Vintage is in the eye of the beholder.
Lovers of vintage clothing, jewelry, shoes, fabric and more found something to suit their fancy at a vintage sale and fundraiser for Center Stage in Evergreen June 11-12. The wares were from the theater’s costume department and from donations, with proceeds going into the fund for repairs and improvements to the historic building.
The sale was successful, according to Amy Bergevin, a costume manager for the theater, raising $2,800 for Center Stage’s building fund.
“And more importantly,” she added, “I believe we made some new friends in the community.”
The night before the weekend sale, volunteers set up the racks of clothing — lacy dresses, skirts and sweaters of all kinds — plus shoes, costume jewelry and clothing patterns in the theater lobby. The “oddments” table had a mishmash of items such as an old clock, posters and hat boxes while the “wounded birds” rack had clothing that while still beautiful needed some TLC in the form of a seamstress to make repairs.
Some outfits were labeled “Best of Broadway” and tagged with different prices.
Bergevin and Linda Bolinger, who also manages the costume rooms, explained that the clothing racks had been overflowing and needed to be purged. In addition, Bergevin is a vintage clothing collector, and she wanted to lighten some of her collection.
“When I started wearing vintage clothing, it was from the 1940s and 1950s,” Bergevin said. “Now people consider 1980s clothing to be vintage.”
When the volunteers were asked what their favorite vintage piece in the sale was, Marilyn Herrs, the Evergreen Players’ volunteer coordinator, responded, “Can you pick your favorite child?”
Pat Haley sorted the necklaces, bracelets, pins and earrings, noting that she was surprised at the amount of jewelry available for sale.
Bergevin said she wanted the money to go to the building fund because she loves the theater. Center Stage on Fireweed Drive was built in 1924 as part of the Episcopal Conference Center, and Evergreen Chorale — now called Ovation West — began using the building in 1972, purchasing it in 1991.
“Hopefully we will find people who will love this (vintage clothing) as well,” Bergevin added.
