Life is Short. Wear Fun Clothes!
By Kara Pound
Photo by Addison Fitzgerald
101 RIO DEL MAR STREET • 904-471-6280
Life is short. Wear fun clothes,” owner Sylvia Sams says of the thousands of items her store, Nautilus At The Beach, offers for residents of, and visitors to, St. Augustine. “We realize that people have a lot of choices where they spend their hard-earned money, and we’re thankful they’ve spent it here.”
After more than 40 years as one of the area’s preeminent boutique clothing shops geared toward the beach lifestyle, Nautilus At The Beach, located at the corner of A1A South and Rio Del Mar Street, has proven successful at riding the ebb and flow of the area’s retail market.
“We offer clothes of all seasons, home décor, and, of course, hundreds of swimsuits for men and women,” explains Sams, age 83, who runs the shop with her daughter and son, Charlotte and Erny Childre, and a loyal staff member, Beth Scott. “We like to say that we
offer everything that’s casual and comfortable, from the beach to the street.”
Nautilus At The Beach got its start in 1975 as a men’s fine apparel shop. In 1980, the store moved to the Ponce De Leon Mall on US 1 and added women’s clothes. In March of 1988,
the family built their current building and transformed into what is known as Nautilus At The Beach.
Today, top-selling women’s brands include Jams World, Oh My Gauze!, RubyYaya, and Lulu-B, while men’s labels that have a hard time staying on the racks are Kahala, Tori Richard, Surfline, and Quicksilver’s Waterman Collection. They also have the local Mermaid Life brand, as well as other beach accessories.
“We work hard to stay up-to-date on the latest clothing and swim brands,” explains Childre. “We go to shows and have reps that call on us frequently. We’re always looking to carry things that are different. You probably won’t see anyone wearing what you buy here, as we only purchase one of each item in each size.”
Nautilus At The Beach has a room solely dedicated to swimwear – everything from one-pieces to tankinis to bikinis – and has found success with companies like Trina Turk, Ralph
Lauren, Seafolly, and La Blanca.
As far as what they’d like the future to hold for their shop, Sams says, “We take a lot of pride in what we do because it’s hard work, but it’s very satisfying. We’ve created a lot of good
memories here and look forward to more years of having fun and helping customers feel good about themselves.”
Get all your nautical needs met at Nautilus At The Beach, 101 Rio Del Mar Street, or call the friendly folks there at 904-471-6280.
