lifestyle-inspired clothing, shoes and jewelry for women at various price points, McCollum said. The items they sell range from a $36 T-shirt to more expensive pieces, she said.
Trends & Traditions carries wearable designs with a soulful twist, Linneweber said. Some of the brands sold include Jon Hart, a handcrafted and customizable line of bags and accessories, and Alex and Ani, a company that sells bangle bracelets and other types of jewelry. The boutique also has a section of maroon clothing available for women to wear to Texas State University tailgates and football games.
But 50 years ago, McCollum opened her first San Marcos clothing store, Marcy’s, in 1966 in a now-demolished strip center at the corner of West Hopkins and Moore streets. She grew her business slowly.
“That’s what you call building it one dress at a time,” McCollum said. “We’d sell one dress and buy two dresses, sell one and buy two. That’s the way we did it. Never did have any loans or anything to get started.”
A year later, she opened the Pink Place at the Nelson Center on North Edward Gary Street near campus, where she catered to college students by selling $30 dresses.
“They would go sell their books to buy a dress for whatever event was going on,” she said.
Later, she ran a chain of boutiques called Carnaby Square, with locations in other college towns, such as San Angelo, College Station and Huntsville.
“I ran myself crazy,” McCollum said of traveling back and forth among her businesses.
About 18 years ago, Leinneweber joined her mother in the boutique business.
“I felt like I was so lucky and fortunate to have my daughter go into business with me,” McCollum said. “It’s been a joy to see her grow as a businesswoman.”
Leinneweber called their partnership “natural.”
“I’ve always been around it. My mom has always been a businesswoman,” Leinneweber said. “Even when I was a little girl, I knew the business side of her.”
