In early November, 216 Read Street was abuzz on the western edge of Mount Vernon. People from across the city were browsing through color-coded shelves of clothing at the new Tall Grass boutique. They hugged friends, sipped wine, danced to DJ Pangelica, and admired the beautifully decorated cake at the center of the opening-night celebrations.

Saba McCoy wasn’t quite sure how the night would go, but the packed room was confirmation of her decision to open her first store, which had been a dream of hers for years.

Inspired by the self-help book The Artist’s Way, she finally said those words out loud during a dinner party last February with friends. Serendipitously, Mo Rothman, who was thinking about closing the brick-and-mortar for her beloved Bottle of Bread vintage shop, was there. It suddenly became clear that this was where McCoy’s new business should be. After Rothman made her last sale that summer, McCoy moved in.

“I felt like I would always regret it if I didn’t just take that opportunity,” says McCoy, who also works as a full-time brand strategist.

Part of the allure was that she’d been working from home and wanted to better connect with her community, having returned to her childhood home of Baltimore from New York a few years earlier. She felt eager to contribute something meaningful to her hometown. “I wanted to do a thing where I felt really out in the world.”

That spark, combined with her careful eye and intentional curation, is now a reality in a bright, airy shop with white walls, eclectic accent furniture, and a sophisticated mix of vintage finds and contemporary designer pieces. Everything she sells is stuff she loves or wears herself. And her eye for detail is everywhere.

The opening party also hinted at McCoy’s deeper vision. More than just clothes, the space feels part gallery, part showroom, part creative incubator.

Contemporary artworks, many sourced by her mother—an Eritrean native and lifelong appreciator and collector of the arts—line the interior, celebrating both her individual style and her East African heritage. She plans to activate the outdoor area with intimate performances and collaborate with Therefore, a nearby creative space, for pop-ups.

Located halfway between Park Avenue and Chase Street, Tall Grass sits on a block experiencing a quiet renaissance. Nearby, Black-owned independent businesses such as Mt. Vernon Records, Bluestone Goldsmithing, and a Cakes In The City have also opened, creating a corridor of creativity and design-forward retail.

For McCoy, the goal of Tall Grass is simple: create a space where people feel welcome, connect with objects and each other, and leave inspired. The shop is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

“Come in and say hello,” she says.

More is More: My home that I share with my husband, Brian Rohloff, is alternative and eclectic, incorporating both modern and vintage décor. We tend to favor maximalism, and love to surround ourselves with unique pieces that showcase our personality and love for punk music, antiques and oddities, street art, and tattoos.

House Rules: Our home is about 110 years old, having been built around 1915. It is a classic Canton rowhome, featuring a red brick exterior, marble front steps, and a stained-glass window. The window inspired much of our décor. The glass features rich jewel tones in emerald green, sapphire blue, and gold, which we repeated throughout the main floor of our home.

Inspired Workspace: Our favorite room in the house is probably the office. When we first moved in, this room was a plain white box, so it was also one of our biggest transformations. We knew we wanted custom floor-to-ceiling bookcases, which became the focal point. The vision for the design of the room was to lean into Regency-era décor, with lots of velvet and opulent gold accents, such as the antique chandelier.

Where We Live: The main floor of our home is our favorite place to be. Our home is open concept, with the living room, dining room, and kitchen all connecting. It’s a great place to entertain or relax, and it also houses one of our most prized possessions—our vinyl record collection. Music plays a large part in our life, and we have a collection of almost 1,000 vinyl records. Finding adequate storage for this collection in a skinny rowhome with limited space was a challenge, but we found beautiful handcrafted vinyl storage cabinets from a woodworker on Etsy that solved the problem.

Personal Style: I love to dress in bold and bright colors, much like the décor in our home. You can often find me sporting bright pink hair and vintage-inspired glasses. I’m a maximalist, both within my style of décor and dress. Brian is a local tattoo artist, and we find that there are many similarities between the desire to decorate your home and the desire to decorate your skin. Much of his work incorporates bold colors and traditional designs, which you can also find within our home.

Right at Home: We have always liked our spaces to reflect our interests and who we are as people. We are both creative people in general, and we see our home as being another blank canvas where we can showcase our range of creative personalities. Each room within our home tells its own story, with some being more edgy and dark, and others lighter and more feminine.

It’s been 20 years since besties Angie Gavin and Kate Schultz started slinging vintage together, buying and selling for antique shops, auction houses, and estate liquidators. That ultimately led to their own Hampden shop, Milk and Ice Vintage.

When the store closed in 2020, vintage fans were dismayed. But good news! The Great Pause of 2020 allowed the pair to reevaluate their small business and, this summer, Gavin and Schultz opened a new shop in Lauraville, with a new look and a new sense of purpose.

“We both live here and felt it would streamline our business to find a location with a studio for processing, photographing, and prepping vintage, plus a retail space—it’d give us that much-needed work-life balance,” Gavin says.

Gavin and Schultz have spent over a year designing the new store from the ground up. Painted with black ceilings, black walls, and custom industrial rolling racks full of curated vintage, the space has lots of flexibility.

“Our business is [now] organized in a way that allows us more freedom to explore the creative side of vintage,” says Gavin. “We felt the best way for us to grow was to pivot,” adds Schultz.

