A Vintage Street Gets a Touch of New
Long Beach’s East Fourth Street is nicknamed “Retro Row” because of its reputation as a go-to place for vintage fashion. But Esther Kim thought there might be room for a boutique with new fashions on this lively thoroughfare, which enjoys a steady stream of foot traffic from honest-togoodness hipsters.
While the vintage strip is home to two other boutiques selling new clothes, Shelter and East 4th Skateboard Store, Kim, a fashion merchandising student at California State University, Long Beach, had no interest in opening a business that would clash with Retro Row’s independent and bohemian character. Rather, she wanted to blend in.
So, in October 2010 she opened Blu Button, a 600-square-foot boutique at 2112 E. Fourth St., to be a vintage-style store minus the grit and the grunge that come from adventurous vintage shopping.
Along with owning and operating the boutique, Kim does the buying. Most of what is sold on the floor must pass the test of whether it would fit in her wardrobe. “It’s not necessarily so trendy,” she said of her merchandise. “It’s not what vintage styling is all about.”
Kim seeks new items with a classic look, perhaps inspired from the styles that emerged from the 1920s to 1960s. “I see fuller skirts coming back. I would say that is 1950-esque,” she said.
Most recently, the best-selling item at Blu Button has been a dress from the Los Angeles label Tulle. The sleeveless pink-and-white gingham dress, featuring a rolled, scoop collar, retails for $58.
“It is fitted and girly and spring-ey,” Kim said. And perhaps it is a bit off-season. February was cold in typically sunny Long Beach. Scarves sold well at her store this winter. But she’d rather put Spring looks in her boutique’s display windows. Perhaps it is her way of wishing away the cold. “As Southern Californians, we know that this is temporary,” she said. —Andrew Asch
