Dear Bushwick fellows, by writing this article, I feel like I am destroying a hidden oasis, not known to the civilized world yet and very soon tons of cool-clothes-thirsty people will destroy the fragile equilibrium and the magic of the place. But to remain silent isn’t an option either….
There is a tiny vintage clothing store on Central Avenue and it belongs to one of my greatest and favorite exploration achievements in the neighborhood so far.
Just a couple of minutes off the L train Morgan stop, on the corner of Flushing Avenue, almost invisible to the untrained eye, there is undoubtedly the awesomest vintage clothing store I have seen so far in Brooklyn. In what used to be a garage, Sue, a Bangkok-born Bushwick resident for over 30 years now, sells the cutest dresses, tops, shoes and accessories.
Sue has a surprising sense of fashion and style. An old charismatic lady listens to Diana Krall while stitching together her own old dress she bought years ago in Thailand and a jeans skirt from Urban Jungle. She is interested purely in female fashion and every piece she sells is individually selected by her and altered if she thinks it’s necessary.
If she likes you, she will take you to the back room and you will see endless hangers of lovely pieces by Valentino, Banana Republic, Club Monaco, Pinkyotto or Prada. Nothing costs more that $15, but it might happen that she will refuse to sell you the cutest dress ever, because she wants to copy the cut and make more dresses like that. Pity.
Sue refuses to go big, although she has enough clothes to do so. She opened the store because she loves fashion and because she has a soft spot for local kids, as she says. She likes to help them to look great for little money, because she knows they are just starting in life and don’t have Wall Street jobs.
Sue is a great story teller. It’s worth to just pop by her store to hear how the neighborhood looked like 30 years ago when she was scared to walk on the streets after dark and strongly preferred Manhattan. But during the past year, she saw more and more young people walking around Central Avenue and thought it would be a good idea to open a store. It was an awesome idea, indeed!
The store doesn’t have a name yet and if it’s closed you could never tell it from a regular garage, but if you’re lucky and if you walk with your eyes open, you’ll get to meet Sue and her amazing clothes.