Danbury shop owner Barbara Levitt 
collects old clothes and good stories

It's much more personal than the mall

Vintage clothes shopping is a tad more personal than going to the mall for a one-of-a-million sundress. Shopping for one-in-a-million style instead attracts those with big ideas and big personalities — people like Upscale Downtown owner Barbara Levitt, who carries an unrivaled selection of fashions from the ’30s through the ’70s.

The downtown Danbury shop recently celebrated its third anniversary, a lifetime compared to the gasping span between when the “Grand Opening” and “Going Out of Business” banners are unfurled at most independent boutiques.

It’s hard to resist the flash-from-the-past selection of shoes, dresses, beads and sequins that beckons from the shop’s windows. Inside is also an eye-popping array of jewelry, designer items, redesigned eco-chic clothing and, oh, the hats.

On recent visits, the shop has boasted a glorious red plume-covered cloche and several delicate veiled numbers. Set amid the toppers are boxes and memorabilia from Danbury’s past as millinery superpower. Levitt knows quite a bit about Danbury’s history as the “Hat City.” If shoppers seem truly interested, she suggests that they visit the Danbury Museum and Historical Society.

Other treasures amid the wares at the shop include an unworn pair of Christian Louboutin spectator pumps, a wristwatch featuring Chairman Mao and a rack of recently acquired vintage cocktail dresses that was nearly impossible to ignore.

The secret to the shop’s success is Levitt‘s dual passion for people and fashion. As much the shop‘s hostess as its owner, she is a natural networker who chats up everyone who walks in and finds a connection with each, whether geographic, idealistic or stylistic. She invites customers out to interesting events or to eat lunch with her. “I can find a hundred things to talk to people about” she says. “I love people. That’s why I’m here.”

It’s her strength as a people person that nets her most of the store’s stock. She constantly has a friend of a friend calling to consign an attic full of treasures they just happened upon or a rack of furs they need to part with. All of her wares come from consigners. She works with about 600 of them. “People are always getting rid of this stuff,” she says.

Upscale Downtown’s clients range from the homeless to a stylist for “Sex and the City.” Transvestites enjoy the store’s flashier offerings.

The shop fosters a familial feeling. Levitt says, “People that come in here treat it like an old-fashioned European salon, a place where you come in, sit down, have a cup of tea — which I will make you — and talk.“ Sometimes, she’ll even give visitors a job to do while chatting — sorting jewelry, matching shoes or other busywork.

Levitt, retired from over 20 years in education, has a lifelong love of “bargain shopping” instilled at an early age by her mother during her childhood in Brooklyn.

The charm of shopping at Upscale Downtown is that it‘s personal. Levitt’s favorite things are sprinkled throughout the store. Ask about her mother’s tiny maternity dresses that hang in the fitting room or her collection of vintage handkerchiefs and she’ll amaze you with stories about her past.

And she’s not the only one with tales. “Vintage often comes with its own stories,” says Levitt. A consigner of a wedding dress may want to impart a tale of marital bliss or woe. Grandchildren recall the departed nanas who owned the smart skirt suits they are selling, while others share stories of mysterious trunks of booty unearthed in long-forgotten attic corners.

Levitt loves their stories as much as their spoils. “This makes me think of my childhood,” she says dreamily.

Upscale Downtown is at 262 Main St. in Danbury and is open Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The store validates parking in the Library Place Garage and stocks clothing in sizes zero through 5. Visit them at www.upscaledowntown.net or call (203) 730-0005.

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