Street Style: Meet Ally Kirkpatrick and Melissa LaSalle of Old Town Books
The first thing I notice as I walk into Old Town Books Junior is the tree. It is magical. Its leaves. Its trunk. The pillows strewn in front. “It’s the first thing I wanted,” says Ally Kirkpatrick. “I researched the tree before the store designer. I wanted a moment, a beautiful memorable thing. If I were a little kid, I’d remember the tree. I love trees…you read under the tree…it’s symbolic of growth and children developing.”
Old Town Books Junior recently opened its doors and I ask Ally how the expansion from Old Town Books came to be. “I just love kids’ books and there’s a lot to know about them. When I started working with Melissa LaSalle (aka The Book Mommy), I caught the bug. My girls were getting older, and Melissa showed me how diverse and rich the books can be. She grew our selection from one kids’ shelf to a whole back part of the store. She inspired me, and she convinced me to expand. It’s a lower price point, so you need to sell a higher volume. Melissa showed me the data and proved her theory over time. The trends in readership point to parents wanting to get their kids off screens. It’s a viable avenue, parents are always going to need the products that aren’t attention-zapping. Between Melissa and the reading environment for kids, it’s the perfect mix and it all came together.”
Ally’s book business started as a popup. “It was 500 square feet of space on a month to month lease, and the space flooded constantly. This went on for a year and a half to two years…the space was a blessing and a curse. I didn’t have to get approved for a real lease, so it was less pressure. Then we decided to move into our current location on Royal Street and we’ve been here since 2021.” When I ask what the initial reception was, she shares, “The people who are into books were really excited. And there were also many who were like ‘Good Luck!’ But bookstores have totally come back.” Yes, shame on those doubters!
Her favorite parts of being a bookstore owner include, “the culture of it, getting to spend time and talk about books with people. It’s like a dream job in that respect. All the people I work with are so smart and so passionate. And I’m always listening to an audio book or two…fiction or nonfiction…in the car or doing laundry, or when I garden.”
Ally and Melissa at Old Town Books Junior
ALLY KIRKPATRICK
Photography: Renée C. Gage Photography
Shoot location: Old Town Books Junior
Something that has also intrigued me about Ally since she joined Stylebook as a contributor is her love for chickens. “Yes, I’m passionate about chickens, they’re my happy, they’re so cute. I got into them when we moved into our house in 2021. I actually moved the bookstore and then into a new house within the same four-month span. And then we got the chickens a little while later. They’re really easy, they all have little personalities. They get to know you, they recognize faces. They’re pretty bright. And the eggs taste better…my chickens are free range, they eat bugs,” she says laughing.
She married Jake, her college sweetheart, in 2010, “and we had our first baby, Fiona, in 2017. Now we have two more girls, a four-year-old and a one and a half-year-old, and Jake and I work together at the bookstore two days a week.”
Born and raised in Waynewood, Ally moved to New York and lived in Brooklyn for ten years while she worked at NYU. When Fiona was in toddler mode, they moved back to Northern Virginia. “I was working full time as an academic advisor, and commuting and thinking, ‘what can I do to get back?’ I started working on a business plan and met with booksellers in Brooklyn, taking them out for coffee. I was always a reader and English major and went to grad school for writing. I had also worked in retail and small cafes and loved working with independently owned businesses.” Hence, her passions coming to fruition together—an independently owned bookstore…in Old Town.
When she shares that she's a writer and surrounded by authors regularly, I ask if she’s ever written her own. “I have a rough first draft of a book. It’s really exciting because I have never gotten to this phase – revising. It’s about my experience with postpartum mental health, a memoir. I won an award and got a grant to write it. I’m also applying to residencies. I have participated in two before, one at Vermont Studio Center and one at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. I need some uninterrupted writing time…they’re usually about two weeks.” Reading my mind, she tells me her immediate family is nearby and her husband’s brother also lives close.
When I ask her what’s in store for the fall, she gushes. “I LOVE the fall because we deck the store out with decorations, and it’s so cozy and cute. The store is bustling during the holidays because so many good books come out towards the end of the year and they’re perfect for presents.”
They regularly host weekly events and participate in a pretty fun (and furry) local event, too, Old Town’s Doggie Trick or Treat. In October, they’ll host Spooky Town Books, an annual family-friendly fall festival with kids’ story time featuring author Paige Towler’s Baby Bat Bedtime, co-authored with the Smithsonian Bat Lab, kids music and a fall market with local goodies from Sugarcoated Bakery, Modern Tally and coffee and cider from The Little Well, and more. Ally says the best way to stay updated is to subscribe to the Old Town Books newsletter. “It’s a little bit of everything, including previews of books that are coming out and a local literary section with events around D.C.”
Ally continues to give credit to Melissa. “She found me and my sad little picture book section. When she started working at Old Town Books, it was a few hours a week, a couple more…then a couple more. It’s truly a partnership, I trust her with everything and I’m in awe of what she’s been able to do and the service she provides to the community. We started slow, and the business is growing.”
When not submerged in print, stories, and marketing, Ally loves hanging out with her girls and scootering. “Even my 18-month-old can ride a micro scooter. And we love dancing, my husband is very into music and we jam out together at home!”
Check out Ally’s (and Melissa’s) Street Style:
ABOUT ALLY
Neighborhood: Fort Hunt
Hometown: Same! We came full circle back to the area when I opened the bookstore.
What would surprise people about you? I didn’t always want to open a bookstore - I loved reading but never considered it an option… until I had my first daughter and anything seemed possible.
Favorite book: My favorite recent read is My Work by Olga Ravn. A classic I love to re-read is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë.
