Our Story
A Family Boutique Since 1952
The Petite Shop began in 1952 as a small storefront on Ocean Drive — one of the first in what would become Vero Beach’s beachside shopping village. Founded by Dick and Evelyn Bireley, the shop was originally named for its size, not its clothing. In 1970, their daughter Dede and her husband Jim joined the family business and began expanding the selection to include women’s fashion.
Over the decades, The Petite Shop grew into a destination for women looking for something special — not just in the clothes, but in the experience. Customers came for the carefully chosen brands, the warm hospitality, and the personal attention that turned shopping into a tradition.
Today, the boutique is run by the third generation of the Bireley family — Laurie Connelly and her sister-in-law Lori Higdon — who carry on the values that have defined The Petite Shop for over 70 years. While styles have changed, the heart of the business remains the same: quality, service, and relationships that last.
70 Years of Style, Service, and Community
VERO BEACH
It’s Been No Small Feat that Petite Shop has Served Customers for Decades
Paige Van Antwerp, The Newsweekly
Dec. 21, 2016
Dede Ashby remembers when her parents opened the doors to only the third business to set up shop on Vero Beach’s Ocean Drive. Palm trees, Australian pines, and lots and lots of sand were the Petite Shop’s most plentiful neighbors when the building it still occupies went up in 1952.
Her family discovered Vero when they started visiting on weekends from their home in Fort Lauderdale, where they had already opened a few successful retail businesses. “A whole group of friends would come up on the weekend and hang around. It was so wonderful, my parents decided Vero would be a great place to open a store,” Ashby remembers.
Ocean Drive’s Petite Shop celebrates 70th
Apr. 8, 2022
PHOTO BY KAILA JONES
Somewhere in Dede Ashby’s Indian River Shores home is the napkin Waldo Sexton signed in 1950 – maybe it was 1951, she’s not sure – during a festive evening of dining and drinking with her parents, Dick and Evelyn Bireley, at the Driftwood Inn.
“I know I’ve got it,” said Ashby, who turned 80 in February, “but I don’t know where it is.”
By signing that napkin, Sexton agreed to lease the then-vacant, now-prime parcel of Vero Beach land on the southeast corner of Beachland Boulevard and Ocean Drive, where the Bireleys would build and open The Petite Shop in 1952.
Next Wednesday, the family-owned seaside boutique – which sells women’s clothing, jewelry, handbags and other accessories – will celebrate its 70th anniversary.
There will be a tent outside, and the public is invited to stop by for refreshments and giveaways. Longtime customers are welcome to enjoy a nostalgic stroll down memory lane and reminisce.
“We have a lot of very loyal customers who appreciate how we do business,” said Adriana Lattanzio, who has managed the shop for the past 21 years and continues to ride her bicycle to work from her Central Beach home. “We get a lot of passersby stopping in because of our location, but the majority of our customers have been here before.
“There’s a small-town, family feel to the place, and for as long as I’ve been here, we’ve followed the same philosophy: Treat people the way you want to be treated,” she added. “To this day, we do things the old-fashioned way. We’ll gift-wrap your purchases and still hand-write receipts, which is something you rarely see anymore.
“When you think about it, it’s remarkable that this place has been here for 70 years, still owned by the same family and still running the business the same way.”
Remembering Jim "Pops" Higdon
Speech given by Petite Shop Manager Adriana Lattanzio
Nov. 30, 2021
I’d like to share just a few fond Shop memories of this very special gentleman I have had the honor to call Boss.
In my early years of working for Jim, he did 100% of the buying. He had wonderful taste, as you all know, and during those years Jim would check in and price all incoming merchandise. He would bring them out one by one to the sales floor to inform us of the details of each new garment. When he showed off an item that I seriously questioned how on Earth I could sell it, I’d say to him, “Jim, the sales rep must’ve been a really cute blonde.” He would chuckle—he loved the blondes.
You couldn’t work for Jim and not know of his loyalty and love for the TN Vols. So when he was buying, if the garment was available in that very special TN Orange, it made it on the purchase order. He was especially proud when those orange-colored garments sold. It was inevitable that we would all become Vols fans through osmosis. And while no one bats .1000, he certainly came close when it came to buying merchandise for Petite Shop, as evident by his 50 years of success. He had a terrific eye!
He did so many thoughtful things for staff and others. Anyone that came in asking for a donation to a charity or fundraiser— their request was immediately honored. He donated to all causes. For staff, beyond being a great boss, and as I have always said, “Jim is one of the good guys in retail”— it was some of the little things he’d do that endeared him to all.
For many years, Jim would walk down the street to Cravings to pick up and bring us our afternoon coffee. He always insisted we could not and would not decline his offer. Back when he was working full time at the shop, at the end of the day he’d say, “Close up shop, girls, and let me get out of here before the stampede!” He would sometimes hum the tune “The girls get prettier at closing time…”
When the outside temps dropped, he would arrive before us and kick the heat on just so we wouldn’t freeze. In his “semi-retirement” phase, he called every day to check in to see how we were all doing and ask if we needed anything. It could be anything from paper towels to candy for the bowl on the counter—he loved having a reason to stop by the shop to deliver the goods. He would then stay a short while and become, in his words, “the official greeter.” Customers loved that and loved his Southern charm! He was a caretaker—always.
And while Jim was very proud of his Petite Shop, he was most proud of his whole family—he loved you all so much!
I will dearly miss him calling me “the white tornado,” and for those of you here that know me, you’ll understand the reference.
James Higdon, you are forever missed.
A Vero Beach Tradition
