In 2018, the Kardashian sisters announced the permanent closure of their clothing chain, Dash. Fans weren’t surprised by the closure, but it was a significant milestone considering that the store had been a part of the Keeping Up with the Kardashians reality series for years. Over two years has passed since Dash closed its doors and now we have time to reflect on the history of Kim, Khloe and Kourtney’s first business venture.
Day one followers of KUWTK likely remember the original Calabasas store, Dash. The venture originally started in 2006 and all chains were shut down 12 years later. Even though the Kardashian sisters shared a ton about Dash on television, there’s a lot that went on behind the scenes. A brief history of the KarDASHian store can be found below.
2006
Dash opened its first store in Calabasas, California in 2006. Kourtney and Kris’ baby shop, Smooch, was right next door. Dash was a joint venture between Kim, Khloe and Kourtney. According to Complex, one of the main reasons the family agreed to the Keeping Up with the Kardashians series was because they believed it would boost sales for Dash. The reality series aired roughly one year after Dash opened its doors. It’s hard to imagine the Kardashian-Jenner clan struggling for cash or attention now, but everyone starts somewhere.
Kourtney stated that she forced Khloe to start working at Dash to stop her from living a reckless, destructive lifestyle. Khloe agreed with this statement. “After my dad died in 2003, I was partying all the time, drinking a lot, and sleeping in every morning. At this time, my mom and Kourtney were running their kids' store, Smooch, and when the space next door opened up, Kourt got it!” It seems that the store’s name was derived from the Dash in Kardashian considering that the trio of sisters was operating the store together.
2008
As shown in the second season of KUWTK, the Dash store gets vandalized. Khloe is the first to find out when Lily, a sales clerk, calls her. A man was threatening and harassing Lily. Then he started throwing things and pushed down a mannequin. Khloe came to Lily’s rescue and got the police involved.
2009-ish
“We started Dash in 2006 and really struggled for a long time to make it a successful business - there were months we couldn’t pay our bills and the store didn’t turn a profit for years,” Khloe revealed in her blog. “Kourt, Kim and I were the only employees and really had no idea what we were doing. We went to Barnes & Noble, bought business books and asked our friends for advice. We put everything on Kourt’s credit card - we literally had no money. The three of us bought all our own inventory, cleaned the store, did our own taxes - everything.”
It turns out that Kourtney did the right thing by getting Khloe involved in Dash. “Everything went into Dash, but we were really determined and kept working at it… Eventually, it paid off. People think that my sisters and I didn’t have to work for our money, but we did! I think my dad would be really proud of us.”
2011
Nostalgia alert: do you remember the Sillybandz trend?
If not, it was an extremely popular fad among kids and teens. Essentially, Sillybandz were elastic bracelets that, when removed from the wrist, created a unique, identifiable shape. The Kardashians created their own Sillybandz in 2011 and sold them in Dash.
2015
After much anticipation, the Dash online store officially launched, as reported by Bustle. At the time, fans were super excited because they could watch the show while shopping for clothes.
Also in this year, the spinoff series, Dash Dolls aired on E! Khloe’s best friend, Malika Haqq, and her twin sister, Khadijah Haqq, are the main stars of the show. The series only lasted one season.
2016
“One stop contemporary women’s boutique set to inspire the mindset of the confident, captivating and charismatic women of today with an immaculate eye for fashion and style,” is how Dash branded themselves at this time. In 2016, the Kardashian sisters had three locations in Los Angeles, Miami and New York.
Much of the clothes in the store mimic what the Kardashians and Jenners frequently wear on KUWTK. Given that the family had found fame at this point, they also sold their books in the store. Kim’s selfie book Selfish, Khloe’s self-help book Strong Looks Better Naked, Kris’ memoir Kris Jenner… and All Things Kardashian, and Kylie and Kendall’s young adult novel Rebels: City of Indra were the main books available at Dash. Rob also sold his Arthur George socks through the Dash stores. In addition, Kanye West would sell his merch through the store, but it would typically be gone within days.
2017
According to Global News, panic swept Los Angeles when a woman was arrested after pointing a gun at employees in the Dash store in West Hollywood. The woman was identified as Maricia Medrano. She later returned with a machete which she waved at reporters outside the store.
In prior years, Dash had also been attacked by an arsonist. In response, the Kardashian sisters installed protective shutters in their stores as a safety measure.
2018
In mid-2018, Kourtney, Khloe and Kim announced they were closing all Dash stores after 12 years of operations. “We’ve loved running Dash, but in the last few years we’ve all grown so much individually. We’ve been busy running our own brands, as well as being moms and balancing work with our families. We know in our hearts that it’s time to move on,” Kim wrote at the time, as reported by Insider. No one was particularly surprised by the news. The stores officially closed on May 31, 2018.
Source: Complex, Insider, Global News, Celebuzz, Republic World, YouTube, Bustle