Dallas Vintage Shop

When I first walked through the door of the Dallas Vintage Shop, I thought I’d stumbled into a costume shop for professional theater staffers and the like, filled from ceiling to floor with endless possibilities and everything I’ve ever needed or wanted to become anyone or anything I’d ever imagined. It’s an absolute dream (or nightmare, depending on your mood) closet for your costume party or social event of the year.

I walked around the shop with my mouth gaping open at the unbelievable inventory–a visual overload! Everywhere you look there are gorgeous pieces such as disco pants that look straight from the set of Boogie Nights, sexy satin flappers in every color you can imagine, gothic witches and warlocks and spats-clad steam-punk looks you could die for. Some of the ensembles are even custom-made; Dallas Vintage has an in-house seamstress that is a whiz at what she does and looked to be happily chained to her sewing room seat.

Every garment is organized by decade from the early 1900s to the future, and they’ve got every sort of accessory, prop, and accoutrement (drawers, rooms, and cases full!) that you’ll need to finish off your look to a tee.

Dallas Vintage Shop has always been located in Plano, but it started out in 2000 as Treasure Box, a thrift store. But as the donations continued to pour in and the stock of unusual items started to grow, so did its clientele. What shoppers were looking for shifted from everyday attire to the more unusual, hard-to-find looks.

Most people know that the best place to look for the perfect geeky blazer and glaringly off-putting golf pants for a costume party is your local thrift store. However, since transforming from a second-hand shop to the coolest vintage costume shop ever, the stakes have gone up considerably. Dallas Vintage Shop owner Jerry Purvis has answered that call by traveling the world in search of the most unique fabrics, props, garments and oddities for the store, and if he can’t buy it, he’ll take a photo, source it and reproduce it himself.

I asked him who his primary clients were and Jerry said, “We dress everyone, from socialites going to the biggest event of the year to kids looking for the perfect Ben Franklin costume for their 5th grade history production. If they need it, we’ve got it.” He’s had clients fly in from all over the world looking for the most outrageous, off-the-chain, movie-quality threads because they heard he had the goods–and he does.

Living and working in Plano for decades now, Jerry has met, dressed and become closely acquainted with some of the most interesting people in DFW. He says, “Getting to know my clients and helping them transform into their TV, movie, celebrity and history-inspired character is still my favorite part of the biz.”

For your next dress-up occasion, perhaps you already know exactly what you’re looking for and you’re an ace at pulling together a head-to-toe look. But maybe you require a little assistance in creating your look. Whatever the case, Jerry and his team are ready to dress, prop, accessorize and zhoozh up your perfect costume. They don’t rent out anything; everything is for sale. It’s yours to keep. Dallas Vintage Shop has dressed people for $200 dollars up to $2,000. From red carpet affairs to Burning Man, they have exactly what you’re looking for simply because they have EVERYTHING.