The store can also function as a community space for what they hope might be themed dinner parties and lectures on art or fashion.

So what should vintage customers expect?

“We want folks to be able to shop for more approachable vintage, staple pieces you pull out every season and have stood the test of time,” says Schultz. Think pre-war cocktail dresses, soft T-shirts of the 1970s, and 1990s must-haves. But fear not, since Gavin and Schultz’s personal styles lean toward historical pieces, their trove also includes collectibles from the Edwardian and Victorian eras.

“Life is just too short not to wear that crazy garment that speaks to you in a surprisingly loud way,” Gavin says. “Let’s push for the trend of throwing fast fashion in the trash can and splurging on something that really makes us feel seen and heard.”

In keeping with that sentiment, the ladies from Milk and Ice are Halloween connoisseurs—and if you’re ready to ditch Party City once and for all, they’re your girls. Stumped on ideas? Here are a few straight from the source:

Icon: Odd Nerdrum, classical painter
You’ll Need: White antique smocked nightgown, a heavy jacket or cloak hung loosely over shoulders, a floppy hat, 1920s wire-framed circle glasses, and a paintbrush.

Icon: Olivia Newton-John
You’ll Need: A ’90s tube top, ’80s peg-leg high-waisted jeans or leggings, clasp belt, a cropped leather jacket, high heels, cigarette (for effect).

For even more inspo, look no further than the Milk & Ice Instagram feed:

Located in the quiet Stevenson community, 1724 Hillside Road features a stunning, classic c. 1880 shingle-style, five-bedroom Dutch colonial home. Expertly renovated and expanded, this extraordinary home retains vintage flooring, original fireplaces and details.

A large entry welcomes guests into the bright and spacious living room with a fireplace, accented by a large picture window, and a powder room. The formal dining room also enjoys a fireplace, two sets of built-in bookcases, and a bay window with a built-in window seat. A wide cased portal leads into the sunroom with three walls of windows and French doors to the deck and the adjoining den with a fireplace. The adjacent family room features a fireplace and two sets of French doors to the large screened porch, a must-have for Maryland summers. The custom gourmet kitchen features commercial grade stainless appliances and granite counters.

A large sitting hall at the top of the main staircase enjoys a vintage built-in linen cabinet and access to the bedrooms beyond. The primary suite includes a bedroom, dressing room with two double closets, and primary bath with a glass enclosed shower stall. Four additional bedrooms and three baths share this level (including one en-suite bedroom built out as a library with built-in bookcases and base cabinets). The finished walk-out lower level features a recreation room with two double cedar closets, a built-in desk, and a large walk-in storage closet. An arched glazed door leads to the climate controlled wine room. The craftsroom/studio features an entry door, oak island with flat file drawers and deep storage closet. The laundry room, garden room/workshop, and utility room complete this level.

Just beyond the main house sits a stunning rebuilt three-story barn/office/studio with gorgeous views of the yard and stream from the fourth level cupola retreat and deck. A large bluestone patio at the rear of the main house is a peaceful retreat, overlooking the stone fishpond and waterfall.

With two beautifully landscaped acres including a deep back yard, enclosed, raised garden bed area and footbridge fording the Jones Falls stream, 1724 Hillside Rd offers a wide variety of beautiful indoor and outdoor living spaces in a highly convenient yet tranquil locale!

 

For more information, and to view other listings, click here:

If you’re walking down St. Paul Street in Charles Village, you might be distracted by the mannequins decked out in bright, bold outfits arranged artfully on the sidewalk. Just down the steps behind them is a quaint vintage shop known as Get Shredded Vintage. Quirky and daring, these vintage pieces are ones you’ll want to snag. We sat down with owner Sara Autrey to get the scoop on this hidden gem.

What is the meaning behind the name Get Shredded?

“Get Shredded,” before it was a store, was an interview series that I started where I would book a show and interview the artist before they played kind of, like, Stephen Colbert-style—if I may compare myself to the great Colbert. Basically, I wanted to get audiences more connected with artists that they either love or don’t know, and strengthen the connections in the Baltimore art scene. I chose the name because, when you’re at a show the artist is shredding, and the audience is getting shredded, I really liked my interpretation of what that meant. It sounded rock and roll.

How did you get started collecting vintage?

I did a pop up at the Current Space Art Market where I sold clothes, and I sold almost everything. And people kept asking me, “Do you have a location because we love all of this stuff,” and I didn’t. So, it planted this idea, you know, if people are interested in this, I’ll keep an eye out. I thought it was cool to carry it over to the vintage shop when I actually got the space because I have a lot of local artists and makers stocked in the shop and, like the interview series, it’s connecting people to Baltimore artists and creating those stronger connections.

How do you decide what pieces to add to the store?
It’s, basically, artists’ work that I love, and then things that inspire me: I like texture, I like color, I love interesting shapes, bold pieces, and classic cuts. Anything that kind of pushes the envelope will usually be what I’m gonna snatch.

Why shop vintage?
It’s really fun to look and find pieces that are totally amazing that people don’t want anymore and kind of bringing new life into them. And vintage is awesome because it’s not mass-produced, so chances of wearing the same thing as somebody to the same party is greatly diminished. And vintage is made better because a lot of it was made in the USA with worker unions—there was a level of quality going into it that is really hard to find today in fast fashion.

