Dirty Little Secrets Appetite for Seduction This is a ... - Shattered Glam

30
Forward Thinking About Vintage
Hadley Lavanger
Walking into Go Vintage is like walking into your grandmother’s
attic–if your grandmother had an amazing taste in clothes and kept
them all in mint condition. Racks of dresses, shirts, sweaters and jackets
line the walls. Hats are the wall decoration. Antique jewelry fills
a case and spills out onto the counter top. Beaded evening bags and
old shoes are found at every turn. It is the kind of store where you can
find a classic 1950s pink cocktail dress with silk sash, or a hot pink,
orange and green mini dress from the 60s, or a gorgeous 1930s ivory
wedding dress with lace sleeves and seed pearl beading. And all this
for very reasonable prices (the wedding dress was $89!). In addition
to all the women’s clothes, there is a whole basement of men’s apparel,
plus a small wall of adorable children’s wear
Two of the best treasures of the store are the owners: Kevin Looney
and Jerusa Carswell. Both are so passionate about the clothes and
that passion is infectious. What is now a thriving business began as
a hobby. They had been collectors and admirers for years. One day,
Kevin bought 300 available stock bowling shirts from the 1960s to
the 1980s to sell. Then they started going to estate sales and shows.
Finally, they had so much inventory that they decided to open a store.
In October 2006, Go Vintage was born.
Kevin and Jerusa still go to shows several times a year. In fact, they
outfit celebrities and provide wardrobe for movies. A Valley of the
Dolls remake is in production and Go Vintage provided much of the
clothes for it. Fashion powerhouses like Ralph Lauren and Anthropologie
buy from them to get inspiration for new lines. It just goes to show
that classic never goes out of style. Clothes that you can buy in at their
boutique St. Paul could show up on runways in Milan and Paris!
Eyes wide and repeating, “gorgeous, beautiful, pretty” over and
over, I wandered through the racks of the small store. It was a little
overwhelming. I wanted to look at everything, but there was so much,
to see it all in one trip would be next to impossible. Luckily, Jerusa and
Kevin know the store and the clothes, so with their guidance I was
soon ready to play dress–up.
Due to sizes changing a lot in the past eighty years (a size 16
in the 1950s might be about the same as a size 6 today), for convenience
Go Vintage puts the hip, waist and bust measurements on
every tag. Like many women, I do not carry these numbers around
with me in my purse. Thankfully, Jerusa was there. Just by looking
at me, she grabbed four amazing dresses off the racks. Four dresses
that I hadn’t even seen when I looked through them earlier. They all fit
me perfectly, and they were comfortable because they actually were
made to accentuate and work with a woman’s curves. My favorite was
a 1950s “wiggle” dress, the kind that Marilyn Monroe would have
worn. It was a sparkling blue and silver material, had a high neck,
three–quarter sleeves and a shorter skirt. Ignoring my thought that it
would look horrible on me, I slipped it on. The dress was tight in all
the right places and forgiving in all the places that I wanted to hide. At
the stomach, there was ruching of the fabric that hid my tummy. The
tight fabric made my butt look sculpted and, well, luscious instead of
the size of Texas. The high neck made it look subtly sexy and classy.
I felt like a movie star. As I pulled back the dressing room curtain, I
was beaming. I had to own this dress. I had to own whatever made
me feel this good about myself. At the surprising price of $45, I just
couldn’t say no.
And so I believe that I have begun a love affair with vintage. I’ve
always admired the older clothes, especially from the 40s and 50s,
but I never knew how accessible they could be. I thought they were
out of my reach. When, really, they’ve just been waiting for me in St.
Paul. After spending five minutes with Kevin and Jerusa, you would
feel the exact same way. Their passion is contagious and exciting.
With vintage, you can wear something completely unique and different
instead of yet another mass produced shirt that all of your friends
own too. In addition, vintage has a story, a past, a history. The clothes
are as special as you will feel when you wear them. And Go Vintage
is the perfect place to start.
shattered
Not for the Jane Plain
Chelsea Fox: Model
Tyra Noir: Makeup
Definitely
Not
Jane
Plain