Vintage Shops Yield Excellent Crop
What’s new is old, and what’s old is news.
Fashion is taking a few steps backward in time to come up with some of the most forward looks for fall ’92. Nostalgia mania runs the gambit from the dapper dandy, Marlene Dietrich, anything ‘40s, to the out-of-control colors, textures, lapels, cuffs and platforms of the ‘60s and ‘70s.
Vintage-clothing enthusiasts borrow items from the past and reinterpret them with modern know-how for retro-dressing on the cutting edge--without cutting a hole in the pocketbook.
Savvy retro-dressers like to mix it up: a dust-bowl dress with Doc Martens; a ‘40s suit jacket with classic new black pants; a ‘50s Pendleton jacket with jeans; a ‘30s silk velvet dress with platforms.
Why seek the vintage alternative?
Originality. Timeless designs and silhouettes. Luxurious fabrics. Curious fabrics. History. Prices. Fun.
If you have exhausted your families’ steamer trunks, closets and attics and want a more consistent source for your nostalgic fashion needs than the monthly flea markets, check out local vintage stores. Vintage retailers have their fingers tightly on the pulse of what’s hot on the streets and on the runways. Their merchandise selection often parallels the two.
Here’s a selection of vintage stores:
ATTIC DELIGHTS
Come down off that ladder. You don’t have to go digging in the attic anymore to find those long lost treasures. Judy Tackett of Attic Delights has done it for you. The vintage shop, on the traffic circle in Orange, specializes in clothing and accessories from the ‘40s and older.
“We will carry some classy ‘50s, but ‘40s and older is what I really like,” says Tackett, who started in business 20 years ago selling antiques.
She used antique clothing to give atmosphere to her displays, but people kept buying the clothes. She’s been concentrating on the fashions of bygone eras for 11 years.
Tackett fills her store with merchandise mostly from private parties. She is “real picky” about the condition and wearability of each piece.
Men’s suits in herringbone and pin-stripe from the ‘30s and ‘40s ($65-$95) are very popular with women as menswear, the preferred look for fall. Classic cocktail evening wear is a mainstay in the store as well as Depression Era dresses ($55-$65) and day dresses from the ‘20s and ‘30s (starting at $55). New dresses made from tablecloths of the ‘40s and ‘50s are sold at $35 to $55.
The modern bride might find her ideal in a wedding dress selection typified by the following finds: a 1910s lawn dress ($225), a white net dress with an over-stitched floral design from 1908 ($495), a 1920s ivory silk satin dress with beaded/embroidered neck and drop waist ($210) and a 1930s ecru hand-stitched lace dress ($165).
Attic Delights also carries children’s clothing: knickers, white cotton dresses, pre-Hitler Austrian jackets ($35) and christening gowns from the early 1900s that feature handmade and bobbin lace ($95-$175).
Accessories follow the timeline from silk pumps circa 1850-’70 ($55) to Victorian lace-up boots (about $75) to “granny” shoes from the ‘30s ($25-$45) to hats by Lilly Dache, Hatty Carnegie and Dior.
Collectibles include such highlights as a bustle and hoop from the 1870s ($295) to compacts and beaded purses from the early 1900s to Victorian jet wire jewelry--black cut glass soldered onto wire, which could be sewn onto garments as decorative pieces ($45-$75).
42 Plaza Square, Orange, (714) 639-8351.
LOCALS ONLY
Nestled along the Laguna Beach coastline are a few vintage havens where faithful customers return again and again. One of them is Locals Only.
Open since 1982, this store is a must-see for vintage-quality-hounds in search of fine accessories, luxury items and the perfect pair of 501’s (pre-worn of course). Co-owners Jim Olarte and Larry Craig specialize in apparel and accessories from the ‘40s through the ‘70s, in addition to a few older collectibles, such as a turn of the century crocodile doctor’s bag.
“I love vintage luxury items that are classics now,” says Craig of their collection, which includes such items as a 1950s Kelly bag by Hermes and a zebra coin purse from the ‘40s. “Old new stock,” such as sunglasses from the ‘60s that have never been worn, come in black frames and green lenses or multicolored marbleized frames ($12-$60).