What’s your most favorite find currently in your store?
I have a lot of men’s clothes that I’m currently obsessed with, but I have to say—this pretty blouse. I found it on an online estate auction.

Are there any tips you would give to someone who is just starting to explore the vintage shopping scene?

Go through everything! When I’m shopping through other people’s stuff, I do a once-over and go to the things that super pop off the rack at me, and then I do the deep, deep rounds. Because if you scan through and don’t pull things out and look at them, it’s overwhelming because all you see are all these colors and textures. You’ve got to see the shapes and try them on. Vintage lies—some things look tiny and fit, and some things look giant and are too small.

How would you describe Baltimore’s style?

Baltimore’s style isn’t definable because there are so many different chunks that it’s hard to say. But I would say it’s really adventurous. One day I can dress like a skater boy, and the next day I’m like decked out about to play a show, and it’s all fine —which I really appreciate.

Get Shredded Vintage is celebrating its one-year anniversary this Saturday, May 4, with a pop-up party of local makers.

The first old photograph Chris Whitaker reunited with its family, he discovered in a Montana antique shop. The black-and-white picture is a coming-of-age portrait of a boy, attired in a wool suit, tie, and pressed, white, short-collared shirt in the style of the day—about 1890. His hair is parted, there’s a hint of a smile above his dimpled chin, and on the back of the photo someone long ago scrawled the boy’s name and hometown: Samuel Reynolds, Kingman, Kansas.

The few words on the back also described young Samuel as “my cousin.” The vacationing Whitaker decided to track down the boy’s family, searching census records and ancestry databases. A grateful descendant on Samuel’s family tree came across his research and blog, which included the picture of Samuel, and later drove across the country to the same store and unearthed more than 40 other lost family photographs. Whitaker was elated.

“I just thought if someone found a photograph of my great-grandfather, I’d be thrilled,” says Whitaker in his north Baltimore home office. “It was really that simple.”

Over the past three years, the retired Whitaker has fleshed out the identities of hundreds of wayward vintage portraits, most of which he has stumbled across in the dustbins of Hampden’s antique, book, and curio shops. Placing these mysteriously adrift portraits with their loved ones, at times, has proved difficult for unexpected reasons.

Shortly after his initial success with Samuel’s portrait, for example, Whitaker contacted the West Virginia daughter of a woman in a lovely 1940s portrait via Facebook. Not only did the woman not respond, she blocked him. “I think it creeped out the woman when I messaged her and I told her I had a picture of her mother,” Whitaker recalls with a laugh. Ever since, he just scans the photographs and posts them on his blog, including the subjects’ names and the location where he found the photo, encouraging people to email him if they discover an ancestor. “It’s rewarding,” he says. “And I like the detective work.”

In one case, Whitaker provided a woman in her 80s with the last photograph of her dad—taken four days before he was killed in a plane crash when she was a girl. He connected Reed Young to a youthful portrait of his grandfather, who died before the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory program manager was born.

Whitaker’s found photos have taken him through time to the blocks of what was once “Little Bohemia” in East Baltimore, to the former stoop of former big-leaguer Edwin Americas Rommel, reportedly the first pitcher to deploy the knuckleball after the spitball’s banning in 1920. And to Fells Point, where a young wife named Ruth Collier sent photos of herself to her husband while he served in the South Pacific during World War II. (He returned home and the couple raised a family here.)

A Tennessee native, Whitaker became interested in genealogy in the mid-1980s when he couldn’t find pictures and found scant information about his maternal great-great-grandfather. He did, however, eventually locate his ancestor’s Civil War pension records at the National Archives. There, Whitaker read the firsthand account of the shot—from a Confederate rifle—that killed his great-great-grandfather at the Battle of Stones River.

Whitaker learned that his great-great-grandfather and both of his brothers had fled Tennessee after its secession to join Kentucky’s 9th Volunteers Infantry. All three gave their lives to the Union cause. “I don’t know if I fully absorbed their actions when I first came across that,” Whitaker says. “My appreciation, and pride in what they did, has continued to grow over the years.

“My younger brother, who is now deceased, and I grew up in Tennessee in the 1970s,” Whitaker continues, “when Confederate flags and Southern rock were all the rage and he gave me a lot of grief when I married my first wife because she was a Yankee from Philadelphia. [Learning about our great-great-grandfather] turned everything he believed on its head, which I thought was great.”

Halloween is our annual opportunity to step outside of our normal selves and embody someone (or something) else for a night of revelry. Whether you’re aiming for spooky, silly, or sexy, we’re of the mindset that the best place to source your best festive look isn’t Amazon or Party City. If you’re willing to dig a little deeper, vintage shops are a treasure trove of inspiration and unique pieces that will bring any look to life. We asked local vintage mavens to put together costumes pulled from their racks and give us hot tips on shopping used for a memorable look.

“A costume doesn’t have to be blatantly obvious—explaining the gist of your idea to people can be half the fun,” says Sara Autrey of new Charles Village vintage mecca Get Shredded Vintage. Autrey’s “Eccentric Yacht Couple” couples’ costume, is the perfect example of that sentiment. On their own, each of the pieces can be worn in normal life for an on-trend nautical look or worn all together, with a sprinkle of wanderlust attitude, the costume comes to life.

