Buttons and Bows Brings Vintage Chic Downtown

Button and Bows owners Karen Marley and Monique Aquino opened their store after finding success selling consigned goods online.

Buttons and Bows is the latest addition to L.A.'s downtown fashion scene. Karen Marley (daughter of reggae legend Bob Marley) and fashion blogger Monique Aquino opened their boutique in the SB Main Building at 7th and Main Thursday night, with a DJ’d cocktail party.

The shop sells new and used designer and vintage wares by the likes of Chloe, Alexander Wang, YSL, Prada and Top Shop, which are marked down at least 50 percent from original prices.

“We love fashion and clothes, and we’ve always been really good friends,” Aquino said, at the opening. “Karen has a really good fashion point of view.”

Shoppers celebrated the opening with cocktails and beats by DJ Jun of Hush Money.

The pair had originally planned on opening a boutique that sells new merchandise, but with the still struggling economy, they decided to switch to consignment after seeing how well their consigned merchandise did on eBay.

“Mo loves digging through stores and finding that awesome piece, and everyone loves a good deal, so why not?,” Marley said.

Marley and Aquino are bringing their fashion flair downtown through a mix of new and vintage designer apparel, jewerly and accessories.

They specifically chose downtown since there is less shopping in the area compared to other parts of the city.

“A lot of my digging is in Mid-City, the West Side, Hollywood, and there are no resources downtown, so we thought we’d bring it here and see where it goes,” Aquino said.

Photographer Jesse Fiorino and his wife, hairstylist Anna Lee, live nearby and have both done work for Marley and Aquino.

Photographer Jesse Fiorino, who photographed the photos and lookbook for the store, and his wife, hairstylist Anna Lee, who has styled Aquino’s hair in the past, live downtown and said they were excited to have the store open nearby.

“The whole little downtown retail scene is making the neighborhood better,” Fiorino said.

Chloe bags and other consigned designer goods are sold at discount the store.