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NATCHEZ – Katie McCarstle spent 13 years building a career and reputation for excellence in hotel sales when a new management company upended her work life and set her at a crossroads.

“Where was I going and what was I going to do?” she said. “And so Cliff said, ‘OK, Katie, what do you really want to do?’ and I said, ‘well, my dream has been to own a ladies’ clothing store.’”

Her husband, Cliff, simply replied “Let’s go find a building.”

They settled on a cream brick building at 140 Liberty Road in Natchez, and she got to work. “Sweet Jeanne Sanguinetti helped me open the store,” McCarstle said. “That was 30 years ago … 31 years in March. So yeah, wow.”

Since March 1995, McCarstle has been dressing women in Southwest Mississippi and Southeast Louisiana and building a family of customers thanks to her vivacious personality and personalized customer service.

When she first opened Katie’s Ladies, McCarstle could not envision a three-decade career ahead. “It’s been such a fun ride,” she said. “But this is a full-time job. It’s a career.”

Owning a successful “ladies’ clothing store” has proven to be both professionally and personally fulfilling.

“I’ve always said that this is a cocktail party all day long without the booze, because everyone is in here looking for something to make them feel better,” she said. “Oh my gosh, I’ve made so many lifelong friends and that’s been a blessing to me … to know that people come in here not just to shop but to visit. They tell us their life stories, and we know when they’re having a new baby or a grandchild, or going to a wedding or a funeral.”

While McCarstle’s business acumen and fashion sense are key components to her success, she acknowledges that customer service is what sets her shop apart.

“I think that’s truly the secret,” she said. “It’s knowing your customers, remembering their children and grandchildren and their husbands. Just having that personal touch is what people want today.

“All the girls that work here, they all know everybody and that makes such a difference.”

McCarstle’s team includes Angela Gibson, Carolyn Eidt, Dianne Jordan and Tanna Davis. “They were all born and raised here,” McCarstle said. “Angela has been with me over 20 years and the rest of them are right behind her … we have so much fun.”

And Katie’s Ladies might just be the only place that hosts a birthday party each year for a customer. “Miss Josie Craig,” McCarstle said. “She had her 100^th birthday at the church and then after that she said ‘next year I want to have my birthday party at your store.’ And I said ‘we can do that.’

“We just celebrated her 106^th birthday … She’s been a very dear customer.”

McCarstle is facing another crossroads now, as she looks toward her retirement at the end of 2025 and the potential sale of Katie’s Ladies. “We hopefully will find somebody that wants to buy it,” she said of the business. “I’m praying that somebody will come along who will be interested in buying it and will feel like this is their calling.”

Meanwhile, she is fully focused on serving her customers throughout the remainder of the year. “We’ve already been to market for fall,” she said. “(The fall clothes) will start coming in the end of July and beginning of August, when it’s hot as blazing saddles. And we’ll be here for the Christmas rush … so keep shopping.”

Eyeing retirement after three decades as a successful entrepreneur will bring life changes, but McCarstle is ready.

“I think (Cliff) is very surprised that I stuck with it this long,” she said, laughing. “I think that he’s very proud of me. And I think he worries about whether I’m going to get bored… and I keep telling him, ‘I’ve never been bored a day in my life. That’s not who I am.’”