Where is my Truly Regal mercerized cotton blouse with the splashes of color and line art dogs? Did you see my Fire Islander geometric polyester blouse? Is that 100% nylon Pennypacker blue green flowered dress in the laundry? These are questions only vintage goods aficionados understand.
In the world of wine, the term ‘vintage’ indicates the home region, year, and quality of a fermented juice. But the adjective is no longer confined to bottle labels. It has now attached itself to apparel, household decorations, jewelry, accessories, art – virtually any original item manufactured post-antique and pre-21st century.
“Vintage actually spans the 40's to the 80's,” says Suzanne Beveridge.
She should know. Her shop, Scavenger Hunt, is a GR icon that will celebrate its 20th anniversary with a big party at the Intersection on September 29, 2007.
Three years ago, Beveridge moved her vintage outlet – a consignment shop of multiple vendors – to 117 South Division. The move more than doubled the square footage of her store and made possible a floor plan with wheel-chair accessibility throughout. Today, shoppers come to Scavenger Hunt from all over greater GR and the clientele ranges in age from 13 to 65.
“We have, you name it, 50's parties, ‘60's parties, ‘70's, ‘80's,” Beveridge says. “We have high school theatres come through. We have murder mystery parties.”
To keep up with the variety of demand, Beveridge stocks a wide selection of gear from each decade. The store is lined with racks of men’s and women’s clothing, including pj's, aprons, leather jackets, Levis, T's, sunglasses, hats, belts, jewelry, go-go boots and boas. Her iron-on machine will add patches or art to jeans, T's, or hats.
“This is a gold mine,” says Monica Tomasik, a Scavenger Hunt customer in search of a Caddy Shack-style outfit for a recent costume party.
“We walked in the door and literally found everything. I’m thinking of my childhood in here. I see things I thought I would never see again. I love the 80's because that was when I was growing up, but I see clothing I remember my aunts wore when I was only 6 or 7 years old. It’s a trip down memory lane.”
Shoppers and vendors alike feel the nostalgia, usually tied to a time in their youth. It is odd how little changed in vintage collectibles and fashion over the years. In the 70s, eclectic folks desired similar clothing. Today, there’s simply more decades to chose from.
Sally England, one of GR’s newest vintage retailers, recently opened Space Craft in her live-in studio and storefront at 120 South Division. England blends her enthusiasm for locally-made goods with a love for vintage, often sewing with vintage fabrics to fill her clothing racks with one-of-a-kind items.
With a strong connection to the 60's, England is intrigued by a garment’s history. If only her shirt, labeled ‘Property of Gertrude Sporte,’ could tell us of Gertrude’s life, she wonders. But buying vintage, she says, also is an easy way to recycle and reuse good clothing which is better for the environment than many of the new clothes made in sweatshops.
Matthew Fowler, a thrift store shopper turned shopkeeper, opened Coat of Many Colors at 1052 Wealthy in August 2006. “It all started in high school for me,” Fowler says. “Without a clothing allowance, I would shop at the thrift stores. I always had really crazy clothes for Forest Hills Central, compared to my friends. But they started wearing my clothes when we went out, and then wanted to buy them.”
That’s when Fowler realized he could make money in the vintage business. It’s easy to tell when his store is open because furniture appears on the sidewalk during business hours. Enter to find an eclectic array of garments and other vintage merchandise from floor to ceiling. Play a game of pool (the pool table is also for sale) while admiring his awesome collection of boots, tiny porcelain statues, and racks of vintage.
Stuff in his store even confirms the ‘80's have joined the vintage scene. “I get a lot of kids from Calvin and college students from Heritage Hill,” he says. “It fits into their lifestyle and their routine.”
“People dress ‘80's,” he continues. “I’ve even had things from the early ‘90s, like Ninja turtle stuff. My age-group grew up on Ninja turtles and Transformers. So if you find a shirt from 1992 with ET on it, that’s almost getting to vintage.”
Items in his store typically are priced above thrift shops yet below high-end vintage. For neighborhood shoppers who support local businesses, he includes vintage art, household decor and furniture. Estate sales, garage sales and out-of-town thrift shops are hot hunting spots for store inventory.
“I love the hunt,” Fowler says. “On-line shopping is no competition for hands-on vintage. The fun part is walking along at a sale and finding a hat from the ‘30s. It’s a thrill going out and finding it, or not.”
The possibilities are endless. The tiny-wasted cotton dress handed down by a ‘50's era housewife. Or the bell bottom hippy jeans from the ‘60's & ‘70's. There’s something about the exquisite detail of an American original: the gathering, darts, needlework, trim or buttons we don’t see anymore.
Whether for dress-up, nostalgia, distinctive style, treasure hunting, lost quality or environmental appeal — people more and more are on the hunt for vintage goods. And whatever the hunt — cowboy vintage, Jacqueline Kennedy look-alike, Caddy Shack characters — it can be found. Grand Rapids vintage outlets are the “street museums” of an era that would be lost, and fashion’s way of preserving history for future generations.
Nancy Davis is an independent writer and artist living in Grand Rapids. She last wrote for Rapid Growth about the
Amazing Chocolate Tree exhibit on display at Meijer Gardens through September 3, 2007.
Photos:
Scavenger Hunt (center building) is located in a vibrant district of Division Avenue called Avenue of the Arts
Interior of Scavenger Hunt
Buttons at Scavenger Hunt of some of your favorite local television anchors (Lee Van Ameyde and Tom Van Howe)
Matt Fowler, owner of Coat of Many Colors and his dog
Exterior of Coat of Many Colors on Wealthy Street
Photographs by Brian Kelly - All Rights Reserved