Looking to party hard this All Hallows Eve? The Halloween queens at Milk and Ice Vintage have you covered. “Don’t hesitate to ask the owners at a vintage store if they have any ‘wounded birds,’ meaning cool vintage that’s not for sale because it’s flawed in some way,” says Kate Thomas, who co-owns the store with Angie Gavin. “You can often get super rare and more interesting one-of-a-kind pieces at a discount, and you don’t have to worry about damaging them if you’re out partying!”

Once you’ve got the basics of your holiday ‘fit picked out, the last piece of the puzzle to a successful costume is all in the attitude. “The key to pulling off a DIY costume is going all out,” says Morissa Rothman-Pierce of Bottle of Bread. “Go the extra mile and paint your face. Roll around in a pile of dirt if you’re being Pigpen. Just go wild, because Halloween is an excuse to be your wildest self.”

We asked our favorite vintage owners from Get Shredded, Keepers Vintage, Bottle of Bread, and Milk and Ice to style (and model!) some of the best potential Halloween looks in their stores.

As a consummate storyteller, Devlon Waddell’s mediums range from memoirs to mudcloth, as he stands on stages and also stages beautiful spaces. The founder of furniture company Knot You Vintage, Wadell works out of his home studio to create one-of-a-kind furniture from repurposed fabrics and uses those functional art pieces as a way to tell stories up and down the East Coast.

Your life’s work has been about storytelling. How did you get the point where you began telling stories through designing furniture?
What I have found in learning that I was creative only about 10 or 15 years ago, is that I do the things and then I backtrack and figure out why. Find that narrative thread that led me to wherever I am. So, with the furniture, it was about opening a vintage clothing shop and instead of doing the traditional retail fixtures I was like, ‘Why not buy old stuff and make it suit my need?’ It started with bookcases and a couple of chairs and my wife, who works in public health, would get fabric from programming folk who worked in places like Tanzania, Nigeria, Egypt, and I am like, ‘Well, I have this, what can I do with it? Let me put it on furniture.’

In terms of the storytelling, I guess the idea that the pieces tell me when they are done or ‘right’ is what leads me to believe it’s about the story because several pieces of furniture will have four or five iterations so I will have posted a piece fully and then feel that something isn’t right about it, strip it down, and do it again. I am not sure what the bigger story I am telling is. It may be as organic as the right person for this piece of furniture is out there and the universe is telling me that I haven’t created what that person needs.

You are commissioned to do work for some of the most talented and powerful people in Baltimore. Tell me the most interesting story you have come across when designing for someone’s home. 

What is interesting to me is the deals that don’t happen. There are often conversations, sometimes they get very specific, sometimes they get to the point of invoices being generated and they just don’t pan out. The conversations are hilarious because it’s all about ‘supporting artists’ and ‘supporting black business’ and doing all of those things to edify community. But when it comes down to brass tacks, folks don’t want to come off the bread—and that’s fine. I am not one who believes that everyone has to have my work.

I do believe sincerely that, if you do work with me, you will get an experience that is broader than just a piece of furniture being delivered. But the idea that folks somehow feel like they are doing me a favor by some superficial engagement that doesn’t result in the business being done is just fascinating to me. Everybody likes to be affirmed. Everybody likes the ‘like’ button on social media but when it comes down to it, what business is happening? You know, folks talk about ‘support black business.’ I’m all about doing business with black business.  

Your main demographic is people of color. Is that because you are located in a 64-percent black city?

So, my best client in terms of dollars and cents and also giving me a certain freedom is not a person of color. This is interesting because I am unapologetically black and I have no qualms about expressing that, but my goal is to work with people who appreciate, truly, what I do and the effort that I put into making things for them as individuals. Wherever you land on the racial spectrum matters little when you are authentic and you understand what I do.

Do I enjoy working with black folk? Yes, because I understand throughout the different iterations of my creative career that there are things that need to exchange broader than the tangible. There are energies that need to be exchanged more between black folk just because of the trauma we suffer specifically in this city, because this is where I am from. I think a big part of my work in that storytelling or that narrative approach is about making connections toward deeper understanding and general healing.  

Are you operating in your full power and capitalizing on your capacity in the stage you are in now with your art and your entrepreneurship?  
Absolutely not. One, in terms of entrepreneurship, it is challenging for me given my personal demons to give myself the credit to take myself seriously enough. Until I can work from a place of ‘yes,’ will not be operating at capacity. I am getting better. Am I getting better at a rate that satisfies me? Not necessarily, but there is growth. Creatively? I believe that if you feel like you are working at capacity creatively not only are you not growing, you are regressing. I feel like you should always be pushing yourself to do more, to do better.

Where would you like to see yourself in 10 years?
I would love to be able to say, ‘being a designer of things.’ Maybe having a shop, maybe having multiple shops, but designing the furniture and not having to do the work. In 10 years, I want to embrace the fact that I am not only a storyteller in the things that I do but also in the most literal sense, being on stages and sharing my stories.

At Bottle of Bread, Morissa Rothman-Pierce has curated a to-die-for collection. While vintage fashion for women and men takes center stage, the shop’s wares are rounded out by a thoughtful selection of handmade items for the home and body.

Whether you’re looking for a showstopping dress for your next event, classic denim for hot summer days, or the finishing pieces to pull it all together, Rothman-Pierce has got you covered.

