Thinking back over my childhood I have fond memories of digging through my mom’s belongings. I loved playing dress up and pretending to be an adult. I was fascinated with the colorful pieces, especially the shoes and purses. My mother had great taste in clothing, and she was very stylish. This is exactly the feeling that came over me as I was participating in a closet cleaning out of Avicia Thorpe. Upon making approximately five visits to the Thorpe estate and approximately 4 visits to the historical society we started to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Mrs. Thorpe lived to be 112, she was born in 1908. She had over 100 years of clothing and artifacts to share with the community at large. She was a prolific writer and some of her poems were sent to the White House during the Truman Administration, (1945-1953). As an educator myself, I appreciate the home library in Mrs. Thorpe’s home. The library consisted of wall-to-wall shelving of books, writings, and photographs. There were records and albums of the great jazz musicians, Louis Armstrong, Count Bassie, Ella Fitzgerald and so many others. These artifacts created a great picture of the life that was lived by Mrs. Thorpe and her family. One of the 11 most exciting times and eras in America History was the Jazz Age and Roaring Twenties. The Harlem Renaissance was an enlighten period for African American artist. During this time experimenting with dressing and frolicking around in fancy clothing was seen as chic and sophisticated. The style of dress and culture was changing at a rapid pace. The 1920s were years of rapid technological growth due to the second wave of the Industrial Revolution which spanned from 1850-1940. With the emergence of factories, the demand for fabrics and garments grew. Clothing and garments were made in mass production and were easier to purchase than before. The values of the American public were changing, as well as the roles of women. The role of women began to change after World War I and began to shift thereafter. Previously women wore long hair and ankle length dresses and long cotton stockings. After the war, women begin to experiment with more risky ways of dressing. Many women wore short tight-fitting dresses, rolled down their silk stockings and cut their hair in short boyish bobs and wore bright red lipstick. The Thorpe collection included lipstick, fragrances and silk tops, blouses and hats from the Roaring Twenties, which Ms. Thorpe would be twenty years old at this time. This was the beginning of the big industry of fashion as we know today in vintage retail. Most of the women who wore this style were considered worldly women and lived in larger cities and towns. The Roaring Twenties is one of the most requested fashion trends in vintage resale. The boutique offers fashions from this decade to including flapper dresses, colorful gingham wear, plaid, vertical stripes, Argyle sweaters, Fedoras, and Newsboy hats.
Mrs. Thorpe was admired and respected by many, even people who didn’t know her personally are intrigued by her story and the remarkable life she lived. I didn’t personally know Ms. Thorpe but I have developed a kindred spirit with her through her belongings. So, when I say the Thorpe Collection is like a dream come true, it is for the women in our community to appreciate fashion, vintage, and quality craftmanship. Some of the items and clothing are not in pristine condition, but that only adds more character to the pieces. Some of my favorite pieces included the styles of the sixties and seventies. The floral long maxi dresses that I imagined she wore to social gatherings and tea parties at church or during a sorority event. Her closet consisted of dresses with dusters and jackets, there were matching belts to most of the dresses. Another favorite of mine was the extensive blouse collection, I would say most of the blouses were worn during her teens and early adult years. She had a matching slip to match most of the blouses which were made of sheer material. I would estimate that the blouses date back to the forties and fifties. The Thorpe jewelry collection is the dream of any girl/woman who lives to accessorize. The jewelry ranged from beautiful bracelets with exquisite stones, bangle bracelets, diamond bling bracelets. The necklaces were as intriguing, she had an abundance of necklaces made of shells. She had over 500 pairs of vintage clip earrings. A broach collection that included over 100 pieces of beautiful pins. Mrs. Thorpe’s Collection will be on display and items will be for sale until all the items are gone. It has served the community and the boutique well to be able to honor such an extraordinary lady that lived for so many years. We at The Vintage Boutique were honored to be a part of this history making event. The relationships that I built with the staff at the Danville Historical Society is one that I will be indebted to too for helping the boutique to serve the people in the community.