A transformative tradition

From a dress shop in 1966 to a boutique in 2019, Kelly Leinneweber and her mother Marcy McCollum have been at the forefront of women’s fashion in San Marcos for 53 years.

McCollum graduated from Texas Tech University in 1958 before she began working on fighter jets at General Dynamics. In 1960, McCollum then moved to NASA, where she calculated trajectories as a female engineer.

“She wasn’t a hidden figure, she was a female engineer at NASA with men around the table,” Leinneweber said.

After her husband took a job in San Marcos, McCollum opened a dress shop — called Marcy’s — in 1966.

During the re-grand opening event, customers browse at the new jewelry bar.

At one point, McCollum owned four stores in downtown San Marcos: a children’s store called River Togs, a junior’s store called Pink Place, Marcy’s and Carnaby Square.

“She started a concept in 1972 — it was like the first generation of women that were being encouraged to go to college and have a career,” Leinneweber said. “And so they came out, they were graduating from college and there was nowhere to shop.”

Thus, McCollum started a shop called Carnaby Square, named after Carnaby Street in London, the source of fashion trends at the time.

“The interior of that store was a replica of Carnaby Street and it was located downtown,” Leinneweber. “And San Marcos was the first place that they had one and then they ended up having four or five more Carnaby Squares across the state of Texas.”

In 2001, Leinneweber officially joined her mother in the business with the opening of Trends and Traditions Boutique, located at 1917 Dutton Drive.

The store’s name reflects the fact that McCollum, Leinneweber and Leinneweber’s daughter all can shop at the boutique.

“You want your name to express what’s within and we had hoped to not be the old lady store, not be the junior store — teeny bopper store — we wanted to be both trendy but also classic,” Leinneweber said.

Though she officially joined the business in 2001, Leinneweber says she really joined in 1966.

“I’ve done it my whole life,” she said. “I went to market in a stroller, I went to Dallas, New York, to all of the markets.”

Over the years, Leinneweber has seen the fashion industry transform. When she was a child she saw the beginning of ready-made-fashion becoming available to the masses.

“The fashion industry was hot like the tech industry in the 90s, it was the industry to be in,” she said.

Leinneweber said she tagged along with her family and witnessed the industry back then.

“It was the men were designing, the men were in charge, the men were the salesmen, the men made the requirements, and so it was very much a male-oriented industry,” she said. “And thank god women have gotten involved and taken over because we should be designing for ourselves.”

This year, Trends and Traditions went through a remodel to put a new mark on the space. The store added home goods and a jewelry bar that incorporates antique jewelry cases in its design. Each month, customers can try a wine of the month as they shop.

A Trends and Traditions representative serves wine at the boutique’s re-grand opening event.

Leinneweber said she wants the ambiance and customer’s experience in Trends and Traditions to be comfortable, enjoyable and relaxed.

The boutique carriers Texas designers like John Hart and Ivy Jane, as well as artisan jewelry, and Leinneweber remains committed to providing a highly curated selection of clothing, jewelry and home goods.

“Every single piece that I buy in this store, there is a reason that I picked it over other options,” she said. “And I can give you that reason for every single product in this store.”

Selling something to every person that walks into the store is not Leinneweber’s goal, she noted.

“My goal when you come in here is not to sell you something that you can’t use, or not to sell you something that doesn’t look good on you, or to sell you something beyond your pocketbook,” she said. “My goal is for you to find something that you will enjoy for a long time, and it works for you.”