Vintage shop offers fashion that feels fresh and new - GoErie.com

When Regina George took her daughter Emily to local estate sales, older but fashionable clothes always seemed to catch the youngster's attention.

"For some reason, I loved vintage clothing, and I collected scarves at first," Emily George said. "I was only in the sixth grade, but I began accumulating bins of vintage clothing.''

Emily George, a McDowell High School graduate, said she first got into sewing and pattern making in Mrs. Grzelak's home-economics class. A year ago, she opened Pointe Foure Vintage Style shop at 1804 W. Eighth St.

Emily George, 30, said the store's theme is "Keep Erie Vintage, Keep Erie Weird."

Wedding dresses, nightgowns, jewelry, shoes, hats, coats, tables, skirts, blouses, children's clothes and purses prompt customers to fondly recall the fashions of their youth.

"No other vintage clothing store in Erie has strictly vintage clothing," Emily George said. "It's kind of like taking a big-city store and putting it into a small town. We wash everything, put the clothes on wooden hangers and bring it back to life again."

With the annual Barber Christmas Ball, which benefits the Barber National Institute, set for Dec. 13 at the Bayfront Convention Center, and other holiday parties coming up, gowns are in demand at Pointe Foure.

"I've had a lot of women come in for the Barber Ball and other galas," Emily George said.

Pointe Foure is not a consignment store -- "we're fully stocked with what I buy,'' she said. On Showcase Saturdays, local jewelry artists display their creations on tables at the store.

"Every Saturday until Christmas, local vendors show their jewelry so people can meet the artists,'' she said. "I don't get commission -- I'm really here for the local artists so they can show their goods."

Emily George, who attended Bauder College in Atlanta and earned an associate degree in arts and merchandising, is highly creative in her own way.

"On some old pieces, I'll take off the sleeves, embellish them and make them shorter," she said. "I also just made a Halloween costume for a customer. My mother makes beautiful scarves that are new, but look retro.''

Emily George said she occasionally puts on fashion shows for charities.

"We just did a show at Mercyhurst University to benefit epilepsy (research), and we raised over $300,'' said Alli Bell, intern at Pointe Foure. Bell is a student at Mercyhurst University, where she takes fashion courses.

Dresses aren't the only items that get a second life at Pointe Foure, which is named after a house Emily George had at one time lived in, 0.4 miles away. The wooden coffee table she uses in the store was made by Matthew Retkowski, whom she met at a wedding for which she had provided the attire.

"He made some of the racks (in the store)," she said. "Our other, old, revolving oval racks came from a dry cleaner in Waterford, and we hang our clothes from them.''

As the rotating metal racks go by, and customers look for something to suit them, another era seems to instantly come back in style.

BOB JARZOMSKI can be reached at 870-1678 or by e-mail. Follow him on Twitter at http://ift.tt/1sYW3aE

via fashion - Google News http://ift.tt/1ES5uyq