We were able to catch up with the most stylish woman in Baltimore and talk about her origins, how far she’s come in ten years in business, and the Baltimore Vintage Expo.

What is Bottle of Bread’s origin story?
I started selling vintage when I was 16 years old. My best friend’s mother owned a vintage shop in the ’80s, so when we were kids, we’d play dress up. I’ve just always loved it. I started buying and selling on Etsy in 2008, so it’s been ten years.

I had always wanted to open up a shop, and when I graduated college, I just did it. My first shop was in Fells Point—it was super tiny, but it allowed me to grow. I moved up here to Mt. Vernon in a storefront across the street, and then moved to the current space about two years ago.

What do you love about where you are now?
I’m a freak for natural light, and this space has these two giant bay windows. Plus, I’m on the sunny side of the street, so it’s a double whammy of gorgeous light. The space is a lot larger, and it’s a really cool old building. Tin ceilings, the whole thing.

What’s the best thing about running a small business in Baltimore?
It’s really cool to be a part of a city that is up and coming in a lot of ways. There’s a lot of support, and everything is owned by young people. So many people I know own businesses, nonprofits, venues, everything. It’s empowering to be around a bunch of young people who are doing the damn thing.

What are some of your biggest style inspirations?
I love old Western wear. And I love all the androgynous style of the ’30s and ’40s, like great tailored suits worn by women. Marlene Dietrich and Patti Smith both have that masculine woman sort of style I really love.

How do you source the vintage in your shop?
I handpick everything. I do a lot of house calls, I do in-store buys, and I shop when I travel. I actually just got back from a trip to Memphis, Tennessee, and shopped along the way.

You have such a unique collection of items for the home and body, as well as vintage. What is your criteria like for adding new products to the shop?
My only criteria is that I have to like it. There’s an old school and a new school when it comes to vintage. Old school are those wild spots where you walk in and there’s clothes, ceiling to floor, all time periods and styles.

There are a lot of places around here like that, and as much as I respect that and it’s totally rad, what I do is different. It’s curated. There are plenty of things I know I could sell the heck out of, but I don’t carry them. I’m pretty specific, and I think that that shows in what I have. It’s not for everyone, but I think people enjoy that it’s not a hodgepodge.

How did the Baltimore Vintage Expo come to be?
The Baltimore Vintage Expo is an event I put on along with the women who own Milk & Ice Vintage, Kate and Angie. We felt there was no good, purely vintage show in Baltimore, and the idea behind it was sort of a “by the people, for the people” event. We’ve all done so many shows over the years, and there’s always some issue, like when the organizers aren’t ready for you, or the space is a foot shorter than they told you it would be.

So we decided to put together an event run by the vendors, and it’s been great. Kate and Angie and I all run the show, as well as have our own booths with our stuff for sale. We encourage our vendors to bring the best of the best, so there’s a lot of really amazing stuff. Designer vintage, cool older stuff.

Is there anything new this year to look out for at the Expo?
Last year, we had denim repair by Kristi of Fischer Clothing Company, and she’ll be back this year. You can bring your jeans that are thrashed, and she’ll fix them up on site. We also have the Bushelers of Baltimore, super professional tailors, doing onsite tailoring.

Vintage is so often a one-of-a-kind, amazing piece, but that maybe doesn’t fit so well, so you can get those pieces perfectly fit to you on the spot. Arvay Adams of This Sporting Life will be there as well, doing custom chain stitching. You can come find an amazing vintage piece, get it tailored perfectly to you, and then have it customized. It’s a one-stop shop!

Also, this year we have early bird tickets available for purchase for people who want to get in and shop 9-11 a.m., before it’s open to the public for free.

What trends do you see being big for summer 2018?
The minimalist thing has been really big recently—long, flowy linen and silk dresses. I also see psychedelic ’60s prints coming back, which is great because I love that psychedelic stuff. Denim, always, I mean cutoffs will always be in style. Also patchwork is coming back, especially that really ’60s madras patchwork plaid.

And people will be able to find all those things at the Vintage Expo on May 19?
Heck yeah, they will! Right now, all the vendors are hoarding our best stuff specifically for the Expo, so we are going to be bringing out all the spring and summer trends.

Our top picks:

Fans of the late vintage store Killer Trash, fear not. The beloved Broadway shop was taken over by Jamie Sapia and Bill Holzerland, who renamed it Glitter Rat in September 2017. While there were some slight changes made, you can still count on Glitter Rat to bring you the best in vintage with both costume and everyday options to keep your wardrobe nice and quirky. We talked to Bill and Jamie about the store, their style icons, and least favorite trends.

How did you come up with the name Glitter Rat?
Bill: We kicked some discrete ideas around and then tried to associate them with Baltimore. And so the harbor thing and the rodents, but like a playful take on it. That was sort of where we decided to go with it.

Jamie: It’s like “pack rat,” but with glitter! And that sort of encompasses Baltimore street style because you can get away with so many ostentatious outfits. Like you could wear a full-blown glitter anything in Baltimore, so I feel like our name kind of encompasses Baltimore style and what we are.

If your store had a Tinder bio, what would it read?
J: All about fun! I mean it’s all about fun, right?

