Frills and Flourishes : Vintage Clothing Store Serves Up Flavors of the Past--and a Nice Cuppa Tea
Frills is the type of place your grandmother might have opened when she was a slip of a thing, filled with poetic notions and a passion for elegant design.
Tara Root’s shop in Old Town Monrovia carries a collection of 800 vintage hats, a black velvet hand-embroidered Victorian wedding dress, peach satin and lace tap pants from Miss Phyllis of Hollywood, Bauer bowls, ties from the ‘40s and tuxedos from the ‘20s.
It may take hours to work your way through armoires packed with antique clothes, buffets stuffed with linens, drawers lined with rhinestone jewelry and gloves and walls hung with hats, but when you do, an unexpected reward awaits at the back of the store: High Tea in the Frills Tea Parlour.
From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., 25 fragrant teas are served, along with pots of clotted cream, fruit bowls, finger sandwiches and wedges of Welsh shortbread. Prices range from $5.50 to $8.50 and reservations are required.
Afternoons, the parlor is filled with ladies who nibble sandwiches and sip tea as they fuss over their cloches, toss back feather boas and slip off butter-soft red leather gloves. The vintage accessories are provided by parlor owner Gayle Theilacker who keeps a steamer chest jammed with things for guests.
The clothes are in pristine condition, and Root has included new clothes that look and feel like antiques.
Root has collected old things since she was a child, and even sold her collection several times, determined that she was finished with antiques. But something always drew her back.
“I’m always intrigued with the fabrics,” Root says. “I love . . . wondering who wore the clothes. There’s a mystique about vintage clothes.”
After learning to make hats, belts and jewelry at Los Angeles Trade Tech and Pasadena City College, Root began collecting again and, two years ago, decided to open a store.
In addition to vintage goods that come from suppliers around the country, San Gabriel families bring their prized possessions for her to sell. Frills also sells six-foot English armoires and walnut buffets for $265 and up.
Although there are some clothes for men at the main Frills, including a dazzling selection of print ties (from $10 to $35), old flannel-lined leather jackets ($75) and riding breeches ($45), Frills exudes femininity.
Calf-length prom dresses in lace and tulle, from the ‘50s, sell for $48 to $125. But don’t look for mod or Day-Glo clothes here.
“I don’t like the 1960s,” Root says.
There is also a Frills for Children at 105 E. Lemon St., which has vintage clothes and accessories, including dresses priced from $22 to $125.
Frills is at 504 S. Myrtle Ave., Monrovia; (818) 303-3201.
