Free People

Free People is the brand within the Urban Outfitters portfolio that has consistently occupied the bohemian and romantic end of the women’s fashion market since its current form was established in the late 1980s. The Georgetown store at 3009 M Street NW is on the lower stretch of M Street’s commercial block, in the section that runs from the Key Bridge approach toward the main cluster of chain retail. The store carries the brand’s full women’s collection across clothing, footwear, and accessories in the visual language that Free People has developed: flowy silhouettes in washed fabrics, embroidery applied to linen and cotton, lace inserts and fringe trim, and the warm-toned color palette that the brand associates with its festival and travel aesthetic.

The Free People customer is distinct from the Anthropologie customer who lives a few blocks away at 3222 M Street, though both are in the Urban Outfitters family and share certain demographic characteristics. Free People skews younger and more festival-oriented, with a product range that covers the summer dress, the embroidered denim jacket, the wide-leg knit trouser, and the knitwear co-ord that photographs well in the outdoor settings the brand uses for its editorial imagery. Anthropologie’s customer is more likely to be furnishing a home as well as buying clothing; Free People’s customer is more likely to be building a weekend wardrobe.

The brand’s Movement line, FP Movement, extends the Free People aesthetic into the activewear category with yoga pants, sports bras, and workout clothing in the same palette and aesthetic sensibility as the main collection. The Georgetown store carries the Movement line alongside the core clothing, which gives the store a broader product range than a single-category women’s fashion boutique.

Accessories are a significant part of the Free People store experience. The jewelry, bags, hats, and the smaller categories of scarves and belts that round out the bohemian wardrobe are presented alongside the clothing in the store’s visual merchandising, which is organized to suggest complete looks rather than individual pieces. For a customer who wants to assemble a specific aesthetic rather than build a wardrobe from separates, the Free People store format facilitates that approach.

Hours run from 10am daily on weekdays and Saturday, with Sunday opening at 11am. Friday and Saturday hours extend to 9pm. The online store at freepeople.com carries the full range. The Georgetown store is accessible from the M Street pedestrian corridor and from the Georgetown Circulator. The FP Movement activewear line is displayed alongside the main collection at the Georgetown store, extending the bohemian palette and aesthetic into yoga pants, sports bras, and workout clothing that appeals to the same customer who wears the brand’s dresses on weekends. The M Street location at 3009 is accessible from the Key Bridge approach and from the Georgetown Circulator stop. Hours run from 10am Monday through Saturday, with Friday and Saturday closing at 9pm and Sunday opening at 11am. Online ordering at freepeople.com ships nationally with the returns policy that the Urban Outfitters family of brands maintains across its retail formats.