Abigail Rose & Lily Too: A Family Shop With a Musical Life

The names on Abigail Rose & Lily Too belong to two sisters whose creative partnership extends well beyond clothing. Abigail and Lily Chapin, who run the Nyack shop, also make music as The Chapin Sisters. That second identity opens a different way into the story of the family business at 71 South Broadway.

Its roots reach back to a fabric-and-yarn shop. In the family's account of its beginnings, their mother, Bonnie, owned By Hand in Brooklyn Heights before selling it and relocating with her family. She opened Abigail Rose & Lily Too in Piermont in 1986, naming it for her two youngest daughters. They grew up around the business and eventually took it over. The move to Nyack came in August 2020: a new address for a shop with a much longer family history.

The sisters' other collaboration has a history of its own. Their record catalog includes the 2013 album A Date With the Everly Brothers and 2015's Today's Not Yesterday, a collection of original songs. Making something new while keeping older work in the conversation is an appealing parallel to a second-generation shop—not an explanation the sisters have claimed, but a way to appreciate the two pursuits side by side.

The store's own description of its buying approach brings that attention back to clothing. It says it purchases in small batches, seeks out natural fibers and supports small designers. Its stated values also include treating women's regional textile traditions as art. These are the shop's commitments, rather than independent certifications, and they offer a useful sense of what guides its choices.

The assortment reaches beyond a wardrobe. Alongside dresses, knitwear and denim, the current website has sections for home goods, children's items and gifts; its brand list includes Block Shop Textiles, Maileg and Wallace Sewell. There are several threads to follow here, whether your interest begins with clothing, an object for the home or the people doing the choosing.

For a Rockland reader, that is the interesting discovery: this is a clothing shop with a fabric-store backstory and a musical life alongside it. The name above the door is also an introduction to the sisters carrying it forward.