AN OLD-FASHION GIRL...Thursday, January 25,2001
By LIBBY CALLAWAY
Don't have time to seek out a gotta-have-Peasant blouse from Yves Saint Laurent's famous winter 77' Collection ? Milan Tainan does- and she will, for a fee. Tainan, a longtime retro clothing aficionado runs a vintage personal shopping business in NYC's East Village.
Most clients come to her with requests for specific pieces of clothing- a 1930's rhinestone encrusted Flapper dress, a fur lined raw silk coat circa 1960, a turn-of-the-century wool bolero jacket...
Tainan says most customers know exactly what they want;
they just don't have the time to hunt.
"Most people have a specific look in mind," she says. "For
instance, I'll have a woman call looking for a '40s suit,
who'll say, 'I want a fitted waist, a knee-length skirt . . .'
They usually know what they're looking for."
One client is a well-heeled Larchmont woman with a
penchant for Pucci, the psychedelic Italian label.
"Some people would assume from her background she'd
have all the time in the world to shop," Tainan says. "But
actually, she's a doctor. Her husband is a plastic surgeon,
and she has three teenage sons. She's very busy."
Tainan keeps exact measurements of each client on file.
She also tries to meet them, or at least get a photo if they
don't have time.
"When I shop for orders, I take a lot of things into
account," says Tainan, a natural beauty whose heritage
mixes Chinese, American Indian, Spanish and Italian.
"I consider what the client is looking for, of course, and
their measurements, their tastes, their hair and eye color,
their standards, their lifestyle - everything."
Tainan, who buys from many sources - vintage stores, flea
markets and private dealers located around the world -
started her vintage business about 10 years ago as a
part-time job while she bartended and pursed an acting
career. She's been a vintage collector for over 21 years...but don't dare ask her how old she is !
Friends began asking her to conduct searches for them. Via
word of mouth and networking with other vintage dealers,
a career was born.
Since Tainan launched a Web site six months ago, her
clientele has grown from Tri-State to international. One
woman offered to fly her to England to search for a specific
vintage piece.
"Now that half of Hollywood is dressing in vintage and
other people can pick up a magazine and read about how
hot it is, things are changing," Tainan says. "As it becomes
more mainstream, the availability drops. And when the
resources are exhausted, prices go up."
She reaps a profit by charging a retail price for her
flea-market finds and adding a research fee of $50 to $75
an hour to the price. Tainan also offers vintage items
retail at her Web site.
Money aside, Tainan says the best part about her job is
that it makes her happy.
"I'm providing a service while doing something I love.
That's something that's really special," she says. "But of
course, if someone says, 'Hey, you look great,' it's nice if
they tell them where they got it."
