WALNUT CREEK, CA — VICI, the women’s fashion brand that grew up right here in Walnut Creek, is coming home. And this time, it’s not a pop-up.
The brand opens the doors of a permanent, 2,200-square-foot store at 1366 N. Main St. on September 10, with a grand opening two days later on September 12. For a company that has been selling dresses to the whole country from a Walnut Creek address since 2012, it’s a full-circle moment — the online retailer planting a physical flag on the street where it all started.
Here’s how it happened. VICI began as a string of Walnut Creek pop-ups and small shops. Then it figured out the internet before most boutiques did — daily product drops, head-to-toe outfits styled on social media, and a direct-to-consumer model that turned it into a favorite of millennial shoppers well beyond the East Bay. Now it’s back where it began, only bigger.
Inside, expect the usual VICI mix — dresses, denim, and knits designed to be worn together — plus one thing the website can’t offer: an exclusive jewelry assortment available only at the Walnut Creek store. The brand is also leaning into athleisure this year, which, given how many of us treat the Iron Horse Trail as a fashion runway, is probably smart.
“Walnut Creek is such an important part of our story.”
— Aimee Dudum, VICI cofounder
The company still keeps its headquarters here, and it sells through Dillard’s on top of its own site — so this is less a scrappy upstart than a hometown success story deciding it wants a storefront again. “Opening a permanent location here feels like a natural next step for the brand’s growth,” Dudum said, “and, most importantly, a way for us to be even more connected to our customers and our valued community.”
The critical observation, then. North Main already has no shortage of places to buy a dress. But VICI has something most national chains can’t claim: it can walk to its own grand opening. When a brand that could open anywhere picks the block where it started, that’s worth a nod — even if the cynic in me notes that “coming home” is also a very good marketing story.
⭐ If You Go
- Where: 1366 N. Main St., Walnut Creek
- Opens: September 10 — grand opening September 12
- Hours: Mon–Thu 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Fri–Sat 10 a.m.–7 p.m., Sun 11 a.m.–6 p.m.
- Website: vicicollection.com
Worth a visit? If you’ve ever bought VICI online and wondered whether the fabric feels as good in person, now you can find out without waiting for a box. And if you haven’t, the grand opening weekend is as good an excuse as any to see what a homegrown brand does when it finally gets to hang its own sign.
While you’re on North Main, Broadway Plaza is right around the corner, and here’s what else is happening around town.
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