Fashion Fate: Deliciously Vintage

Monday, 28 December 2009 11:46 Written by  Cicely V. Teal

There are innumerable boutiques across the Chicagoland area, and the local fashion market is burgeoning for local designers, which has lead to boutiques sprouting all over the city. Finding the perfect boutique to fit your personal style can be a daunting task.

dv It’s like the needle in the haystack when you find one that is chic, affordable and not stocked with pieces that suit any costume ball.

Nestled in the Pilsen area of Chicago is a boutique gem, Deliciously Vintage (DV). DV is a simple, quaint, fabulously chic vintage clothing and accessory hotspot with two professional celebrity stylists on hand for all customers.  Owners of Deliciously Vintage and celebrity stylists, Law Roach and Siobhan Strong have a keen fashion sense and eyes for vintage styles that will fit any fashionista or fashion-mista. Roach and Strong have used their fashion prudence to tweak vintage pieces, create their own signature style and make their indelible mark on the industry.

These two Chicago natives have paid their fashion dues and are now reaping the benefits of success.  Strong has a BA in fashion merchandising from Chicago State and Roach has a master’s degree in education business from Keller.  Both have a passion for fashion. Roach was known for his eclectic style. He moved to New York and did wardrobe for independent films ,which gave Roach the opportunity to collect a lot of vintage clothing. Strong also made her way to New York and she eventually became Roach’s protégé.

Strong and Roach joined forces in 2006 with one thing in mind—making their clients and customers feel lavish and classy in classic pieces.  The moniker “Deliciously Vintage” speaks for itself: style decadence.

“It’s describing something yummy. It’s how we want you to feel,” Roach explains. DV’s customers are everyone from young urban trendsetters to high profile celebs. Their clientele includes supermodels Veronica Webb and America’s Next Top Model winner Eva Pigford, Prison Break star Rockmond Dunbar and most recently hip-hop aficionado Kanye West. They also receive calls from the stylist of songstress Alicia Keys.  Don’t be swayed by their portfolio because anydv2 customer that stops in DV will be treated as a celeb. Customers can shop and get advice from two fashion industry heavy hitters.

Strong and Roach attend estate sales to find their merchandise. People often call to let them know about certain pieces and the duo travels all over the country to acquire the best pieces to fit the DV style. Once these pieces are acquired, Strong and Roach make alterations assuring they fit the current trends in fashion before they go to the racks.

DV does carry high-end designers like Dior, Nina Ricci, Oscar de la Renta and Yves Saint Laurent, but at affordable prices. They don’t focus on the name so much as the style and design. “It’s not about who made it. A great piece is a great piece,” Strong said. When they acquire pieces, they pick the ones that are best for the customer.

Each item in the store is hand-picked, according to Roach. Everything in the store is perfectly lined  up and color coordinated to make it simple for customers to find exactly what they want.  Customers will be exposed to a one-stop shopping experience: professional styling, free fashion recommendations and great pieces that won’t hurt the pocketbook. With some of their fashion roots in New York, Roach and Strong are looking to expand to the Big Apple, and with their fashion fortitude, they will fit comfortably in the fashion Mecca of the world.

They are truly in love with what they do. “When people come in, they can’t believe that every piece in the store is vintage. We want people to continue to be amazed,” Strong said. Roach says you have to speak the language of a stylist. “Just do it. Just claim it. I started telling people what my pay rate was,” he said. His words have proven to be true and although Deliciously Vintage is only a little over a year old, it is creating a major buzz. They are moving up the ranks in the fashion arena with lightning speed.

Strong has a love for old Hollywood glamour and Roach’s favorite piece is a 1994 vintage Versace Blazer worn by actress Elizabeth Hurley and Christian Louboutin’s for men of course. Although their likes are different, they come together with parallel style ideas that mesh to make the perfect blend of artful design—“nouveau vintage”—without a hint of portentousness. The styles that Strong and Roach create are personally definitive, and their intuitiveness for pieces of the past is what makes them so unique.


Visit Deliciously Vintage:
1747 South Halsted
Chicago, IL 60608
(312) 733-0407

 

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Cicely V. Teal

Cicely V. Teal

Cicely V. Teal graduated from Northeastern Illinois University with a B.A. in Communication and Depaul Univeristy with a M.A in Journalism. She contributed to and maintained a column at N’Digo Magapaper, and wrote for Urban Influence Magazine, Breaking Tweets, The DePaulia and The Independent. She also worked on documentary projects at WTTW channel 11, children’s television programming at WCIU-TV and African American programming at Central City Productions.

She is a blogger and studies web analytics, social networking strategies and integrated marketing at the University of Chicago.


She can be contacted at Cicely@glossmagazineonline.com

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