MM LaFleur

The corner of Wisconsin Avenue and Reservoir Road was, for decades, the address of a neighborhood pharmacy. The storefront at 1344 Wisconsin Ave NW is now home to M.M. LaFleur, which opened here in May 2024 on a block that sits a few minutes north of the M Street crush, closer to the residential end of Georgetown than the tourist end. The space is bright and unhurried in the way that mid-Wisconsin stores tend to be. A small curated book selection, sourced through a partnership with Alexandria’s Old Town Books, sits near the entrance. Across the street is the Maman cafe. Walk-ins are welcome without an appointment.

The brand was founded in 2013 by Sarah LaFleur, a former management consultant who grew tired of a closet full of clothes that either wore out too fast, fit badly, or cost too much for what they were. She partnered with Miyako Nakamura, who had previously been head designer at Zac Posen, and with co-founder Narie Foster. LaFleur’s premise was direct: take the daily decision-making out of dressing for work by making clothes that were machine-washable, well-proportioned, and versatile enough to wear into evening. The company’s tagline, live with purpose and dress with ease, has not changed since launch.

The Georgetown store carries the full M.M. LaFleur line, which runs from tailored blazers and trousers to knit dresses and what the brand calls Power Casual, a category designed for the post-pandemic shift toward professional clothes that do not require a second outfit for dinner or travel. Fabrics are chosen for resilience and comfort. Prices sit in the mid-range for professional women’s clothing: dresses typically run between 50 and 50, blazers between 75 and 00. In-store tailoring is available on purchases made at the location. The store also runs the Second Act trade-in program, where customers bring in gently used M.M. LaFleur pieces and receive ten percent off full-price purchases.

LaFleur chose Wisconsin Avenue over M Street deliberately. In a 2024 interview with Retail Dive, she said M Street attracted too much tourist and university foot traffic for the brand’s core customer. The Georgetown store doubled its projected first-month sales, according to the company’s vice president of sales and operations, Katie Twidwell. M.M. LaFleur has said publicly that it plans to operate no more than twenty to twenty-five stores nationally, a model that treats each location as a deliberate choice rather than part of a rollout. The company also donates ten percent of its yearly profits to organizations that support women.

Personal shopping appointments can be booked through the website and are the best way to get focused time with a stylist, particularly for someone building out a new work wardrobe or preparing for a specific role. Walk-ins are served as well. The store is open Monday through Saturday ten to six and Sunday noon to six. Parking on upper Wisconsin can be easier than the M Street blocks, and the neighborhood itself, with its mix of longtime residents and smaller independent shops, gives the visit a different character than the busier Georgetown corridors.