JoAnna Lombardi takes her popular vintage shop to a higher
level with a chic new space in Washington’s Bryan Plaza.
Truly a hidden gem, after 12 years on River Road, Grape in the Shade has moved to a new location in the center of Washington Depot. This vintage shop is everybody’s favorite. It’s a fashion lover’s paradise. No wonder it has been named “The Best Vintage Shop in Connecticut” by Connecticut magazine 2 years in a row. In its prime spot across from Town Hall, the shop is decked out in a black and white theme, perfectly showcasing the vast collection of jewelry, hats, glasses, purses, shoes, and clothes. Even the music playing in the background is great.
JoAnna Lombardi, the owner of The Grape, is passionate about fashion. Years ago, she turned this personal interest into a business. Now she is an expert, holding a wealth of information when it comes to the backgrounds and history of the fabulous array of accessories and clothes in her shop.
Most of her dresses and jewelry come from private collections. Because of this, she gets the personal stories from fashion designers and models, artists and collectors. She knows which pieces were custom-made for a particular model for a runway show to accompany a certain outfit, never making it to market. This adds value to the jewelry, making it a one-of-a-kind creation. She has a tray of unsigned pieces by well-known designers, like Yves St. Laurent. Being called in to view a private closet is what she does best. She knows what is good quality, what is a copy and what sells.
She knows her stuff, and if you ask a question about an item, don’t be surprised if she pulls out a book about that designer, manufacturer, specific materials used, or the year of that particular style and engages you in a brief history of the piece. Or she might describe the labor-intensive detail put into a piece of jewelry made by hand-crafters, nothing like the mass-produced items being made these days. Yves St. Laurent, Miriam Haskell, Stanley Hagler, and Bakelite are just a few of the big names that she has collected over the years. Her enthusiasm for the details of each item is infectious.
One of our favorite stories is about a gorgeous pin sitting in a display case. In 1956, the designer Christian Dior died choking on a fishbone. At the time, a young designer named Yves St. Laurent was working as an apprentice at the Dior House. As he worked his way up, in the ’60s, Yves asked Polly Mellen (stylist and fashion editor for more than 60 years at Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue) to wear something of his to Fashion Week, but she was already wearing a green crushed velvet dress by Halston. “Make me a piece of jewelry and I’ll wear it,” she said. So he designed her a beautiful pin which she wore over the green dress. This one-of-a-kind pin is now in JoAnna’s trove available to be purchased. Like many of her pieces, it should really be on display at The Costume Institute at The Met. Whether it’s about the evolution of earrings from screwbacks to clips (because of working women unscrewing their earrings every time they needed to use the phone) or the foods that Mr. Bakelaand used to name the colors of his Bakelite bracelets (applesauce, peasoup, butterscotch, cherry), JoAnna is an endless source for the history of fashion.
The Grape’s customers range from local residents, to weekenders, to New Yorkers visiting the area. Every once in a while, JoAnna gets visits from movie stars and TV stars, like local residents Christine Baranski (The Good Wife), Candace Bushnell (creator of Sex in the City), or fashion icon, Polly Mellon; or from Calvin Klein or Betsy Johnson scouts. Sarah Jessica Parker wore one of The Grape’s dresses in the famous auction scene in the first Sex in the City movie. These pros know that the items in The Grape are the real thing.
Even if you don’t usually wear vintage jewelry or clothes, you’ll be surprised at the wide selection of styles and sizes, and prices to choose from. Some items are instantly recognizable as vintage and others aren’t. You’ll find dresses that are perfect for a special occasion, earrings for every day, or a hat for that Mad Men party coming up at the Mayflower Inn. In fact, JoAnna provided the outfits and accessories for many of the lovely ladies who attended the Downton Abbey event and the Great Gatsby party at the Mayflower this past spring.
Fashion lovers, head over to The Grape. You will be dazzled by the light and you probably won’t leave empty-handed.
Grape in the Shade, 3 Bryan Plaza in Washington Depot
860.868.9119 or www.facebook.com/GrapeInTheShade
