Mirror, Mirror: Pants? No, Free People is stressing the dress

Fashion is focusing on pants this spring, from skinny silhouettes in vibrant primary shades to wide-legged trousers in flowing nude tones.

But the new Free People boutique scheduled to open on Walnut Street Friday will be all about the dress - especially body-skimming frocks fashioned from eyelet and lace.

In fact, according to company CEO and creative director Meg Hayne, Free People's new Center City location will have at least one-third more dresses than its Suburban Square and King of Prussia stores.

"That's because the Philadelphia girl is all about the dress," Hayne recently told me from the second floor of her company's offices in Building 25 of the Philadelphia Navy Yard.

The sun spilled through the windows onto a coffee table, where a pile of Free People wholesale catalogs featured a model in flowing pantaloons. Skinny jeans in yellow, blue, and red lay on the chair opposite me.

Of course, pants are important, too, Hayne said, but the Philadelphia girl is chic. She has a busy lifestyle and that means a core wardrobe that takes her from day to night quickly.

There will more shoes in the Center City store, too, Hayne said. That makes sense: After all, the Philadelphia girl walks a lot.

The second floor will house Intimately Free People - a collection of lingerie and layering pieces. The thought is that Philadelphia girls take more fashion risks and will experiment with layering.

Here is the rub: "The price points will be higher," Hayne said.

Why?

Shoulder shrug.

Hmm.

I'm a little unsure about Free People's dress-heavy fashion strategy. After all, most retailers are pushing the new pants silhouette. This makes total sense because we've been in a serious dress cycle for years now.

At the same time, however, I'm a working Philly girl and I love to wear dresses in the summertime; they are easy to slip into and layer. And even at the usual $100-plus price point, I've never met a Free People dress I didn't like.

Hayne's idea that the Philly girl will want to buy dresses this year (despite the fact that the rest of the fashion world is pushing pants) got me thinking about the Philly girl's fashion reputation.

Nearly all fashion retailers like to conceptualize their own type of girl. The Diane Von Furstenberg girl is strong. The Rebecca Minkoff girl is easygoing. The lululemon girl is athletic. Of course, all of these girls are fashion-forward.

Most companies, however, won't define their girl based on a region, because it's too risky. If you say an urban girl is chic, her suburban counterpart is by default corny.

But Hayne doesn't hesitate to label the Philadelphia girl chic, on-the-go, not held back by fashion rules. That's a refreshing take.

"We know all of our girls. We know her moods and we edit well," Hayne said.

This is why, Hayne said, Free People continues to sell clothes.

Free People is in the middle of a growth cycle despite the fact that its parent company, Urban Outfitters, recently posted dismal fourth-quarter earnings. Urban Outfitters shares fell in January 19 percent to $23.93, the biggest decline since 2008.

Free People, which after Friday will have 61 stores, opened 18 locations this fiscal year and plans to open about 15 more in the fiscal year starting in February, including a boutique in Rockefeller Center.

The store's name dates to 1970, when Richard Hayne opened a store in West Philadelphia called Free People focusing on clothing and household products. The store grew, and within a few years, he changed the name from Free People to Urban Outfitters.

In the 1980s, Hayne reintroduced Free People as an independent brand, and in 2002 he opened the first modern stand-alone Free People store in Paramus, N.J. The line became known for a carefree personality that echoed the flowing, easy-to-wear looks of the 1970s.

Meg Hayne, Richard Hayne's third wife, said she waited until now to open the Center City store because of its prime location - right next door to the Urban Outfitters store.

According to Michelle Shannon, vice president of the Center City District, Free People's timing couldn't be better. After a few years of retail decline, Walnut Street is in the middle of a renewal that includes stores devoted to such hip European brands as Jack Wills, Dr. Marten, and Barbour, as well as Gap's activewear company, Athleta.

"It's obvious that national and international retailers have begun to understand that Philadelphia is an important part of their plan," said Shannon, who as cochair of the Philadelphia Retail Marketing Alliance has been trying to boost the city's fashion cred by lobbying fashion-based companies to open in Philadelphia.

But what about the Philadelphia girl?

"There are lots of different Philadelphia girls," Shannon said. "We are just glad she's not just being talked about anymore as someone who at her core is not hip and chic."