Walking into Boomerang, a vintage shop in the Westport district of downtown Kansas City, MO, the wide array of clothing and accessories from the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s is overwhelming. The walls inside the store are fully lined with everything from giant poodle skirts to leisure suits to authentic flapper dresses.
Boomerang is one of many vintage stores in the Kansas City-area that has experienced a lot of success in the last few years.
“We keep a pretty steady business,” Tim Lach, an employee at Boomerang, said. “People work hard and like to have fun, and we’re there for that.”
While many vintage stores are hot spots for costume shopping, Boomerang especially flourishes in that department. Not only do they offer plenty of clothes for sale, but more high end or unique items are available for rent.
“Halloween is our Christmas time because of our costumes,” Lach said. “Halloween night guys will come in with no idea what they need and we’re here to help.”
Each vintage store in Kansas City is slightly different. Re-Runs, Inc. is one of largest vintage retailers in the United States and has gained fame by providing clothing for movies, television and photographic media.
“We work with a whole network of people in the movies,” Re-Runs employee Andy Chambers said. “We’ve provided clothes for Secret Life of Bees and Across the Universe. That one we just sent in boxes and boxes of clothes from the 70s, just anything they could possibly need.”
Re-Runs has become so renowned as a vintage store they have had a large range of celebrity clientele.
“Jack White [lead singer of the White Stripes] came in once,” Chambers said. “He bought a hat. Not for him, someone else. [Actor] Paul Rudd also comes in all the time. He likes to buy boxy men shirts. Oh, and [singer] Rufus Wanewright came in once and gave the owner a ticket to his show after he finished shopping.”
While Re-Runs sells 100% vintage clothes, all made at least 20 years ago, some shops also sell reproductions.
Donna’s Dress Shop sells about half true vintage women’s clothing and half designer reproductions. Run by Donna Foulk, the clothes are all ones that women would feel comfortable wearing at home, work, or social events, and not only costume items. The atmosphere of Donna’s Dress Shop is bright and inviting. Any clothing from formal dresses to bathing suits to aprons and jewelry can be found there.
“I have new stuff every day,” Foulk said. “I keep things updated on Facebook. A lot of people bring stuff to me. The buying comes in spurts and sometimes I’ll go on house calls.”
In a time when the economy has been suffering vintage shopping becomes not only a way to have fun and create one’s own unique style but also a way to save money.
“We do better now than we did a few years ago because vintage clothes are considered ‘green,’” Chambers said.
The consensus from those involved in the vintage clothing circuit is a positive one.
“I love being able to see clothes getting a second, third, sometimes even fourth chance,” Chambers said. “Everything’s one of a kind that we sell, and there’s always an element of surprise. It’s just kind of magical.”