B: Sparkles, shiny things. ­Yeah there’s a lot of fun energy in here. When people walk in the door for the first time, it seems like they’re sort of overwhelmed by the amount of light shining off of all of the fabrics in here—but in a good way. So we do always tell folks to have fun.

J: It would be, “For a good time, call Glitter Rat.” That would be the bio.

B: Like in a men’s room stall or something.

J: In Cat’s Eye Pub!

What era is most of your vintage fashion from?

J: ’70s, ’80s, ’90s. We really have a little bit of everything. We have a pretty good mix. I gravitate more towards the ’70s because that’s my favorite era. But if it’s vintage, and I like it, I buy it.

How do you get items for the store?
J: I hand pick it now, but we get stuff from everywhere. We have people that come in sometimes with bags and bags of stuff and they’ll say like “Oh my grandmother passed away, I’m cleaning out her house.” And a lot of people will have stories when they bring their stuff in. We actually had one person come in and it was very flattering actually, she said “We’re cleaning out my grandmother’s house and my dad just passed away and when he was alive he always said that he wanted his mother’s stuff to go to Killer Trash, we’re so glad you’ve taken it over.” So people sell but I hand pick everything. We do estate sales. Thrift stores. Yard sales. Flea Markets. We go up and down the coast. My parents pick a lot of it too, down in Florida.

No outfit is complete without what?
J: Leopard print. Or fringe. Or sequins! My gosh, I don’t know. There’s so many good things.

B: I think the answer would be a little bit different for me. The right pocket square and a great vintage watch. As a guy, that’s kind of it.

J: Or you could just say confidence, because that could work for both.

Who is your style icon?
J: Rick James and Janis Joplin.

B: I love a lot of the classic stuff like Steve McQueen, David Bowie, Mick Jagger.

What is your favorite trend as of late? Least favorite?
J: Wide leg pants are in again, right? I don’t like the drab ’90s stuff people are doing. Totally can’t get with it. But we have some in store because we know some people love it.

What is the best part about owning a shop in Baltimore?
J: The people. Totally the people. It’s great, it’s social, it’s fun. I love Baltimore.

B: Yeah, we’ve met fabulous characters here. Musicians, artists, people with office jobs, all walks of life who had been shopping in this store when it was Killer Trash and are happy that we’re here. And we love hearing their stories. We have a poster hanging behind the cash register area that was given to Killer Trash by a gentleman who comes in all the time, he’s a musician and this poster came from Bowie’s studio in Chelsea. So yeah definitely, the people and their stories.

Our top picks:

Do you think people are intimidated to try a DIY costume?
AG: Sometimes I feel like people just don’t think about it. But that’s what we are here for. We want to walk with you on this journey.

KT: We take people to a different level of costume. It’s not just going to a Halloween store and finding a pre-made “sexy” Raggedy Ann thing. You can come here and get an actual red and white gingham house dress and possibly even wear it again. You can get a cape and be so many different characters, but then you can wear a cape for winter.

There is nothing worse than “sexy _________” costumes.
AG: Yeah, we are so not into that. We find it funny when we are like, ‘I’ll be this gross thing.’ And maybe that is a confidence thing, but don’t be afraid to be something different. Like if you are a dude and you want to do a tight shave on your head and be Eleven from Stranger Things, you should go for it.

KT: In some cases, you gain confidence after you have everything on. I mean, I was dressed as Doc Brown yesterday from Back to the Future and, as soon as I had it all on I was like, ‘Man, I look fucking cool.’ And it wasn’t exactly what he looked like, but we made it work with everything that we had.

What is the key piece or item to pull off a DIY costume?
AG: We always say that accessories are really important. If you don’t have the exact outfit or color that the character wears, you can still pull it off with accessories. Like if you are being Jackie Kennedy Onassis, you don’t have to have a ’60s pink two-piece suit, you can wear a blue one. But get the pill box hat, gloves, pearls, and all the little things that are nuance-y. Wigs and makeup can help a lot, too. We always tell people for $20 you can do a head-to-toe look in our shop and then spend the rest of your money on a wig and/or makeup from a specialty or Halloween store.

What is your favorite costume you’ve put together in the store?
AG: I think Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding was pretty funny because it really was random. We found these ‘60s leotards and of course we didn’t have ice skates or anything but I think the angle worked.

KT: That one was really fun because it was so random and we were like, “Huh, we have these leotards, what are we going to do?” And then we had to research to characters to make sure Tonya was the one with the baton.

What are you being for Halloween this year?
AG: After doing this now for three years, we always end up doing something avant-garde and really out there for our personal costumes because we have all month to think about it. If we have funny things that we have ideas about we get that creativity out through the month of October for the store.

KT: Last year we were the sun and the moon, but it was very ’30s style. We had pin curls, gowns, and big headpieces.

I’ve noticed you guys also do amazing Halloween window displays each year. How do you come up with the theme for the windows?
AG: This year we did Stranger Things, which kind of caters to vintage. We felt like we had to do it. The timing was so perfect.

KT: Our first year we did witches and they were all in crazy vintage black gowns. Last year we did Carrie with a mannequin in a vintage prom dress, and then someone pulling the cord to pour the bucket of blood, which was actually metallic streamers, onto her head.

What’s the most embarrassing trend you used to love?
AH: ’90s eyebrows. I see pictures of myself and they were so painfully plucked that I’m just like, “Girl! Fill those in!”
JL: In college I was really into psychedelic tapestries. Some of my choices for wall coverings were a little questionable.

