Avant Garden
Portland, OR 97214
Phone: (503) 283-4184
09/17/2007 Posted by travelerx
With a wide selection of stylish vintage and retro clothing, plus various other unique knicknacks this is a very fun shop. Their slogan Bitchin' Kitsch and Counter Couture definitely applies. I found an over the top, 70's tuxedo with white pants and a crazy patterned light blue and white jacket with frilly fronted shirt that is totally pimp. There's also an interesting selection of crazy Thai movie posters, some being particularly gruesome and cool Cultural Revolution Mao memorabilia (posters, clocks, pins). Jason and Andrea are both very knowledgeable and helpful. Being in a shopping deadzone (look on the map for SE Portland in the last Willamette Week finder to see what I mean), they open later in the day (rarely are they open before noon) and often stay open late into the night (sometimes past midnight on the weekends) to match the influx of the restaraunt and bar crowd. They live upstairs, so if the shop is open but locked, a phone call to the number on the door will send them down. Due to the irregularity of their business hours, I strongly recommend calling in advance if you specifically want to shop there, or try to get the number from the door (which is their cell, not the number listed here) and schedule an appointment. Sort of a pain, but I found the treasures within well worth the effort.
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