Cocktail Dresses from a Bygone Era Get Another Whirl

Maryah--Photo courtesy of Uesa Goods Vintage

I was at that happy place, the H Street Temporium, Sunday after a friend emailed me a picture of a white beaded sheath and asked what I thought of it. “I’ll be right there,” I said, and hoofed it down in flip-flops.

Amid the varied and clever accessory offerings on display were racks of full-on glamour, crinoline, satin, silk, taffeta, beads, snakeskin and the formfitting flirty clothes that make little girls want  to be big girls in another world, with some ’70s funky stuff adding levity and freedom from form –did I see macrame white bell-bottoms or was that a ghost? I think you have to be 10 feet tall to look good in classic 70s apparel. Not so most other decades.

I have to say, in trying on late 50s cocktail dresses of organza-like materials in sea greens and swirly, lush blues, if I was able to zip it up, it overflowed in the bodice and shoulders, and if I couldn’t zip it up, it fit perfectly, otherwise. Sigh. There is nothing in vintage as satisfying as finding the perfect frock adorned with something special, something round or square or oval, something never-seen-before-in-your closet-or-that-of-any-friend’s, that was special to someone years ago, coupled with the affirmation from the sharp, almost suction sound of a zipper sailing up to closure without an inch to spare.

But that’s okay, because Uesa Robinson, purveyor of these fine frocks and owner of Uesa Goods Vintage has a robust inventory for sale through appointments at her SE Capitol Hill home.

This is great news if you want a dress for a party, a themed dinner event, a wedding, a cruise,  a night out in Paris or Poukeepsie, or an outfit to wear when you pick the kids up from school, of course.

Uesa’s (silent ‘a’) home boutique is by appointment only – email uesagoods@hotmail.com or call 202-258-5955 to schedule an appointment.

“I’ve been collecting and selling vintage for six years – initially part-time, but after a layoff due to downsize (at Merrill Lynch) I began to focus on my vintage, which is my passion,” Uesa told me. She also used to sell on weekends a the Eastern Market flea market a few years ago, but has since switched to a home-only based business, save for her brief time at the Temporium.

Uesa says on her website she got into the rack (of clothes) racket through an unusual acquaintance after a moment of impulse.

“I’d responded to an ad in the Washington Post stating tons of designer clothing for sale. The seller was a stunning 70+ year old lady whose basement had racks and racks of clothes,” Uesa states.  “Turns out, she was a lingerie model in the 50’s AND she was also selling clothes that had belonged to her mother. They were absolutely beautiful.”

Uesa started buying more vintage pieces at estate sales and cultivating clients with her polka-dotted orange frocks, Mad Men-style cocktail dresses for the Joans, Bettys and Peggys among you, long sheathes  patterned with beaded orange flowers, rainbow-dyed python snakeskin heeled loafers (which I bought), liquid-pink Jackie-O full coverage day dresses and serious  party dresses with a lot of heft in the skirt.

Uesa sends a portion of the proceeds from the sale of her clothes to an organization in Kenya for the purchase of school uniforms for underprivileged children, so your vintage buys go a long way into the past–and into the future.