Dead Stock Knits & Winter Wear
Winter Break has approached its end and the last first day of school is approaching next week! The ending of breaks are always bittersweet for me, but the ending of college is here and all I can do is celebrate and shop of course! Whenever I head back to the Big City for school, I always have to do some excessive last minute shopping in my hometown. Cleveland has the BEST vintage shops for both clothing and home decor at unbeatable prices! My last week home, I had to meet up with one of my dearest and most stylish friends, Cierra Boyd, who is a fashion designer (her work can be viewed here) and loves shopping as much as I do!
For part of my shopping attire, I again wore my snuggly vintage 1950s wool coat, 1950s beige gloves, rose printed scarf, and white circle sunnies (more details on these items can be found here).
(NOTE: Please do not mind my untied shoe haha!) Whenever I'm back in Cleveland for Winter Break, I know that it is imperative to dress as comfortably and warmly as I possibly can! Sensible styling is important in 30 degree (and less) weather. I opted for a simple persian blue long sleeved top with lifted dots for texture. Layered on top (cannot be seen in the photograph) is a basic black sweater for added warmth. (Layers are a necessity!) I tucked my top underneath high waisted grey tattersall striped pants. I find that tucking my tops provide me with a more 1950s silhouette giving me a nipped in look that I always opt for! Layered underneath my pants are grey thermals to provide extra warmth in the cold weather. I also wore simple black dress shoes even though I should've opted for a low boot as it unexpectedly snowed!
Accessories can really make a simple outfit look more vintage. By wearing my scarf tied in this manner, my 1950s wool coat, and my vintage black 1950s top handle purse, it helps to create a more retro look despite the fact that the majority of my outfit are thrifted finds. Another trick I like to do is tie a scarf around my purse's handle to give it a pop of color! (And if more layers are needed, I can opt to tie the scarf around my neck for further warmth.)
Cierra and I headed to a pop up shop that we knew would be closing soon. It is ran by one of the owners (Debby Gulyas) of Blue Arrow Records--a vintage vinyl shop--as well as Steve Presser who is owner of Big Fun--a vintage toy shop. This cool pop up store sells only vintage knit deadstock from 1950s-80s! Deadstock means vintage clothing that has never been worn before.
This was a shop that I knew I had to make it to before I went back to NYC!
The coolest part is that most of the apparel sold in the shop was made by the Ohio Knitting Mills Factory back in the 1950s-80s! The owners came across a warehouse with tons of these unworn knit clothing and decided to sell it! A lot of the items are in their original boxes and packaging.
The location that owners chose for the pop up shop is on Coventry which is a cool street in Cleveland that consists of open mic clubs, wine and whiskey bars, vintage and antique shops, Asian restaurants, and other cool and interesting places. The store it took the place of was an old American Apparel that closed down with the rest of the business last year. This pop up shop has been up for awhile and boy am I grateful!
This shop mostly sells knitwear from the 1960s-70s so there are lots of cool sweater sets, unique bohemian style dresses, and Joan Halloway-esque cinched knit tops.
I was in shock (and a bit in heaven) to discover that they had a wide range of Pendleton sweaters in many sizes and colors!
Overall I had a successful (and money draining) vintage shopping date with my best friend! This makes me even more excited for the months to come when I can share with you all of my vintage treasure troves in Cleveland, Ohio.
Hope you all enjoyed this little shopping trip and I'll see you next Friday!
Photographs were taken by Cierra Boyd.