Jewel Box
For vintage fashion fanatics, walking into Belle Jar Vintage feels like stumbling upon a new Mecca.
The second-hand boutique, which opened on Saturday in Koreatown, is decorated to the gills with endearing retro trinkets -- from 1920s fashion journals and an old illuminated Timex display case to suitcases that look like they fell off the Titanic -- creating a delicate, jewel-box vibe. But it's also inviting, featuring wide aisles, soft lighting (including feel-good hanging Christmas lights), rack after rack of smartly edited fashion and expertly styled displays brimming over with finespun treasures.
Owned by friends and vintage aficionados Jayde DiVita and Katie Stratton, the boutique specializes in fashion, accessories and aged objets culled from estate sales. DiVita has been mining the residential sales of L.A.'s affluent set since she was a kid, following in the footsteps of her grandmother, Margot Dennis, a well-known L.A. estate sale expert.
Stratton, whose background is in photography and design (she's also the store's in-house sewer) said she's always been "obsessed" with all things Old Thymey. The pair, who met through mutual friends, bonded when they started shopping together and found "we had the same eye for things," noted DiVita.
Here's what to expect when you step inside this beguiling new jar...
LIVING DOLLS: Belle Jar Vintage co-owners Katie Stratton (left) and Jayde DiVita.
The Structure: The building, which is located on an unassuming (okay, sorta dumpy) block of 6th Street in Koreatown, is the ideal shell for the store's old fashion vibe -- and merch.
Built in the 1920s, it features exposed beams on the ceiling and a floor that looks like it was transplanted from the attic of a decrepit A-frame house. And yes, all those flaws only augment the boutique's time-capsule feel.
The Finds: Oh so many. The well-priced outpost is packed with fashion from the early 1900s to the present decade (a Free People blazer was peeking out from between 1950s capes.) The bulk of the stock is genuinely old, but "if it's not vintage, it's vintage inspired," said DiVita. Currently in store are pieces nabbed at jazz singer Peggy Lee's estate sale.
When it comes to name brands, this is no Decades or The Way We Wore. But it's not supposed to be. It's less about labels (though we did run across some pristine old Bruno Magli for Saks Fifth Avenue suede gray pumps) and more about rare, even singular, pieces that are priced to be nonthreatening, e.g. a brown fur 1950s stole for $48 and a cream pencil skirt with a lace overlay for $22 (prices for most items range from $8 to $80).
There's a huge rack of women's shoes -- from Delman pumps circa the 1950s to Nine West patent leather heels from the 80s -- and mounds of no-name vintage purses peppering nearly every free tabletop and display unit. A small men's section boasts classic Pendleton-style plaid wool coats, v-neck sweaters and bowling shirts emblazoned with quaint phrases such as "The Deke River Band."
A Belle Jar-branded collection of revamped, retooled vintage could possibly spring forth in the next year. "I could sew it, and we really want to do it," said Stratton. "We just don't know when."
CAREFULLY CURATED: Classic decor mingles with ladylike clothing.
The Staff: DiVita and Stratton are friendly and approachable and, dolled up in vintage dresses and red lipstick, they're also the boutique's most potent selling tools. Don't hesitate to ask the origin of any item in the store -- having spent the last year wrangling the goods, they have lots of stories to tell.
The Parking: Easy-peasy. There are meters out front and plenty of spaces on the side steets.
The Standout: A petite-point silk purse from the 1800s depicting multi-toned pink roses anchored by an ornate sterling silver frame, $225. Divine.
Belle Jar Vintage, 3103 W. 6th Street., Los Angeles (3 blocks east of Vermont Blvd.) Open Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.