Document text
Fashion blast out of the past By Jennifer Nitson Ashland Daily Tidings The air was thick with disco music and cat calls as amateur models strutted their stuff at the JeanneLouise Vintage Clothing and Costumes grand opening fashion show. Some struggled with shyness and others oozed attitude as they showed off clothes that were, for the most part, much older than the models at the First Friday event. Executing flippy turns at the end of the runway and blowing kisses over their shoulders, the models were met with enthusiastic applause and encouragement from the more than 40 onlookers. Almost a century's worth of fashion was represented, from a brown and gray house dress from the late 1800s, to glamorous velvet gowns from the 1940s, to purple suede hot pants paired with a peasant blouse from the 1970s. Especially popular was the giraffe costume modeled by Matt Seiler. "I'm just going to be myself," Seiler said prior to venturing onto the runway. "I'm going to be a giraffe." Master of ceremonies Ezra Severin was also nattily attired in tan suede pants and a floral snap front shirt. "Jeanne and Louise spend hours and hours each weekend scouring estate sales and garage sales, and you know what shark infested waters those are," Severin quipped. Indeed, Louise McCullom of Ashland and Jeanne Legrand of Medford comb the sales and thrift stores and even visit people in their homes to stock their Main Street vintage clothing store. Jeanne has taken trips up and down Interstate 5 to hit thrift stores and sales in other locales. In January, the pair traveled to the Chicago apparel market to round out their inventory with new retro jewelry and clothing. "We probably had a couple of racks between us just out of our own closets," McCullom said. "It's our passion. We've been collecting for years." Legrand and McCullom have worked in the costume business for years. Both recently put aside careers in the costume department at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival so that they could open the store. Legrand spent 17 years as a stitcher and McCullom worked as a design assistant and a buyer for 12 years. They opened JeanneLouise for Halloween costume rental in October and now they feel ready take the plunge and brave the fickle and seasonal economic waters of Ashland. Legrand and McCullom have a plan. "In November we learned all about eBay," McCullom said. "We've been selling a lot on eBay. That helps us through the winter. We're also developing a Web site for the store to reach people outside the valley." JeanneLouise is also expected to appeal to regional theaters in the Rogue Valley and beyond. "We've had people from different theaters in town coming in looking for vintage costumes for their plays," McCullom said. "Just in the last month we've helped several production companies out that way." Lori Bettencourt of Ashland showed her brother, Rick Bettencourt - who was visiting from New York - the store's costume dress-up room, where patrons can dress up and have their pictures taken. "I think it's a great addition," Lori Bettencourt said. "There's a few thrift stores here in town but they don't really have the vintage attitude that I think is necessary." "It's a good feeling when you walk in here, too," her brother added. "Ashland doesn't have anything like this at all," said Southern Oregon University theater major Anna Williams. "We're looking for stuff like this all the time. It's better than some Portland stores as far as the selection and quality." At first Legrand and McCullom looked for an affordable street-level storefront, but to no avail, and settled in upstairs at 295 East Main St. "The more we've been in this space, the more we've fallen in love with it," McCullom said. The store is bright with natural light and consists of three rooms chock full of vintage clothing, shoes and jewelry for men and women. The fitting room is tiny, but for the claustrophobic, the spacious costume dress-up room is an option. Prices for clothing and jewelry range from $6 to $175. "We're trying to hit all the price ranges," McCullom said. "For the more specialty items, things are definitely more expensive." McCullom and Legrand collaborate on the design of wall displays in the store. Currently, one room features a 60s-70s theme, complete with a flared denim skirt McCullom made for herself when in high school. "People were coming up here that were my age looking at this stuff going 'Oh my God, give it a rest,'" Legrand said. "But the younger people were like 'Oh, wow! That's so cool!'" "The 70s are back in fashion," McCullom said. "I don't mind the 70s, but when the 80s start coming back �" "We don't do 80s," Legrand said. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -