e Frou Frou store brings fashionable style for the home and the wardrobe to downtown Chickamauga shoppers.
The store holds the title of North Georgia's Best Boutique for 2011 and 2012, as presented by the Chattanooga Times Free Press based on public voting.
Le Frou Frou owner Andrea Cleckler showcases some of the jewelry collection now available in the store.The store, which will celebrate its 10-year anniversary this September, will be renovated and expanded beginning in January.
"We are thrilled about it," said store owner Andrea Cleckler, of Chickamauga. "When we renovate this building we will duplicate a building in France with ironwork and architecture pediments. We will expand backwards to renovate and restore to bring it back to its original grandeur."
Renovation workers will expose the brick walls underneath and replace ceiling tiles with tin.
Since the store is decked out in French style - from chandeliers to antique furniture to stylish designer clothing - Cleckler said many shoppers think she has visited France. She hasn't, but that will change July 22 when she leaves for an 11-day stay in Paris. While there she will purchase furniture and clothing to sell in her store. She said she plans to draw inspiration from her surroundings in order to create a more Parisian-like atmosphere inside Le Frou Frou.
"I am going to the Paris flea market to purchase antiques," said Cleckler. "We will scour the market and have antiques shipped back to Chickamauga. We will go to the south of France and look for items in Monaco. We will see the Eiffel Tower, Moulin Rouge and the Louvre. We will take photos of building facades for inspiration."
She said women in France dress up like runway models, so she plans to dress stylish.
"The trip will be inspiring for fashion and the home," said Cleckler. "The styles of France are timeless and classic."
Le Frou Frou already showcases French-inspired vanities and armoires alongside old Hollywood glamour like rhinestones and pearls inspired by the late actresses Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn.
"I look in European fashion magazines to see styles," said Cleckler. "We are ordering so many beautiful fall fashions."
Le Frou Frou sells French Connection and Elan clothing, Big Star jeans and Yellow Box shoes. Store shelves also display an array of Thymes Bath and Body products, Voluspa candles, Hillhouse Naturals, purses and Fleur de Lis jewelry.
"I'm so appreciative to our sweet loyal customers who have shown support and excitement about the store all these years," said Cleckler. "Some continue to drive long distances to shop here and I am appreciative of that. I want people to come in and feel relaxed and be surrounded by beauty."
She said Chickamauga has become a destination town where families ride in on the train on weekends and shop.