Supplying North Virginia and DC with all their lifestyle fashion needs is the internationally respected Commonwealth. “These days everyone’s trying to look like their parents,” says manager Rhett Richardson.Commonwealth will keep you dressing your age this summer by offering a complete Commonwealth line, as well as Stüssy and Crooks & Castles collaborations.

Frank151: Tell us about the history of your store.
Commonwealth: Well originally Commonwealth started a little over five years ago in Norfolk, Virginia. It was started by the owners, Omar and Larry. They're cousins and they grew up skating and in all that kind of culture. Omar went on to do a lot of work in the skate and snowboard industries while Larry worked for a furniture design company in New York, and they came together six years ago to start Commonwealth in their hometown. Two years after that, we opened up our DC location. Both of 'em are similar, our Virginia store has an art  gallery though, it's a little bit bigger, but both carry similar brands. We like to look at the store as more of a lifestyle store because we offer different products, books, magazines, stuff like that. 

F151: Were there any other shops that inspired you?
C: Ah no, it was just kind of what Omar and Larry wanted to present and what they felt was missing in the industry at the time.

F151: How would you describe the design of your store? What was the inspiration behind it and what type of environment are you trying to create?
C: The environment is real chill. It's pretty minimalist, we have a lot of wood grain. It's a mix between “working man and philanthropist”. In our Virginia store, it's really big, we have a 600 square-foot art gallery. DC is pretty basic, to the point, but nothing too crazy.

F151: How did you decide on your location? How important has the location been?
C: Ah well for the Norfolk store, they grew up in Norfolk and Virginia Beach as kids, so that's why they started the first one there. In regards to DC, it was really, like with our online store, a lot of our orders were coming from DC and we noticed there wasn't a store in DC so we just opened up there. And we're in Adams Morgan, which is definitely a destination spot. We don't feel right to be in Georgetown next to stores that sell like Ed Hardy 'cos it would downplay the brands that we carry and doesn't make it as unique a shopping experience.

F151: What brands do you carry, and which are your top sellers?
C: We carry a lot of stuff. Nike, Crooks & Castles, 10 Deep, Clae footwear, Clarks, Sperry. We have a little shop-in-shop called the Greater Good in DC and that's kind of the higher-end stuff. Stone Island, Maiden Noir, Garb Store*, Faulks* and then we do a lot of different books, documentaries, stuff like that.

F151: What brands or specific products are you excited about for Spring / Summer 2010?
C: A lot of the Commonwealth line in itself, which is what we've been working on so I guess I'm most excited about that. We have our Spring II delivery coming in which has t-shirts, cut and sew and we're doing a line of candles that is 100% organic beeswax so it actually purifies the air while you burn it, unlike other candles. We're doing a couple of capsule collections with Stussy and Crooks & Castles too that I'm excited about.

F151: Are there any trends in fashion that you're excited about, both for Spring / Summer 2010 and beyond?
C: Ah... everyone's trying to look like their parents these days so it's kinda tough... I don't know, white v-necks and rasta style I guess. White t-shirts for the summer time.

F151: How has social networking (blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) affected retail for your store and retail in general?
C: Ah, it's definitely changed a lot. A few years ago, you know, when Twitter and Facebook and all that stuff wasn't around it was definitely harder to get certain products. Now, almost every store has a Facebook and Twitter so they can update their customers. It's good because you can interact with people and a lot of customers get psyched like if you answer their tweet.

F151: What about ecommerce, how do you think that's changed retail?
C: I mean it's changed a lot for sure. Kinda in the same way but now, with a lot of blogs, it's... I would say it's kind of slowed down commerce ’cause now kids are seeing stuff that's coming out next holiday, which is 3/4 of the year away so once that product actually comes to the store they're kind of over it. So, ecommerce, like selling online is good, but in regards to people releasing their pictures of their stuff so soon it's really hard to keep the hype alive. Years ago people would find out like two weeks before and get extra psyched instead of having to wait eight months to buy what they wanted. So I guess that's how it's changed the retail game.

F151: Any future plans for the store that you can share?
C: A lot of Commonwealth products, our full line will be coming out which is cut and sew, accessories, lifestyle products, a lot of projects with different brands. That's pretty much it for the next year.