Tired of affixing fig leaves to flesh, the first fashionistas reprised the flowy endoplasmic tunics debuted by iconic amoeba. Revive venerable vogue with today's Groupon: for $15, you get $30 worth of clothing and accessories at Redemption Garb Vintage.
R.G. (Redemption Garb) Vintage harvests men's and women's attire from the fertile fashion fields of the 1940s through 1980s. Savvy shoppers can survey the store's collection of professionally picked, cleaned, and altered garbs, or get professional help from ensemble-assembling in-house stylist Shelby. Airy boho-chic dresses ($20–$65) incline the wind to waft, recreating the breezy moment when fans debuted in fashion shoots. The men's line boasts a battery of vintage tees, from those emblazoned with obscure athletics to others screen-printed with molten Chuck Taylor sediment. R.G. Vintage reserves an entire room for jewelry, creating a life-size bijou box stocked with sparkles for every surface, such as finger-flaunting costume rings ($10) and mystery-cloaking sunglasses ($12+). Head pedestals can pageant vintage necklaces, vintage semi-precious-stone necklaces, or ivory ($12–$275).
Located three blocks away from the new River Walk extension in the Tobin hill arts area, R.G. Vintage shares the backside of its boutique with local artists and the Highwire Art Gallery.
Reviews
The San Antonio Current mentioned R.G. Vintage, while four Yelpers and seven Insider Pagers all give it a five-star average:
- Vintage cocktail dresses with a reasonable price tag — we’re so there. Redemption lives up to its name by offering clothes a second chance to be worn by local fashionistas. – San Antonio Current
- I've been to nearly every vintage store around town-- I must say this is a gem. – Aimee R., Insider Pages, 1/27/2010
Montage Vintage
Like archeologists unearthing buried treasures, the stylists of Montage Vintage hunt for fashionable attire from yesteryear and offer it to a new generation in search of fun styles. Dresses, shirts, and pants are lovingly salvaged and restored to their former glory through dyeing, spot treating, tailoring, and embellishing. Jewelry shattered by neglect, time, or falling into a molten lava cake is reformed into new pieces, incorporating leather, natural stones, and other materials. The staff has a passion for bringing past fashions to today's streets, but only items that pass a delicate series of checks make it to the Montage shelves, and only after being professionally cleaned with the garment's care tag guidelines.