What is your guilty pleasure?
JL: The Bravo network. Any Real Housewife show. Oh, and One Direction. Specifically Harry Styles.
AH: Mindless TV and wine. Throw in a little chocolate, too.

How did you get the name for your boutique?
AH: Wishbone is always the name I had envisioned for a business. It’s representative of something that’s a great tradition and has been passed on from generation to generation. Reserve for us means that there’s a curated eye behind every choice and it’s not just a junk shop. We see something in everything we sell.

Do you have a go-to saying or motto?
AH: Add light, not heat. I try to apply that to everything.

No outfit is complete without . . .
JL: I wouldn’t leave home without my Georgian Gimmel ring. I bought this at auction. It’s European and from the early 1800s.
AH: Something personal, meaningful, or sentimental.

What are your current favorite and least favorite trends?
AH: I don’t like anything to be too perfect or matching. I think it’s unrealistic and not interesting. I like it when people play by their own rules.
JL: I love overalls, but a lot of other ’90s fashion I’m not really feeling right now. With fashion, it’s always cyclical but it’s funny to see it back in action.

Our picks:

(1950’s Party Dress $150; Picasso print $125; Flower Power chair $150)

On Model: Ladakh Lexie Duffle Coat in camel ($148) at South Moon Under. Do everything in Love gloves in ivory ($21) at South Moon Under. Dolce Vita Joust shoe in black suede ($99.95) at South Moon Under. Rich Fern Scarf ($28) at Sassanova. 

MODEL: JAMIE EDELEN.

9th Life
833 W. 36th St., 410-534-9999.
Great for: Funky finds for you or a friend.
Details: This row-house boutique on The Avenue has a mix of vintage, new apparel, and reworked vintage with pieces by local artists. The curated racks of affordable vintage goods for girls and guys are hip and funky, yet totally wearable. Unique accessories and home décor make this a good spot for gifts, too.
Editor’s Pick: A floral print ’70s pleated dress, $23.

B’more Betty
1316 Light St., 443-869-6379.
Great for: Saving on designer pieces.
Details: When you walk into this classy Federal Hill boutique with its upscale vibe, it simply doesn’t feel like you’re in a resale shop. Here you’ll find Louboutins, Gucci bags, and a wall of designer jeans. Every item is handpicked by the store’s owner and looks brand new.
Editor’s Pick: Like-new Tory Burch Bryce clogs with a wooden sole and burnt-orange leather upper, $75.

Debois Textiles, Inc.
1835 Washington Blvd., 410-837-8081.
Great for: Vintage finds and super-cheap bargains.
Details: Just south of Pigtown, this textile warehouse isn’t where you’d expect to find a vintage treasure trove. Debois’s Boulevard Boutique is a hidden gem with quality finds from the ’60s to the ’80s for men and women of all sizes. And thrifty shoppers can score pieces for well under $10 by digging through boxes in the warehouse.
Editor’s Pick: A green and white Lilly Pulitzer sundress, circa 1960, $50.

Fashion Attic
1926 Fleet St., 410-276-0817.
Great for: Stocking up on basics.
Details: This small store is packed with racks of women’s clothing, shoes, accessories, and jewelry. With labels ranging from Forever XXI to Marc Jacobs, you’ll find something special if you enjoy the hunt.
Editor’s Pick: Black and brown woven-leather Cole Haan loafers, $38.

Hunting Ground
3649 Falls Road, 410-243-0789.
Great for: Scoring wearable vintage finds.
Details: In an old church just off The Avenue, this spacious boutique is one of the few offering vintage and small-label styles for men and women. You’ll find graphic tees, button-downs, and flannel for him and chunky sweaters, airy ’90s dresses, and well-styled jeans for her. Accessories, jewelry, and local art round out the mix.
Editor’s Pick: A pair of vintage cognac leather Sebago Campsides, $15.

Killer Trash
602 S. Broadway, 410-675-2449.
Great for: Adding whimsy to your wardrobe.
Details: Across from the Broadway Market, this long, narrow shop is stuffed to the brim with vintage and costume clothing. Gatsby-esque flapper dresses hang from the walls, racks of large-collar polyester button-downs look dance-floor ready, and sequined dresses sparkle on the racks. Amid the costume wear, you’ll also find quality vintage pieces.
Editor’s Pick: A Mad Men-style metallic brocade shift dress with beaded collar, $40.

La Chic Boutique
5614 Newbury St., 443-869-2247.
Great for: A timeless mink fur coat, either vintage or a newer coat made with female pelts for a lighter, slimmer silhouette.
Details: The Mt. Washington staple carries the fashions of Tory Burch, Roberto Cavalli, and high-end Parisian boutiques, all barely worn or with tags still intact. Clients can create a “wish list” and be notified when a certain designer or style hits the racks. Additionally, owner Mary Anne Barker redesigns furniture and creates custom wreaths and ornaments for clients.
Editor’s Pick: Travel in style with a vintage Louis Vuitton suitcase, $3,000.