Denim, the mainstay of West Coast chic, has been one of the biggest sellers for Locals Only over the past three years. Levi 501’s carry the selection, and prices vary according to individual condition. Olarte and Craig also wholesale their denim overseas to stores in Europe and the Orient.
Although blue jeans sales account for much of the daily business, the owners favor such specialties from the ‘40s as men’s Hawaiian shirts ($100-$300), Pendleton jackets and elaborate women’s suit jackets with designer labels from the past such as Lilli Ann. Other choice accessories include cuff links from the ‘40s to the ‘60s ($5-$45), namely the sterling abstract links from the ‘50s, to hats, cowboy boots and belts.
Olarte and Craig also produce a garment line with the Locals Only label using unique vintage fabrics that give character and life to basic and traditional designs. Included in the line are: women’s Capri pants in cotton and rayon prints ($45); men’s traditional camp shirts in ‘40s to ‘60s rayon ($22-$120); men’s and women’s short’s in ‘40s rayon ($20-$35) and full holiday skirts ($50).
The drop-dead-drape of ‘40s rayon “is the cream of the crop” in vintage, according to Craig, who says it is hard to find because people loved it and wore it to death.
Craig says their clientele is diverse and can range “from a teen-ager looking for a pair of 501’s to a mother looking for a suit jacket to go to San Francisco in.” Movie stars and models also have been known to browse.
New items come into the store at least twice a week.
658 S. Coast Highway, Laguna Beach, (714) 494-0022.
TIPPECANOE’S
Featuring funky fad-rags from the ‘60s and ‘70s, Tippecanoe’s caters to the latest craze in street-chic, nightclub vogue at bargain prices.
Owner Ernie Zalk boasts a constant turnover of goods that flow from bell-bottoms to platforms, clogs, love beads and crochet tops. After 60 days he sells the merchandise at 50% off, and if it’s still in the store 30 days later it goes on the $4 rack. Tuxedos ($16 or two for $30) and motorcycle jackets ($145-$185) are usually on hand.
648 S. Coast Highway, Laguna Beach, (714) 494-1200
VINTAGE VINTAGE
As the name the suggests, Vintage Vintage carries women’s dresses from the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s, among other remnants from the past.
Owner Lu Ann Ly searches out dresses that are fashionable and in good condition; she says about 80% of her customers are women who want dresses.
Discriminating dresses from the ‘30s and ‘40s include silk velvet evening dresses in red, purple, black and ivory ($75-$225) and silk crepes and rayons in solids and prints ($35-$95). The silk crepes and rayons are the bestsellers; customers wear them with cowboy boots.
“The ‘40s dress is always classic. You can wear it loose and flowing, or cinch it with a belt,” Ly says.
Hand-picked party dresses from the ‘50s are also offered for dress enthusiasts.
Ladies’ fitted suit jackets from the ‘40s can be found in wool gabardine, cashmere and rayon ($35-$150). Vintage platforms in suede ($75) finish off the ‘40s turned ‘90s look. Alligator accessories are constants in the boutique.
Ly says that people wear vintage clothing because the quality is good and the styles are contemporary with what’s being worn now.
Vintage Vintage also offers a gumbo of yesteryear’s prize possessions: a teal wool bathing suit from the roaring ‘20s ($50); collectible Bakelite jewelry pieces (a fashion trend between 1933 and 1941); antique watches that have been cleaned and restored in styles from Gruen, Elgin, Bulova and Hamilton and hand-tooled purses from the ‘20s to ‘40s ($45-$125).
Also available are costume jewelry, including lots of rhinestones, from ‘40s to ‘60s ($18-$35) and women’s gloves from the ‘20s to ‘60s ($4-$20).
Vintage costume jewelry, especially rhinestones, are the hot accessory for the even hotter Western look. At this store, men’s two pocket rayon gabardine shirts ($25-$65) are popular, along with men’s vests ($15-$35), for both men and women.
Leather jackets from the ‘50s through the ‘80s ($150-$500), silk ties ($15-$75) from the ‘40s and wool Pendleton jackets ($35) also attract a sharing interest.
Cowboy boots in cowhide, lizard and two-tone from the ‘50s ($45-$300) are usually kept in stock, as well as Levi 501’s in sizes 28 through 34.
1100 S. Coast Highway, Suite 114, Laguna Beach, (714) 497-9993.
