From Buttons to Beads: My First Vintage Score at Royal Tees

In high school I stumbled into what would become a lifelong love of vintage fashion thanks to a quirky little shop called Royal Tees on New York Avenue in Huntington NY.

Royal Tees was a chaotic mix of 90s culture before it was considered vintage. The front of the store sold band tees and Pokémon cards. But the real magic was in the back room. That’s where I worked sewing buttons on shirts and spot cleaning secondhand pieces that were being prepped for sale.

My boss had a great eye for fashion history but not much of a business sense. He stopped paying rent on the back room and the vintage stock sat there abandoned for months. It became my playground. I had first dibs on anything that hadn’t made it out to the racks. Somewhere between dusting off suede jackets and untangling beadwork I started building my own collection.

One of my favorite finds from that time is a seed beaded blouse from the 1940s. It’s handmade with incredible embroidery and lined with a silk-like fabric. I wore it once to a school event and then carefully tucked it away. I found it in 1996 and I’ve held onto it ever since.

Now I’m offering it in my Etsy shop. It’s one of those rare pieces with a story and a soul. If you’re into unique vintage that carries a little history this one’s for you.

See it here: adesignerexplains.etsy.com