Little Lamb Consignments
5002 Lawndale Ave., 410-433-9086.
Great for: Gently used baby and children’s clothing from designers such as Polo Ralph Lauren and Lilly Pulitzer.
Details: This one-stop shop will equip a mother with everything she needs to clothe her child, from everyday wear to special-occasion outfits to school uniforms and Halloween costumes. While browsing the racks, you can also find consigned books, strollers, changing tables, and more.
Editor’s Pick: A cozy green Mini Boden coat with toggle clasps and a hood, $75.

Posh Retro
poshretro.com.
Great for: Modern-style vintage finds for work or going out.
Details: Based in Federal Hill, this vintage boutique sells online at poshretro.com. From a silk ’90s LBD for date night to skirts and blouses for the office, these brand-name items won’t break the bank.
Editor’s Pick: Mode Specialé brand brown-leather, blazer-style jacket, $35.

Re Deux
5002 Lawndale Ave., 410-323-2140.
Great for: Preppy, tailored apparel and accessories that would earn a front-row seat at Fashion Week.
Details: The Roland Park store gives runway styles a second life with designers such as Prada, Fendi, and Christian Louboutin. Merchandise is carefully selected to provide a more comfortable shopping experience, rather than searching through an enormous quantity of clothing.
Editor’s Pick: Hermès Grand Apparat scarf, $200.

Ruth’s Closet
9131 Reisterstown Rd., Owings Mills, 410-581-9780.
Great for: Top-tier designer fashions that will make you feel good about your shopaholic tendencies.
Details: Staffed mainly by volunteers, Ruth’s Closet donates all proceeds to House of Ruth Maryland, which aids victims of intimate-partner violence. Pay it forward by purchasing high-end items, including Stuart Weitzman, Escada, and Jimmy Choo, at a bargain price.
Editor’s Pick: A true classic——a vintage black quilted-leather Chanel handbag——will never go out of style, $495.

Ten Car Pile Up
511 York Rd., Towson, 410-832-5246.
Great for: Vintage pieces deconstructed and redesigned for the creatively stylish.
Details: Founder Shane Gullivan accepts consigned vintage pieces and gives them a facelift with the help of his sewing machine, resulting in one-of-a-kind, handcrafted clothing.
Editor’s Pick: A Gatsby-themed ensemble with a white tuxedo jacket and vintage boater hat (prices vary).

Uptown Cheapskate
Several locations, including 1830 York Rd., Timonium, 410-560-5890.
Great for: Any variety of denim, with a huge selection including American Eagle, Gap, and premium labels like Seven for Mankind and Citizens of Humanity.
Details: Emily Schramm and Nancy Kline, the mother-daughter team behind the Timonium, Rockville, and Salisbury Uptown Cheapskate locations, carry everything from
J. Crew to H&M. Although it caters largely to teens and young women, the store also boasts an impressive men’s collection.
Editor’s Pick: A Michael Kors hobo bag in gunmetal with silver chain details, $99.

Wear It’s At
49 Main St., Reisterstown, 410-526-2003.
Great for: Boutique-worthy fashion at a bargain price, as well as personal styling assistance from owner Stephanie Torrible and her knowledgeable staff.
Details: The consignment store in historic Reisterstown carries high-end brands ranging from AllSaints to Tory Burch to Christian Dior and Givenchy, providing a budget-friendly selection of on-trend designer apparel, shoes, and accessories. Items that don’t make the racks are donated to Suited to Succeed and Cinderella’s Closet.
Editor’s Pick: The Christian Dior asymmetrical cheetah print dress, $475.

Vogue Revisited
4002 Roland Ave., 410-235-4140.
Great for: Classing up your work wardrobe.
Details: The first room of designer goods——think Chanel bags, J Brand jeans, Calvin Klein suits——leads to three more meticulously organized rooms with casual and formal clothes, accessories, and shoes. Don’t forget to check the dates on the tags——prices go down the longer an item’s around and new stock arrives daily.
Editor’s Pick: A 3.1 Phillip Lim khaki trench with yellow-trim buttons.

The Zone
813 N. Charles St., 410-539-2817.
Great for: Costume and quirky thrift shopping.
Details: Just north of the Washington Monument, above a barbershop, this store is packed floor-to-ceiling with men’s and women’s fashions. While you won’t find designer brands here, you will find plenty of funky pieces——we’re talking sequined fanny packs, ’80s prom dresses, and neon wigs.
Editor’s Pick: A perfectly worn-in, black-leather biker jacket, $60.

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What I Will Buy

Mary Anne Barker, owner of La Chic Boutique in Mt. Washington, gives her tips for consignors.

Be Seasonable.
Seasonableness is generally my rule of thumb for buying. However, I always take [a few select] items that are “all season,” as people who vacation [in the winter] to the Islands cannot find summer items in high-end department stores.

Stay On-Trend.
Stick with either today’s fashions (within the last year) or truly vintage (before the 1970s).

Tags Equal Value.
I tell every consignor to bring in their items with the original tags——people like to purchase an item with the original tag on it. As a shop owner, it also saves us time researching the original price of the item in order to put a “good selling” price on it.

Prep Your Clothes.
Remember these rules to maximize your chance of success:
• Always clean • Always on hangers
• Barely worn • Preferably with original tags • No tears
• No missing buttons • No damages

Think Consignment.
If you were bored with your items, you could sell it at a consignment shop instead of dumping it somewhere else. The idea of “a person’s junk is another person’s gift” is very true.