The Reformation Reworks Vintage in New Store
Vintage fashion with a twist will have a new home on Los Angeles’ West Third Street.
The Reformation, a boutique and design studio specializing in reworked vintage styles, recently opened at 8117 W. Third St. It is in a space formerly occupied by the influential Satine boutique. Reworked vintage is a moniker for classic styles that have been altered by fashion designers.
The vintage store debuted at 142 N. La Brea Ave. in 2009. But it moved to West Third Street in early February because The Reformation owners Yael Aflalo and Chi Bui felt foot traffic and parking were easier on West Third Street compared with La Brea Avenue, which has long been the address of the high-profile fashion and lifestyle emporium American Rag.
Aflalo founded popular fashion line Ya-Ya in 1999 but launched The Reformation with Bui to serve stylish consumers’ interest in unique vintage fashion. Aflalo and Bui find clothes in thrift shops and rag houses that were manufactured before 1990. Then they alter the clothes by either adding a few details to them or by using the clothes’ fabric to make an entirely new garment. Retail price points range from $100 to $350. For the Fall 2010 season, The Reformation will debut a vintage-inspired line of women’s clothes named after the store. It also sells jewelry lines and jackets from Veda, a New York–based outerwear line.
Aflalo runs a boutique for The Reformation in New York City. Both stores’ interiors are lined by worn-looking wood paneling. Both stores also offer tailoring operations where customers can further alter a piece of clothing.
Vintage consumers seem to favor mostly unique dresses and tops that were constructed more than a generation ago instead of plain vintage shirts and dresses, said Kristen Knauff, a veteran vintage buyer who currently directs the vintage department for e-commerce boutique Lulu’s (www.lulus.com). “People like buying straight-up vintage. It just needs to be really special,” Knauff wrote in an e-mail.—Andrew Asch
