New Chestnut Hill ‘gallery’ already a Starr

by PAT STOKES

Owner Catherine Starr calls her new shop at 8401 Germantown Ave. a gallery, and this title covers a pastiche of vintage and almost-vintage clothing, art, furniture, handmade jewelry and decorating collectibles. (Photo by Pat Stokes)

Vintage: Webster definition 1: “the removal of the yield of a particular vineyard in a single season.” Definition 2: “of a good period; choice; representative of the best.” Definition 3: “representative or dating from a period long past, as in vintage clothes.”

As you may recall, vintage fashions were so very “in” during the ’60s that the excitement over them extended into a whole lifestyle: to furniture, loft living, even cars. Well, surprise, or maybe you’ve noticed, vintage is back, big time, and again has become a lifestyle for some.

Let me tell you, Chestnut Hill shops and their owners are right there in front of this reflowering, as reported in this column over the past few months. Vintage fashions can be seen at Pink Peony in Erdenheim, Fashion Forward on the Hill and sometimes even at long-loved (usually conservative) Monkey Business.

Now, in a new shop at 8401 Germantown Avenue at the corner of Gravers Lane, True Vintage lives.

Owner Catherine Starr calls her shop a gallery, and this title covers a pastiche of vintage and almost-vintage clothing, art, furniture, handmade jewelry and decorating collectibles. Here in this light, square, lovely warm-white room in the corner of the building a sense of serenity lends charm to everything, making, for example, the flowered gown and the yellow cotton 1950’s dress in the window look especially desirable. The yellow dress is a size 4. Price, $85 in perfect condition. A good-looking French Provincial desk, looking genuinely antique, anchors the room at an angle in the corner opposite the door, and a painted French settee at the same angle in the center of the room positively exudes casual elegance.

Catherine loves her work, her shop, and the things she sells, and she has always loved this kind of thing from preteen years. Her interest took root one summer at the shore when, in a thrift store, she discovered the idea of vintage clothing. At 17 she began working there as a buyer. Her experience in the clothing field led her to open two shops in Florida, and later on, one in Chillicothe, Ohio, a small town not far from Cincinnati. She’s been selling vintage clothes for 30 years, and has even made garments from patterns she developed about 15 years ago that are still appropriate.

More recently, in her fast-moving career, she ran a shop in Manayunk. She closed that about two years ago, and after living away from Philadelphia for a while, came back. While working briefly for Marie Colette, Starr fell in love with Chestnut Hill because “it’s always so classy and nice, and it’s so pleasant to be in a neighborhood where you can walk to everything and get everything you need.” (Are you listening, Business Association?)

As we spoke, a customer joined the conversation to comment on the contemporary art on the walls and to tell us, with motherly pride, that her son, Joseph Duvall, presently has some work on display at the Woodmere Art Museum, which she had just been visiting. She thinks Woodmere is a wonderful museum and that the Local is a “cool newspaper.” Amen to that.

Now, about the art. The works on the walls present some interesting variety, attractively displayed. Central to the arrangement are two dark paintings of café interiors with people at a bar and in the background, impressionistic, just a bit reminiscent of Toulouse Lautrec or Degas without the high color. The Mt. Airy artist, Marci Abhau, calls these paintings, part of a series, “My Life Behind Bars.” Catherine enthusiastically announces that later, in July, she plans to hang a show made up entirely of Abhau’s works, which are, she says, happy, sad, funny and, I would add, sensitively done. Other art pieces included tile squares about 8” by 8” made with “raised” designs, and pastels on board by a Ukrainian artist named Liliana. These are mostly large faces in a flat contemporary style perfectly suited to a vintage-style living space.

The “back room” of the shop is packed with one-of-a-kind dresses, tops and lingerie. It’s all great fun to browse through, and it’s sure to lead you to something irresistible. On hand to help is Catherine’s friendly 13-year-old daughter, Savannah, who, anyone can see, will someday have a shop of her own. Hours, Tuesday – Sunday, noon to 6 p.m. or by appointment. Call 267-251-6493.