Yvonne LaFleur (born 1947) [1] [2] is an American fashion designer, businesswoman and owner-founder of the boutique Yvonne LaFleur; located in the Carrollton Riverbend neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisianna. [3]
LaFleur came to New Orleans from San Francisco with her mother, Cecile LaFLeur, [4] when she was four years old. [5] [1] They lived with her three aunts, who all worked in elegant fashion department stores; which gave LaFleur an early experience with high class fashion. LaFleur learned how to sew from her grandmother. [2] LaFleur said in 2011 that by the time she was 11, she could make anything without a pattern. [6]
LaFleur attended Cabrini High School [1] and Louisiana State University; where she majored in merchandising and fashion. [2] During her senior year, LaFleur ran a modeling school for a small boutique. She learned to design clothes while living in New York City; and commercial pattern making while working at an atelier in Paris under Maxi Librati. [7] Just months after graduating, LaFleur partnered with entrepreneur Charles Montgomery from Fayette, Mississippi in opening her own boutique on October 15, 1969; then called You Boutique. [7] By 1984, the shop was profitable enough for LeFleur to buyout Montgomery. He later invested in her opening a shop in New York City; [2] where she distributed her designs to 400 stores. [7]
LaFleur's business style grew from being the first to sell women's jeans in the 1960s for $8 [8] to offering wedding dresses and bridal gowns, lingerie, debutante and Mardi Grass gowns. She was the first to carry designs called Gunne Sax by Jessica McClintock in 1971. [7] When she premiered her own signature perfume, (which took two years to develop) the boutique changed its name to Yvonne Lafleur on May 1, 1984. [7] The shop offers LaFleur's own creations and designs from the New York factory she owned in the 1970s. LaFleur said in a 2025 interview that about eighty-five percent of the clothes in the store were her own brand, made in the United States. [1] The boutique also specializes in on-location alterations and bespoke orders; something LaFleur learned while working in Paris. [6] [2]
Described as a "skilled milliner", [9] LaFleur inherited a collection of hat blocks from her aunt, Alice LaFleur. LaFleur created 200 hats for the 1981 film about Coco Chanel called Chanel Solitaire [9]
In early 2025, marketing expert Angelique Frizzell [1] convinced LaFleur that she should be on social media. Subsequently, the on-going series of videos and tutorials garnered not only a substantial number of followers across social media platforms; [2] but a direct increase in customer interest and frequency. [1] In an article for Country Magazine, writer Susan Marquez states: "People are planning their vacations to New Orleans just to shop at the store." [1]
While traveling between her New Orleans and New York shops, LaFleur met her husband, James C. Walsh. [2] [9] Walsh is Joe Namath's attorney. LaFleur and Walsh have seven children. [6] Daughters Mary Jane and Elizabeth work alongside LaFleur in her boutique. [9] [4]