Dallas Vintage Shop opens doors on temporary digs

Catch the store one busy afternoon and you might see John Dillinger, Marie Antoinette or Kurt Cobain walk out the front door. While that might be a shock to some, Dallas Vintage Shop owner Jerry Purvis has made it his business to make the citizens of Plano and everyone in the Metroplex into whomever they wish to be.

"We are meeting a need that not everyone can meet," Purvis said. "It is gratifying knowing that anyone from celebrities to single mothers have been able to come in and buy something that is important to them."

While the costume shop at 901 West Parker Road just opened its doors in late January, the store has been in Plano for nearly 10 years, with the original shop near the municipal center on K Avenue. Hoping to move into a new spot off I-75, the shop relocated to slightly larger temporary digs to prepare. Now that the shop is settled in for the time being, Purvis said he looks forward to getting back to doing what he does best: helping the community play make-believe. He has traveled the nation, from the fashion shows of New York to the vintage shops of Chicago to the tres chic boutiques of L.A., in search of the unique looks people want in their costumes.

"I go out looking for any decade, any look," he said. "Doesn't matter if it's vintage or not, we are not catering to people that want pedigree in clothing; we are catering to the people who want the biggest splash at an event."

As a customer walks into the shop there is a tendency to be overwhelmed with the sheer magnitude of clothing and items available on the inside. Should a customer want to be Cleopatra at a theme party, they have it. Need a zoot suit for some swing dancing? Check the back corner. A student in elementary school who needs to be Abe Lincoln in an upcoming play? The kids' section is large enough to be a shop of its own. Annette Hoffman McCaughtry, who worked with Purvis when he began running the shop and who is now working in the Austin film industry, said places like the Dallas Vintage Shop offer unique opportunities for citizens of Plano.

"It is a little more flashy, with authentic vintage brought in when you get into the era pieces," she said. "But his clients are about the 'wow' factor. Lets take the '50s and glitz it up and make it over-the-top."

How does one become a shop owner of one-of-a-kind vintage-wear and costume pieces? For Purvis, it was a matter of starting a garage sale. He said he was attending Prestonwood Baptist Church and going on mission trips all over the world. Students in his Sunday school were excited about his travels, and to make sure he kept going, they would organize garage sales to raise money. Each year they would collect more and the sales grew larger. Eventually they had more stuff left over, so he began a nonprofit thrift store. With the charity thrift store, he noticed that parents would come in and get clothing for costumes for school plays.

This became so prevalent Purvis said his bookkeeper eventually said he would be better off focusing on the costumes as a business. He would still keep up the charity side by donating all clothing not used in costumes to various charity organizations.

"Since then, we have people coming from surrounding cities, states and farther to buy costumes," Purvis said. "It is not something I ever anticipated doing, but it became a passion."

McCaughtry said his shop reminds her of those boutiques you see in New York where only the owner knows where everything is. Purvis does warn that not all customers leave satisfied. With the rise of Wal-Mart bargains and Halloween-centric shops that only appear in October, he said many customers come in expecting costumes already put together for them and on the same price level as the two. He said while they do have items for those on a budget, a lot of their unique items are just that - unique. So those pieces can be out of the price range for many. But he said that should not discourage the customer from coming in, as he and his employees are there to help them find the best costume they can in the customer's budget.

"The best customers are the ones who are very savvy or meticulous. Most people are so excited or fretful over picking out a costume they rush into it," Purvis said. "But it comes down to what type of person they want to portray. They need to do their own research, download pictures from the Web and bring them in so we can help."

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