Poor Little Rich Girl is a treasure chest of vintage finds

    Poor Little Rich Girl, a vintage store located in College Park 

It takes a rebellious soul to think outside of the walls of Lenox Mall and Phipps Plaza, but Wintter Alex, co-owner of Poor Little Rich Girl, is just that. Alex and partner Mia Moto opened the vintage clothing store that is a montage of the 1920's -1980's fashion. Poets, musicians and fashionistas flock to PLRG to take part in tea room modeling and live music that add to new age hippy atmosphere. For Alex and Moto their vintage store is a place where the super cool can enjoy fashion at it's most eclectic.

On a sunny Monday afternoon Moto is wearing natural hair in a upswept mohawk, tan pleated shorts, a white vintage jacket and chandelier earrings. Alex is just as funky in a pair of overalls, white scarf around her neck, and tan lace up boots. They look like they just stepped out of the East Village in Manhattan, but they are in the heart of historic College Park. The pair decided to open the store in January of 2008, because they felt it was time launch a project that appealed to their personal sensibilities.

    

"I love fashion and style and wanted to put it together on a lower price point," Alex said. "We take designer looks from YSL and Oscar de La Renta and gearing toward a certain budget."

All of the clothing in store comes from old Hollywood movie sets. Alex's family is in the independent film industry. she works closely with The System Within Film Production Company and what the company doesn't use they pass to Alex. The arrangement gives her access to piles of stylish vintage items and the inventory stays fresh with new shipments of clothes every week. The two women scour fashion magazines, especially Harper's Bazaar, for designer looks that work with vintage lovers who frequent their boutique.

A shoe display sits in a corner of the store 

A basket of fashion magazines sits on the floor between a chaise lounge and two tea room chairs. Collages of magazine cutouts decorate the walls. The store is a cross between a sitting room and the closet of a boudoir. Serious vintage shoppers can find a mountain of colorful silk scarves, high waisted pants in almost every color, pleated shorts, colorful maxi dresses and a plethora of shoes.

"The process to choosing what goes in the store is style, cuteness, quality, uniqueness and authenticity," Alex said. "Authenticity, quality and style are the most important."

Though vintage stores are not as popular in Atlanta as in Chicago and NY, but Alex and Moto believe people will catch on. They carry designer items, but suggest many of the items are best worn by someone creative with an independent sense of style. The goal is to entice Atlantans with finds that are a little outside of the norm.

"We carry designer clothes, it's just circa 1950 or 1975," Moto says pointing out a pair of vintage Ferragamo heels and a vintage Oscar De La Renta skirt. "What's great about vintage is you can mix and match it with designer clothes. People have to understand fashion is cyclic, so things are going to come back around again."

A chaise lounge surrounded by racks of vintage finds 

Alex and Moto understand the concept of cyclic fashion and packed the store with high waisted slacks, wide leg pants in multiple colors, and boyfriend jeans. Among many of the items is a pair of coveted vintage Oscar de La Renta oversized sunglasses reminiscent of movie stars in the 60's and 70's. The dressing rooms are made of drapes hung from the ceiling by chains and in each room is a collage of magazine photos to inspire their customers.

"You don't know how many pieces we've sold because people walk into the dressing room and saw a photo and said 'I didn't know I could do that with this' so they ask for a belt or vest like the one in the photo," Alex says. "It helps people realize the potential of the clothes."

The experience is like walking into a treasure chest and it's easy to see how someone could spend hours trying on jewelry, beaded dresses and shoes.

"Poor Little Rich Girl is a visionary store," Alex said. "You can take each piece for what it is. You have to look past the obvious."