THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 1, 1994 TAG: 9412010032
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MONIQUE WILLIAMS, SPECIAL TO THE DAILY BREAK
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
RICHARD MORTON doesn't hesitate to flip a garment inside out to make a point.
``They just don't make them the way they used to,'' he says of the fine art of tailoring.
The 39-year-old New York transplant who's been the visual merchandiser for Hampton Roads' largest department stores - Miller & Rhoads, Thalhimers, Uptons, Proffitts and The Limited - is finally putting his signature on a boutique.
``I am living a dream,'' he says of his decision to branch out on his own. ``I felt that it was time to have my own business.''
Threads & Co. opened recently in the Ghent section of Norfolk with merchandise that has little or no resemblance to what's found in department stores.
``I know how to put on a show,'' says the man whose credits include costuming for the Commonwealth Musical Stage and the Founder's Inn. ``I am a performer essentially; the stage is my store.''
On his stage, Morton has assembled an intriguing cast of players: clothes that have performed once but are longing for an encore - vintage clothing.
If your notion of vintage is dusty, smelly, old frocks, well, forget it. This vintage is neither dusty nor smelly. It's vintage with a twist. Vintage that has never been worn, or that has been redesigned with satin trims and reshaped to fit contemporary dressing.
``These clothes are like people,'' he says, ``They have character and just like people, they have character flaws.''
And with designers like Donna Karan and Ralph Lauren reproducing '30s and '40s styles, Morton feels he is in good company.
Much of Morton's inventory consists of herringbone, tweed, tic weave and houndstooth men's jackets that are modified.
Every designer is doing a reproduction of something,'' he says, ``and what I am doing is creating a new form from classic silhouettes.''
The result is decidedly distinctive.
A grey tweed jacket is suddenly a vest with red silk tie piping or unmatched tie pocket flaps. Once a men's jacket, a cinched-at-the- waist herringbone jacket detailed with velvet and silk is now a woman's cropped jacket.
Tyrolean jackets from the '40s and '50s sit beside '30s art deco ties and '60s suspenders - some of which come from Morton's own private collection of ties from that period.
``It's the history that has the appeal,'' he says of his penchant to collect period pieces.
And it's that same attraction that makes shoppers take a close look at his merchandise.
Not everyone, of course, finds vintage clothing appealing, but those who do are usually passionate about it. They collect pieces and go store to store to find that one-of-a-kind '40s bias cut dress or - a rarity - an all-cashmere coat.
People who come to his store, says Morton, ``want to be distinctive and are artistic. They are attracted to the fact that it is different.''
In a market saturated with cookie-cutter merchandise, Morton, isn't afraid to stand out.
He feels that his prices (most below $100) and his plans of offering custom-made vintage reproductions will allow him to outsmart an uncertain retail climate. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by TAMARA VONINSKI
Richard Morton is the proprietor of Threads & Co., the new vintage
clothing store on Colley Avenue.
by CNB