Long before thrifting became the latest fashion fad, Melissa Gonzales had a passion for vintage clothing.
“I’ve always been into vintage clothing — always,” said the 35-year-old owner of Vintanthromodern Vintage and the Vintanthromobile — Connecticut’s first and only traveling vintage boutique.
This past Friday Gonzales (on the right in the above photo) opened Vintanthromodern’s first retail store in the thriving, funky reborn former Robby Lens factory complex at 1175 State St.
“I wanted to have a vintage shop for pretty much as long as I can remember — at least 20 years now,” said Gonzales. She founded Vintanthromodern Vintage in July 2011 as an online Etsy shop, selling “a carefully curated collection of awesome, well-made and affordable vintage clothing, shoes and accessories” from the 1920s through the 1990s.
“I started with online selling, but my basement and closets were just overflowing, so I bought the bus — the Vintanthromobile, which I’ve been driving around to festivals, farmers markets and private events in Connecticut,” she said.
A little over a month ago, Gonzales decided to open her new retail store after Mistina Hanscom, photographer and owner of Lotta Studio, offered to share space with her at 1175 State.
“After Mistina asked if I wanted to share the space, the wheels just started turning, and now here we are. It happened so fast,” said Gonzales. “I love Trolley Square. I think it’s an up-and-coming spot, and I’m hoping that this will invigorate it and encourage more people to open up shop here.”
Jillian Lyons, Gonzales’ assistant, arrived 20 minutes before the scheduled 5 p.m. grand opening. She said people were already waiting to file in. The first 25 visitors received Vintanthromodern Vintage tote bags and a limited-edition New Haven piece (pictured) courtesy of Milk & Sugar Prints.
“Melissa thought it would be a cool idea to have some Connecticut-slash-New Haven-themed cards for the opening,” said Maya Szatai (pictured above, next to Gonzales), owner and creator of Milk & Sugar Prints. “I approached Melissa about collaborating with her on a project and ended up screen-printing the Vintanthromodern logo on the tote bags.”
Lyons, who has been Gonzales’ assistant since April, referred to the new retail store as “an introductory lesson in Vintanthromodern Vintage.”
“This isn’t even the full inventory. She [Gonzales] has over 2,000 items. A lot of it’s still in the bus, and a good chunk of the collection is probably still in her basement.” said Lyons, who attends events with and for Gonzales and handles online and press-related work for Vintanthromodern Vintage.
Gonzales, who is also an art teacher, said about 80 percent of the Vintanthromodern Vintage merchandise is vintage. The other 20 percent consists of contemporary designer items. Gonzales doesn’t design her merchandise; she gets them from estate sales, thrifting and her own closet.
“Now that I’m doing this, more and more people contact me wanting to sell me their grandmother’s clothes or their mother’s clothes,” said Gonzales. “It’s actually kind of cool that now people are approaching me to buy their stuff instead of me having to go out and seek all of my vintage.”
Lyons said Gonzales knows how to curate selection.
“Every event, she pulls different items, and for the shop I’m sure she pulled a little bit of everything,” said Lyons. “She has a really great eye for stuff like that.”
As for the Vintanthromobile, Gonzales said it’s not totally out of commission.
“The van will just stay in my driveway, so it will be there all fall, winter and then in the spring I’ll start to travel with it again,” she said. She even thinking about sharing her vintage merchandise and taking the Vintanthromobile beyond the Connecticut borders.
