From what began as an effort to get rid of an excess of clothes, accessories and knickknacks, Pattye’s Closet II on N. Avenue 50 has grown into an oasis for vintage lovers.
After falling in love with vintage as a child in Mexico, owner Renee said she amassed quite a collection of things that overflowed her closets at home. So in August 1996 when Renee was in her 20s, she said her mother put her foot down and told Renee to find a way to get rid of some of the bulk.
Renee said she turned to a Seventh-Day Adventist Charity Shop as a solution — she said she approached the owner about taking the business over. Ultimately, Renee said the charity shop owner, who was navigating other offers at the time, said she loved Renee and Pattye’s Closet was born.
Renee said the Highland Park location opened up on York Boulevard in 2015 and moved to its current location on the corner of York Boulevard and Avenue 50 in late 2017.
Dani Thomsen, the manager of Pattye’s Closet II, said she had been going to the store for years before eventually starting work there in March. According to Thomsen, she befriended the original store manager and took over when she retired from the job.
“I just happened to be walking down here one day and she told me she was thinking about leaving. I was like can I do it? Please, please, please, please?” Thomsen said. “Next thing I know, she was introducing me to the owner and one thing leads to another and I’m running the place.”
As a native of Highland Park, Thomsen said she focuses on tailoring the store to the neighborhood.
“I grew up in Highland Park, so I know a lot about the kind of people who live in here and what kind of stuff that they’re going to be interested in,” Thomsen said. “And we work in tandem. [Renee] knows a lot of what is valuable, what is worth what, and we are able to help each other with that.”
Alexa Terry, a customer of Pattye’s Closet and an employee at Crush & Touch on York, said that she was drawn to the store because of her love of vintage and their unique collection.
“I feel like most of the vintage stores that I’ve gone to these days, they are very centered around clothing,” Terry said. “Whereas Pattye’s Closet has some antiques, some clothing, some jewelry, accessories, all that. It is just like a fun treasure trove of stuff.”
Thomsen said she also finds it important to tap into the community on York Boulevard.
“It is a neighborhood, in every sense of the word. I talk to everybody who works in every shop on this street, I try to network with all of them.” Thomsen said. “I am even trying to do a little bulletin board for artists. I tell them, give me your poster, we’ll put it up. If you have a website, if you have a card, let’s put it here so people can see it.”
According to Thomsen, they try to collaborate with other businesses in the area and support other shop owners. Jen Wilder — owner of The Plus Bus — said she has collaborated with Pattye’s Closet.
“It was a sale in the parking lot behind the businesses there, it was a pop-up. Everybody came out and put their stuff out, and we had a crowd. It was fun,” Wilder said.
For Renee, making vintage accessible to everyone is her primary goal with both of her stores.
“I try to keep my prices low. As a reseller, I’ve been to so many other places and I look around, and sometimes they way overdo prices. That just seems so unfair, and there’s so many people having a hard time and they would like to buy something.” Renee said. “I want to be a place where there’s stuff people can afford. So my price, [is] usually according to what I pay. If I can get a good deal, I will pass the deal off.”
Being a place that anyone can come to and feel welcome is also high on Thomsen’s list of priorities.
“When you walk through that door there are no judgements ever made in here. Not about what you wear, not about who you’re with, not about anything,” Thomsen said. “I was gonna say, when you’re young, but really at any age, everybody wants to have that place where they feel accepted.”
According to Thomsen, their process for sourcing is a bit like grave robbing. Renee does most of the buying, and she pulls from a variety of places — what people bring to her, flea markets and exclusive estate sales.
“I have about four ladies that run estate sales. And they invite me before anybody else ducks in, which is always wonderful,” Renee said. “So I get first dibs on things that nobody else gets to see.”
Thomsen said the most fun part of working with vintage is learning about the provenance or the history of ownership.
“What was something? You know, who owned it, what was it used for? How was it made? To go through a lot of the things that we have, especially the smaller knickknacks trying to think, why was this used?” Thomsen said.
For Renee, sharing her love of vintage is what’s been driving her for almost three decades.
“I hope it always is loved and enjoyed and still around and treasured. Because I always think, what if we run out of vintage?” Renee said. “Vintage is amazing. I hope it never dies.”
Contact Wura Ogunnaike at ogunnaike@oxy.edu
