Karen Ponzio Photos
Corina and her very New Haven find.
“Should I buy this shirt?” Maria Corina asked me as she held up a slate gray T‑shirt that had the words “New Haven” across it, along with a picture of the city’s skyline.
It was the first time we had both been out shopping with a friend present, in person, in a very long time.
It was also the first time for this type of shopping experience at Vintanthromodern, a vintage store that had decided on a hot Saturday afternoon to hold its first tag sale in the back parking lot of its Westville location. Not only would it give customers a chance to get back to what they love — shopping for vintage deals — but it would also be a fundraiser, with Vintanthromodern donating fifty percent of sales to a cause aligned with social justice and equality.
The storefront on Whalley Avenue.
“When I set out to do this sale I didn’t know how the response would be,” said Melissa Gonzales, owner of Vintanthromodern. Before this sale, the store had only been open for private appointments since closing due to Covid-19 restrictions back in March.
“The silver lining with appointments only is you can focus on the customer and cultivate a following and that can help,” she added. Though store staff had been available for appointments for almost three months now, she noted that she had the most requests for appointments in the past week. The main focus for sales since the restrictions were put in place has been through Etsy, social media posts on Facebook and Instagram, and Instagram live stream events along with her partner and longtime friend Victoria Armentrout.
Although the Covid-19 restrictions have been loosened a bit recently, Gonzales explained the storefront would not be opening to the public yet “for a few reasons.”
“First, we want to review the layout of the store, make space and move stuff around,” she said. “Second, we just feel it isn’t time yet. We’re just not ready, but we will be soon…. We want to make sure we’re not rushing. We want to do it right, with respect for our health and the health of others and our families and in a way that is thoughtful and sustainable. We want to see how the other phases of openings go. We want to be intentional.”
An outdoor event with a purpose seemed like a good way to ease back in.
“With this sale outside, it gives people shopping in fresh air and we can give back in some way,” said Gonzales, noting that they had been talking with friends and people in the community about where to donate. “Fifty percent of the proceeds are going to a cause aligned with social justice. We want to get input from the community. It’s important to try to find out if something locally would benefit more and more quickly. We need to do the research ourselves,” Gonzales said.
To that end, Vintanthromodern decided to keep it simple: the store would offer customers three different size bags at three different price points so they could fill the bag and pay one price for everything. In addition to raising money for charity, Gonzales also hoped the sale would help free up some room in the store for new merchandise.
“We love to acquire things and we have limited space,” said Gonzales. “When we do reopen we don’t want to put out the same things we have had.
We want to clear things out for new merchandise and make room for it.”
Melissa Gonzales in between sales.
For Gonzales, finding new ways to sell vintage goods and fostering friendship and community go hand in hand. Since 2011 she has gone from online sales only, to selling pieces in the back of EBM on Chapel Street, to a warehouse space in Trolley Square, to a storefront in East Rock for three and a half years. The Westville store will be open two years this October. She partnered with longtime friend Victoria Armentrout about a year ago.
“When I was starting in the back of EBM and with the traveling bus” — known as the Vintanthromobile — “I was doing it all on my own. When I had my daughter three years ago it was impossible to run it the way I wanted. Moving to Westville, being surrounded by so many creative people, there is a feeling of community, of small business owners working together,” Gonzales said. When she moved to Westville, “I got an instant community. I have long relationships with the people here.”
“I’ve done this so many ways. Another reason to keep it going is that I have a lot of experience and this is the best it’s ever been,” she added.
Victoria Armentrout helps a customer.
Gonzales is also an art teacher at Hamden High, currently teaching through distance learning. “It’s been quite a time,” she said. “I had job security, but then the shop closed so we asked ‘how are we going to keep this thing going?’ We were also experiencing some of the challenges as a new business. We were just hitting our stride, and thought ‘wow, how are we going to keep afloat?’”
Vintanthromodern turned to the internet — Instagram more specifically — and started live streaming sales with different themes in addition to posting story sales and other deals there. Gonzales said she was “surprised” at how many people supported them online, adding with a laugh that it was more her own issue about being live on camera that held her back initially.
“I was really hesitant to go in front of the camera,” she said. “I wasn’t comfortable, but once it came together I got good feedback, and now we have so many new customers! The momentum of that has been wonderful.”
Some of that good feedback was from Corina, who, when asked about the live stream sales, said she was “obsessed with them.”
“The online sales are something I look forward to. Throughout the week you know, you have a hard day … we’re going through so much, we’re reading so much news … that’s one thing I get to look forward to,” Corina said. Also, she added, Gonzales and Armentrout “make it so easy to come and get the stuff or ship it to you. It’s just so fun. It’s such a different shopping experience. I’ve been really enjoying it.”
Corina added that although she had shopped at the store in person before, she had never shopped a live stream sale online before Vintanthromodern had started doing them. She found that it “made the store more accessible” and appreciated the suggestions for pairing items and adhering to themes, like ‘90s fashion and romantic styles. “It makes the shopping experience so different. I like shopping that way better now!” she said.
Having also been a part of the live stream sales, I enjoyed being able to shop with my friends again — Corina being one of them.
The sale.
But on Saturday, with masks and social distancing, fans of Vintanthromodern and vintage shopping were able to have that fun in person again, browsing the tables and racks that held a variety of housewares, linens, books, records, and toys as well as clothing, jewelry and other accessories. Each shopper grabbed the bag of their choice, some even filling more than one bag, all under the friendly guidance of Gonzales and Armentrout.
Evelyn Massey.
Present selling her own line of vintage clothing and accessories was Evelyn Massey of Noir Vintage Co. Massey also lives in Westville and is a friend of Gonzales. Massey runs her vintage business from her home studio and online via Instagram.
“I had a tag sale in my backyard last year that went really well, but this is my first time collaborating with my friend Melissa,” Massey said “I’m so happy to be here.”
Massey, a makeup artist and vintage lover since she was 17, said she started out specializing in vintage purses. “Then it got kind of broad and I started getting other items,” ranging from 1940s to 2000s, she said. She is also currently working on getting an Etsy shop opened. While Massey’s pieces were not included in the bag sale, she had a variety of deals available. This reporter ended up purchasing an adorable magenta purse with a gold frog adorning it. Yes, a frog. Yes, I love it.
A variety of customers of all age ranges perused the sale joyfully despite the sweltering heat, masks worn and distances kept, everyone showing respect for one another as they searched for their treasures. I ended up filling a mid-sized bag with a tray, a cookbook, a few pieces of jewelry, a dress I had seen on one of the live stream sales, two t‑shirts, and my key find: a polyester floral-patterned Cape Cod Match Mate brand shirt from the 1970s. It was one of those pieces I used to see my mother and her friends wear. I wanted it, but wasn’t sure if it would fit. Gonzales and Armentrout encouraged me to try it on and then did what they do best, suggested how to wear it and what to pair it with. Of course they were right, and of course I bought it.
A few of my favorite finds.
And did Corina buy that shirt?
“I have to buy it,” she said. “I love it, and I love New Haven.”
For more information about Vintanthromodern including their online and live stream sales, please visit their Instagram and Facebook pages.