The Weather Vane celebrating 50 years of fashion

The fashion industry wasn’t just a calling for Jean Wyatt. It was so much more than that.

Wyatt, who grew up on a farm near Fredericktown, discovered her love for fashion and sewing at an early age. That passion became her life with the opening of The Weather Vane in Gambier in 1975.

“I graduated in fashion merchandising. I always loved to sew. I loved fabrics,” Wyatt said. “I had worked at Richland Mall (in Ontario) at a store called Merry-Go-Round. I was the assistant manager there. That made for my love of retail and the fun of waiting on customers. I’ve always enjoyed serving the public. It just came natural. I loved fabric; I loved to sew; so the fashion industry was the right choice for me.”

Now, she’s celebrating its 50th year of business with three days’ worth of sales and fun. This Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Sept. 4-6, the small boutique on Scott Lane in Gambier will celebrate with food, wine, drinks, games, raffle tickets and prizes. The Weather Vane will open from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. each day of the celebration.

“I’ve met the most beautiful women from around the world who go through Gambier for whatever reason. It’s been a really wonderful gig. I feel like a woman entrepreneur who started out in 1975 and still in business is an accomplishment that should be celebrated,” Wyatt said.

The Weather Vane began in 1975 when Wyatt rented a space in the basement of the Village Inn. She had looked at Ohio State, Bowling Green and several other college towns before finding home was right there in Knox County where she grew up.

Women had been allowed to enroll at Kenyon College just a few years before, and with the denim and fashions of the 1970s dominating the scene, Gambier became the perfect home for Wyatt and her store.

After a short period of time, Wyatt was able to move The Weather Vane into its current home, an old church building from the 1890s that had been turned into the town hall at one point. By the 1980s, she had built the business to the point of having 1,500 women on her mailing list.

The trick was knowing what clothes to sell and helping women find their beauty in an outfit that not only is good quality and fits but showcases the individual.

“I sell boutique items. When I go to the clothing shows, I look for quality fabrics. That’s the most important thing to me is the quality of the fabric. Whether it’s going to wash and wear, look good for years and hang right,” Wyatt said. “I get a kick out of dressing three generations. When a woman comes in with her mother or her grandmother and thinks she’s not going to find anything. She walks out with a jumpsuit or cute sundress, I love that. I do timeless classics that cross generations.”

The Weather Vane is a boutique shop that carries lines such as Tribal, Charlie B and Habitat. It also carries jewelry, scarves and accessories, but it’s the sweaters that bring in customers from all over the state, Wyatt said.

“I’m known for my sweaters. People come in every fall for the beautiful sweaters. I look for quality that doesn’t snag within the first three wearings,” she said. “I’m known for the great fitting jeans and pants that I carry. I have people come from Cleveland and Columbus to buy their pants at my store.”

The advantage of being in the middle of Kenyon College isn’t just in the fact there are many young women looking for fashion. It’s their mothers and grandmothers that come in when visiting. Wyatt actually received her nicest compliment from a lady who was taking her old clothes to Goodwill.

“The nicest compliment I’ve ever had from a customer. She said she had cleaned out three closets and took 12 bags to Goodwill. But there wasn’t one single thing in the bags from Weather Vane,” Wyatt said. “People say over and over they always get a compliment when they have on something from The Weather Vane. That’s quite a compliment to me; that I’ve picked out something tasteful and nice. And I’ve not let the person leave without making sure it fits perfectly, and it looks good on them. People come out of the dressing room and I'll say we can do better than that. I’ll put them back in the dressing room with three more things and then they’ll come out with something that really looks good on them. That’s what people appreciate about me. I’m able to fit the customer with the right outfit. That’s why people drive from Cleveland and Columbus to The Weather Vane.”

Even after 50 years of business, Wyatt has no immediate plans to slow down. She feels she owes it to the community that’s kept her business thriving all these years.

“Just take one day at a time. I don’t have any plans right now, but that may change. I’m still in good health. I do hot yoga, my garden club, I have other interests,” she said. “It’s a blessing to own the store. My hours are my obligation to my customers. I’ve never thumbed my nose to the community. I’m there 11 to 5:30, Monday through Saturday and 1 to 5 on Sundays. That’s my promise to the public. I’ve always tried to keep that.

“The community keeps you alive. It keeps you fed. The community are my people. There’s no other boutique in Knox County. To have the nicest boutique in three counties, that’s why it’s a successful destination store.”