Press

Retro Stop: Bethesda's 'Accessories of Old

HALF THE JOY of tuning in to old flicks on Turner Classic Movies is seeing how 1920s flappers and 1940s noir heroines lived — and dressed. Any vintage fashion fiend who has ever wanted to steal Bette Davis' hat pins or coveted Elizabeth Taylor's buttons may think she's died and gone to the Hollywood notions store in the sky at the new Bethesda shop Accessories of Old (4822 St. Elmo Ave., 301-760-7228; Accessoriesofold.com). Early 20th-century ribbons, 1950s hair barrettes and card upon card of vintage buttons line the racks.

The emporium's new old stock — mint-condition frills and trims made way back in the last century — comes from the shuttered South African family business of co-owner Lisa Mainz. Her grandfather started a dressmaking supply business in Johannesburg in 1918; now she and her husband hawk the mint-condition leftovers (and there are loads) via the Internet and at the shop. "Everything here is vintage, except me," jokes Mainz.

The neatly displayed, rainbow-colored trove — royal blue velvet ribbons; pale orange buttons shaped like fox heads; big, silver fabric flowers ($25 each) meant to trim 1940s hats — could inspire almost anyone to get crafty.

These old, mostly European decorations often get used in surprising new ways (pom-pom trim jazzing up a new miniskirt, luminescent old sequins glued into a new baby's scrapbook). But many times, some artsy person cleverly riffs on an item's original use. "One girl was going to put old shoe buckles on sneakers," says Mainz.

Inspiration is everywhere in the sunny space, from wide, jacquard trim ($2.85 per yard) with a red and white zigzag that could morph into a rocking belt, to rhinestone dress clips ($35-$75), which look like flashy pins. Snap one onto a length of ribbon to make a necklace or turn a matched pair into earrings straight out of "The Great Gatsby." Fuzzy, 1950s patches shaped like chicks, pink French poodles ($10.25 each) and mildly creepy dwarves seem destined for babies' onesies or hipsters' T-shirts.

Accessories of Old boasts clients including big-name jewelry makers, "artists, even stage designers, anyone who's into this look," Mainz. But it's also welcoming to casual DIYers: There's a free work station with glue and scissors at the back of the store, where the Mainzes will host craft parties. "Embellishment really does everything these days," says Mainz. Including, in this case, providing a very ornamental form of time travel.

PICTURED ABOVE:

1. Floral jacquard ribbon from the 1940s ($9.25 per yard) could be cinched into a fabulous belt.
2. Movie-starry dress clips from the 1940s and 1950s (blue $39, rhinestone $45) serve as pendants when snapped onto a length of ribbon.
3. Pretty up a plain cardigan with vintage buttons ($10.95-$13.95) in shapes and colors you'd never find at Jo-Ann Fabrics. They're also a funky way to beautify a homemade card or even a scrapbook page.

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