Yvonne LaFleur
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yvonne LaFleur (born 1947)[1][2] is an American fashion designer, businesswoman and owner-founder of the boutique Yvonne LaFleur; located in the Carrollton Riverbend neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana.[3]
LaFleur came to New Orleans from San Francisco with her mother, Cecile LaFleur,[4] when she was four years old.[5][1] They lived with her three aunts, who all worked in elegant fashion department stores; which gave LaFleur an early experience with high class fashion. LaFleur learned how to sew from her grandmother.[2] In 2011, LaFleur said that by the time she was 11, she could make anything without a pattern.[6]
LaFleur attended Cabrini High School[1] and Louisiana State University; where she majored in merchandising and fashion.[2] During her senior year, LaFleur ran a modeling school for a small boutique. She learned to design clothes while living in New York City; and commercial pattern making while working at an atelier in Paris under Maxi Librati.[7] Just months after graduating, LaFleur partnered with entrepreneur Charles Montgomery from Fayette, Mississippi in opening her own boutique on October 15, 1969; then called You Boutique.[7] By 1984, the shop was profitable enough for LeFleur to buyout Montgomery. He later invested in her opening a shop in New York City;[2] where she distributed her designs to 400 stores.[7]
LaFleur's business style grew from being the first to sell women's jeans in the 1960s for $8[8] to offering wedding dresses and bridal gowns, lingerie, debutante and Mardi Gras gowns. She was the first to carry designs called Gunne Sax by Jessica McClintock in 1971.[7] When she premiered her own signature perfume, (which took two years to develop) the boutique changed its name to Yvonne Lafleur on May 1, 1984.[7] The shop offers LaFleur's own creations and designs from the New York factory she owned in the 1970s. LaFleur said in a 2025 interview that about eighty-five percent of the clothes in the store were her own brand, made in the United States.[1] The boutique also specializes in on-location alterations and bespoke orders; something LaFleur learned while working in Paris.[6][2]
Described as a "skilled milliner",[9] LaFleur inherited a collection of hat blocks from her aunt, Alice LaFleur. LaFleur created 200 hats for the 1981 film about Coco Chanel called Chanel Solitaire[9]
Internet popularity
In early 2025, marketing expert Angelique Frizzell[1] convinced LaFleur that she should be on social media. Subsequently, the on-going series of videos and tutorials garnered not only a substantial number of followers across social media platforms;[2] but a direct increase in customer interest and frequency.[1] In an article for Country Magazine, writer Susan Marquez states: "People are planning their vacations to New Orleans just to shop at the store."[1]