Daisy Shop does the glamorous side of vintage

Oscar de la Renta navy velvet sheath dress

Entering Daisy Shop on Oak Street is not for the faint of heart. First of all, it’s on the sixth floor and the elevator is glacially sluggish, so your ticker will be put to the test should you, thinking about your limited lunch hour and impending bikini season, cave and take the stairs. Upon entering, you must gaze upon vintage couture items from Oscar de la Renta, La Mendola and Saks Fifth Avenue, whilst your blood pressure soars. Then, if you happen to be a penniless writer or pathetic young person of similar standing with a substance abuse problem of the apparel nature, you must bite your lip and walk away, heartbroken at the state of your bank account. However, you won’t be leaving empty-handed. You will have met Barbara Nell.

Barbara knows couture like a calculus professor knows remedial math. Her couture resale shop opened in June of 1995, at a time when vintage did not exist. According to Barbara, many felt that vintage garments were “old crap;” interest in resale was only for current styles. The couture resale market in Chicago was virgin frontier, so Barbara stocked her store with both. To her mind (and to mine), who cares if an Oscar de la Renta is four years old or 10? It’s still Oscar de la Renta.

It was in 2001 when vintage finally got the recognition it deserved and the Daisy Shop got its break. Julia Roberts swanned in to the 73rd Academy Awards wearing a stunning black and white Valentino – even her gilded Oscar was attired with less glamour. Back in Chicago, Barbara was at an Oscar soiree of her own. When Julia floated onto the red carpet, rendering the spectators speechless with awe, Barbara simply pointed at the television and exclaimed “VINTAGE!” – already light-years ahead of both Julia and the onlookers. Demand for the stuff soared, with good reason, and hasn’t ebbed since. The same goes for Daisy Shop.

Though all of the couture in Daisy Shop is resale, at the moment only about 20 percent is “vintage”, or 30 years and older. This number fluctuates, but the high demand remains the same, particularly for the oft-requested Chanel. The other 80 percent is less than four years old – anything between five and 29 years is considered passé. Among the vintage gems are a Saks Fifth Avenue silver brocade coat and matching dress and a La Mendola silk chiffon and silk jersey gown (pictured above), examples of Barbara's careful selection.

Like the Art Institute or Metropolitan Museum, items are flown in from all over the globe in the hopes of having a place in the collection. Today, a box full of goodies from Hong Kong will be sent back, not having made Barbara’s cut. However, with parcels coming in from literally the world-over, the stock size is nothing to sniff at.

Though all manner of shoppers come to Barbara’s store, from regulars to what she calls “hunters” and “gatherers,” all come with couture in mind, while desire for designers comes in waves. Lately, clients have been hungry for Madame Grès, Pauline Trigere and Miriam Haskell, and hopefully their appetite for resale won’t be waning anytime soon.

If you’re feeling hesitant about those six flights of stairs, all of Barbara’s merchandise is catalogued on her website, daisyshop.com, so you can see exactly what you’re missing. Weak heart or no, I recommend stopping by. These couture items are nothing short of an investment. And if you can’t seem to stretch your budget far enough, you’ll at least get to ogle cardiac-accelerating couture – and chat with Barbara.

Daisy Shop, 67 East Oak Street, Sixth Floor, 312.943.8880

For more info: Visit www.daisyshop.com