Guilty Pleasure: I used to work in fine jewelry sales when I lived in New York. It ruined me for jewelry and now my guilty pleasure is collecting it (when I can, which is rarely!) My favorite designer is Tura Sugden.
Latest binge-watch: I binge-watched Shogun. I’m a sucker for gorgeous costume design—the details of that whole show were just amazing.
Bucket list travel destination: I’d love to go on a bookshop tour of London, and a garden tour of the English countryside. I’m a Sarah Raven fan and would love to visit her garden, and many others!
Ally Kirkpatrick
ABOUT MELISSA
Neighborhood: Braddock Heights neighborhood of Alexandria
Hometown: NYC (Manhattan)
What would surprise people about you? Despite reading hundreds of kids and teen books a year to choose what to review and stock at the store, I’m still the slowest reader (why? why?).
Favorite book or movie: Ann Patchett (fave author, could never chose just one), The Shawshank Redemption (fave movie).
Guilty Pleasure: all. the. pizza.
Latest binge-watch: Veep (for the second time, because the parallels to today are too good)
Bucket list travel destination: Galapagos Islands
Melissa LaSalle
STYLE
Define your style in three words or less.
Ally: Cottage-core, eclectic, evolving.
Melissa: Warm, classic, and feminine.
The go-to piece in your wardrobe:
Ally: I recently got a pair of Tecovas cowboy boots and they’re now my entire personality.
Melissa: Any of my Liberty of London blouses from J.Crew.
Favorite trend:
Ally: I’m here for the 90s throwbacks. I bought some Doc Martin’s recently and was giddy with excitement to wear them again.
Melissa: Chocolate brown is back, woohoo!
Beauty product you can’t live without:
Ally: I almost said I never commit to certain products then I remembered how I always have a new tube of Laura Mercier’s Rose Syrup Lip Glacé on hand. It smells so good and is low key enough for a makeup minimalist like me.
Melissa: Nourish Avocado Facial Oil by Osmosis.
Boots, sneakers, or sandals?
Ally: Lately boots. It’s fall, baby!
Melissa: I swear by the Nordstrom boot but love a bold fashion sneaker, too!
WELLNESS
Go-to way to de-stress:
Ally: Gardening.
Melissa: Walking with friends.
Most fun way to stay active:
Ally: Lifting heavy weights!
Melissa: Barre 3 Old Town (six years strong!)
Wellness goal:
Ally: To do a pull up. I’m almost there! Having three kids really does a number on your abdominal muscles so it’s taken me like a year to get there…
Melissa: To move every day with vigorous workout 3-5 times a week.
Want to try:
Ally: To get more sleep. With little kids it’s so easy to stay up late because that’s your “me” time. I’m trying to go to bed early these days.
Melissa: Incorporating regular meditation.
Proudest wellness achievement:
Ally: Not working in the evenings. I used to catch up on stuff after the kids went to bed. I set that boundary last year and stuck to it, it’s been so much healthier to only work when I’m at work!
Melissa: Convincing my husband (the chef in our house and a committed carnivore) to cook vegetarian meals at least half the week.
HOME
Favorite room in your home:
Ally: My home office is my favorite room - it’s sunny and plant filled.
Melissa: Our big open room with its comfy couches, wooden beams, and antique tiled fireplace.
Antiques, modern, or a mix?
Ally: A mix.
Melissa: A mix (and the more patterns the better).
Last item bought for your home:
Ally: It was probably a plant. I have many, many plants. I blame the new PlantHouse in Alexandria. It’s such a therapeutic outing to go hit up Sisters Thai then browse for a new houseplant around the corner.
Melissa: Vintage art print in Amsterdam.
Favorite way to entertain:
Ally: We’re very casual and mostly entertain family these days - having three little kids limits what energy I have for hosting. But recently we renovated a barn we have on our property for a guest house, so I’m looking forward to hosting friends from out of town this fall.
Melissa: Spontaneous pizza and wine with friends and their kids.
Clutter-free or well-lived in?
Ally: Well-lived in for sure.
Melissa: The books all over the house definitely prevent me from saying the former.
Next planned purchase:
Ally: I have a wedding to attend in October so I’m using it as an excuse to buy a new suit from MM LaFleur, the home to our pop-up bookshop in Georgetown. They have really gorgeous, well made clothes that I find myself wearing again and again.
Melissa: Upholstered captain’s chairs for our dining room table (Serena & Lily).
ALEXANDRIA
What do you love about Alexandria Stylebook?
Ally: I love the creative team behind the brand! Working with Rainbow for editorial content creation and Renee for photos is just plain fun.
Melissa: Love how you center the small businesses that make our community so unique and vibrant!
Favorite spot in Alexandria:
Ally: I know I’m biased but my favorite spot is in one of the red rockers in front of Old Town Books. I love reading and rocking in the leaf-light on a quiet weekday.
Melissa: Old Town Books, of course!
Your Go-to Shop:
Ally: There are too many to choose from! Really can’t play favorites, they’re all wonderful.
Melissa: Cheesetique for wine and cheese, Anthropologie for clothing
Best food spot:
Ally: Eddie’s Little Shop & Deli on King Street. Their sandwiches are amazing.
Melissa: Stracci Pizza
Favorite local organization:
Ally: I love the work the Wright to Read program does for our community, and every year we help with their book drive.
Melissa: The Spitfire Club is a NP that does so much to get girls in our community to connect through a love of reading.
Annual Alexandria event you most look forward to:
Ally: Old Town Doggie Trick or Treat. It just makes my heart happy to see all the dogs dressed up and excited for treats.
Melissa: Art on the Avenue in Del Ray
