Glamour House to Close

One of Montecito’s longest running businesses, Glamour House, will close at the end of the month. Owner Ann Picciuto calls the closure of the intimate apparel store a “happy ending and a new beginning.” She and her husband, Rick Gehrke, sat down with us earlier this week. 

Picciuto took over the long-standing Upper Village fixture in 2003; the shop has been located next to the post office since 1965. After 18 years, Picciuto says it’s time to retire — well, semi-retire — and the store will close its doors.

“I will deeply miss all of my customers and our interactions,” she said, adding that the friendships she has built have kept her going the last 18 years. 

“What goes on in Glamour House stays in Glamour House!” she laughed, saying that the store has offered a rare camaraderie.

Picciuto took over the business after a 25-year career at Raytheon, leaning on her undergraduate degree in accounting and her master’s degree in business to keep the store afloat through fire, mudslides, and a pandemic.

“I was committed to not leaving the community in the middle of these atrocities,” she said. “But now it’s time to move on.” 

The couple says they plan to do some traveling later this year, and Picciuto will continue to run her website, www.shopglamourhouse.com, selling elegant, fine, and timeless nightwear to her loyal following.

“It is time to begin a new chapter and pivot our company to take advantage of the times and opportunities of today,” she said, adding that it was the pandemic that prompted her to take the shop online, and she’s spent the last year cultivating the online platform. She will also travel to visit her vendors in Italy and Spain, gathering lines that are not easily found elsewhere, which her customers have come to expect.

The shop will close late July, and come Fall, a new lingerie shop called KISMET will open, catering to a slightly younger demographic. As the new retailer in the Glamour House location, Lindsey Eckardt will bring her fresh take to the Montecito establishment. Equipped with a diverse business background in fashion and beauty, Lindsey says she is eager to apply her passion and vision and to the reimagined space. We’ll have more on the new store as the opening draws near. 

“During the past 18 years, we at Glamour House have had the honor and pleasure of cultivating longstanding relationships, creating personal shopping experiences, and befriending our many local clients and clients from around this country. We would like to thank each and every one of you for your support and patronage throughout the years,” Picciuto said. 

Visit www.shopglamourhouse.com or keep in contact with Ann via email: ann@shopglamourhouse.com.