When Patrick goes on business trips, I often decide to just go to my dad’s for the time he’s away. I love spending time with my dad since we share the same passions. The last few days were spent shopping, pricing inventory for the shop in Coburg, working on the newly acquired Cadillac hearse, and car cruise.
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!
Yesterday I shared with you my friend’s new shop, Retro Rejuvenation and that Lyndsie let me paw through her rack of fabulous inventory. I picked out two pieces that I absolutely needed, including this stellar black wool circle skirt by Colony Casuals of California.
The other piece I had to have was this amazing blue and white dress by Paula Brooks. There was one button missing, so Lyndsie let me pick through her huge collection of new-old stock buttons and I picked out these. Which I actually thought looked better than the originals.
I look forward to future visits to Lyndsie’s shop, both as a customer and a vendor of her mall. If you’re ever in Eugene, be sure to visit.
Earlier I mentioned that my friend Lyndsie is opening up an antique mall in the small town of Coburg (located just five miles north of Eugene). Over the last few days my dad and I scoured the house top to bottom selecting items to fill out our new space at her mall, followed by hours arranging and pricing all of the delightful treasures.
Lyndsie and her family have spent the last few weeks getting the place prepped for opening. With its candy colored walls, Retro Rejuvenation will be a perfect 2,500 square foot shop full of amazing vintage pieces of clothing, kitchenware, mid-century furniture, ceramics, and even “mantiques”, thanks to my dad.
I love to see new and local businesses come into being, and it is even better that I get to be a part of it.
Lyndsie was such a doll, she let me shop her gorgeous items and I picked up two pieces I simply couldn’t leave without. But tune in tomorrow to see those beauties!
Retro Rejuvenation will be opening it doors this Saturday, but join Lyndsie for her Grand Opening party on Sunday, July 15th.
Today I received a mix of news. First, the bad news…I received a text message from my friend Lyndsie, located down in Eugene, that one of our favorite vintage shops, Puttin’ on the Ritz, suffered a horrible fire. We have yet to hear if their entire inventory is lost, and what this means for the future of the business. All I can say is that I am devastated, and my thoughts are with the owners and I wish them the best of luck in moving forward in whatever direction they choose.
UPDATE: Puttin’ on the Ritz has decided to consign all of their recovered inventory to Julie of Fab Gabs Vintage.
Meanwhile, Lyndsie has been one busy gal! She recently leased out the space of my former upholsterer in Coburg and is looking for dealers for her new shop Retro Rejuvenation. My dad and myself have joined her in her venture, and will soon being opening up another branch of The Atomic Hideaway inside her new antique mall.
Photo Courtesy of Lyndsie Denton
Next week I will be heading down to Eugene to help out with sorting, pricing, and moving items into the new space. Since this location will be manned by my dad, we look forward to bringing in “man-tiques” (auto memorabilia, and such) and possibly older, turn-of-the-century items. I look forward to spending time with my dad and helping out a dear friend. I want Lyndsie to be successful in this business. She is a girl who loves the style and glamour of the 40s and 50s, and has a super keen eye for fantastic items (just check out that dress already in the window! And the fact she’s using Starburst in her design)! Sometimes I simply can’t believe the things she scores! The antique world needs to know that it is people like myself and Lyndsie who are the future of this business, and we want to keep antique and vintage items alive and pass them along to homes where they will be loved.
I hope to keep you up to date on our progress.
Over the weekend, Katie, Pat, and I drove down to Eugene to see our dear friend Megan perform in the Frank Sinatra tribute show My Way. Prior to our trip, Megan began to express interest in dressing vintage, saying she felt that the styles and cuts of the clothing of yesteryear seemed to be more flattering (which is true), but she just wanted a guiding hand in started. Katie and I were thrilled about this, and ran to her aid.
The afternoon before the show we hit up my two favorite vintage clothing shops in Eugene, Nobody’s Baby and Puttin’ On The Ritz and began tossing vintage wonders Megan’s way, while of course shopping for us as well. And it was a success! Megan walked away with two dresses from the 1940s, including one with its tags still attached as well as a purse with her monogram on it! Talk about a sign! She also snatched up some adorable enamel leaf pins.
As for myself, I picked up this adorable yellow nylon top along with a horrid 1950s grey wool dress that will make a fantastic skirt in the very near future. I also picked up a wonderful home made “New Look” style dress with pockets (YAY!) perfect for the chilly days ahead! It’s three-quarter length sleeves will make a great opportunity to showcase my gloves. Plus, grey is a very versatile color, I can jazz it up with hats, belts and pins to make for dozens of outfits. I also picked up a fabulous Nardis of Dallas linen turquoise number…which sadly I won’t be able to wear for a few months…so I guess they equal out…
As for the show, it was fantastic. My Way is a tribute show that includes three couples who chat about Ol’ Blue Eyes and sing a good majority of Sinatra’s songs. So if you’re a Sinatra fan, I highly suggest making it to My Way if it comes your way.
Eugene, Oregon, aka Track Town USA, is home to Nike, the University of Oregon, and some swell vintage clothing stores, and most are within just a few blocks of each other, so it’s easy to “make the rounds”.
First off, we have Puttin’ on the Ritz, located at 350 E. 11th Ave. If it’s quality you’re looking for Puttin’ on the Ritz is the place to go. The shop of filled to the brim with mostly clothing from the 1920s through the 1970s, along with linens, ceramics, and some kitchen ware. They carry both mens and womens fashion, everything from hats and shoes to ties and jewelry. The only downside to Puttin’ on the Ritz is their prices. They certainly have quality, and you really pay for it. UPDATE: Sadly, in June of 2012, Puttin’ on the Ritz suffered from a fire and has since shut its doors.
Located at 365 E. 13th Ave., Nobody’s Baby is not only a vintage clothing store, but a costume rental outlet offering top of the line costumes. In terms of vintage clothing though, they are just a step down from Puttin’ on the Ritz in terms of quality and prices. They also carry stuff that is new, but looks old, especially in terms of their lingerie. Nobody’s Baby also offers mens and womens clothing.
Just down the road from Nobody’s Baby is Eugene Jeans. Run by a Frisbee Golf enthusiast, Eugene Jeans, located on 132 E. 13th Ave., is more filled more with 1970s clothing than that of the 40s or 50s. Tim carries a wide range though, from vintage swimsuits to Converse, Eugene Jeans is a further step down from Nobody’s Baby in terms of quality, but he also has better prices. Again, both mens and womens fashion is offered.
Just two blocks away from Eugene Jeans is Oak Street Vintage, located at 1409 Oak St. Unlike the other mentioned stores which turn most of their attention to mostly clothing, Oak Street also offers some furniture (a lot of Hey-Wake) and ephemera. As for pricing, Oak Street is hit and miss – sometimes their stuff seems way under the market, other times, way over.Their clothing is both mens and womens and often pretty good quality.
I hope this entry was of help to those in Eugene or who plan to visit Eugene sometime soon.
I plan to do some more of these types of entries. In addition to these stores, there are the more purely antique stores around town. Additionally, the city of Springfield and the small town of Coburg offer up some wonderful antique shops as well, which I plan to write about sometime soon.
