Here are some of my favorite places to shop:
Online
Augusta Auctions
www.augusta-auction.com
Augusta Auctions is a company that collects antique clothing and textiles and auctions them off to the public. They do offer phone/internet proxy bidding, but mostly I visit their site and click on “Past Sales Results” to look at archived photo galleries from all the past auctions. They have pieces from around the world and from many different eras. They have only published one printed catalog, the Tasha Tudor collection. It is an amazing resource; it has a huge quantity of photos of early 19th century men’s and women’s garments, especially 1830s and 40s dresses. Augusta holds most of their auctions in New York City.
Dark Garden Unique Corsetry
www.DarkGarden.com
Dark Garden makes some of the most beautiful and well-made corsets out there. They have a small selection of off-the-rack corsets that you can buy at their shop in San Francisco (where all their corsets are made), a slightly larger selection of made-to-order corsets that can be ordered in person or through their website, and a virtually unlimited selection of custom corsets (if you can dream it, they can make it). While their corsets are not cheap, they are priced commensurate to their quality.
Equilter
www.equilter.com
Equilter is a new site to me; it was introduced by a friend who loves it. It carries mostly quilt-weight cottons and has an excellent selection of prints at reasonable prices. They have a great swatchboard option: save virtual fabric swatches to your swatchboard, and look at them together.
Gentleman’s Emporium
www.gentlemansemporium.com
Despite the name, Gentleman’s Emporium does, in fact, carry many items for women. They sell historically inspired clothing and hats from various eras. Their products are reasonably priced. You should expect the quality of the items to be far above what you’d find in most commercial costume retailers but not as good as custom made garments. G.E. is located in San Jose, CA.
Lacis
www.lacis.com
Lacis is both a bricks and mortar and online store. They have a great selection of books, corset supplies, embroidery supplies, purse-making supplies, and a whole lot more. They are definitely worth a visit if you are ever in Berkeley, CA.
Lost Coast Historical Patterns and Costume Supplies
www.lostcoastpatterns.com/store
Lost Coast is primarily a historical pattern retailer but they also carry a pretty good selection of corset supplies and tools as well as costume history books. They also have a small selection of men’s and women’s hats and hairpieces. They are located in Fort Bragg, CA but do not have a physical store.
M & J Trimming Company
www.mjtrim.com
M & J carries an AMAZING array of trims, buttons, notions, and so much more. It’s worth it to look around their site just to drool. If you ever make it to New York City, I highly recommend visiting their bricks and mortar store.
Ruby Blackbird Handmade
shop.rubyblackbird.com
Ruby Blackbird makes gorgeous vintage-inspired jewelry. My favorites are the corset buttons. They snap over the busk of your corset to hide the busk rings. She’ll even make custom sets for you. Ruby Blackbird Handmade is based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Sew True
sewtrue.com
Sew True carries a wonderful selection of sewing supplies. They have everything from industrial and domestic sewing machines and sergers, to dress forms, to hams and clappers, to interfacing, to buttons and thread. They are one of a very few sites that carries an excellent variety of curved rulers. They also have YKK zippers. Sew True is located in New York City.
SewZanne’s Fabrics
www.sewzannesfabrics.com
SewZanne’s is a children’s fabric store. They have a wide selection of knits and wovens in fun colors and prints. They have fold-over elastic in many colors (very hard to find). They also carry PUL laminated fabrics and some eco-friendly stuff. They ship from Sebastopol, CA.
Thai Silks
www.thaisilks.com
Thai Silks has a huge selection of every kind of silk you could imagine. They will send you a free catalog and will mail you fabric samples for a small fee. They have really great prices because they order direct from the manufacturers. They are located in Los Altos, CA where they also have a physical retail store.
Wazoodle
www.wazoodle.com
Wazoodle is also new to me. They have a good selection of fabric including eco-friendly fabrics. They carry a lot of diaper-making fabrics and supplies. Wazoodle is based in Toronto, Canada and does ship to the U.S.
We Love Colors
www.welovecolors.com
I love We Love Colors (even though they don’t sell fabric). They have a great selection of tights in every color and pattern you could imagine. They also carry hard-to-find plus sizes. I have a couple pairs that I’ve worn and washed a few times each and they are still run-free. They are located in Miami, FL.
Bricks and Mortar
Alameda, CA
Needle in a Haystack (1734 Clement Street) – Needle in a Haystack has moved to a new location as of mid-July 2010; they are still in Alameda and the new store has much better parking. They carry all your embroidery needs.
Ashland, OR
Fabric of Vision (145 East Main Street) – a wonderful small store specializing in apparel and quilting fabrics, with lovely ribbons and trims, and a small stock of apparel-based notions. The staff is helpful and knowledgeable.
Quiltz (53 North Second Street) – specializes in quilting supplies; has a HUGE inventory of printed cottons and a very nice selection of all kinds of notions, including buttons and dyes.
Berkeley, CA
Discount Fabrics (3006 San Pablo Avenue) – great prices; fun fabrics; selection is catch-as-catch-can
Lacis Museum of Lace and Textiles & Retail Store (2982 Adeline Street) – drool-worthy; lace, vintage stuff, corset supplies, embroidery supplies, books, the list goes on; they have a grommeting machine customers can use for a fee
Stone Mountain and Daughter (2518 Shattuck Avenue) – great fabric store; good variety and prices
El Cerrito, CA
Exclusive Buttons (10252 San Pablo Avenue) – buttons, buttons, and more buttons; really, there are a LOT of buttons
Fairfax, CA
Rainbow Fabrics (50 Bolinas Road) – a unique little shop with lots of personality
Los Altos, CA
Thai Silks (252 State Street) – every kind of silk under the sun
Oakland, CA
Piedmont Fabric (3858 Piedmont Avenue) – I hear great things, I can’t wait to visit
Silk Road (272 14th Street) – very nice selection of fabrics; lots of silks; poor customer service
Petaluma, CA
Petaluma Textile and Design (125 Washington Street) – A modest supply of home dec fabrics and trims
Quilted Angel (200 G Street) – Quilt-weight cottons; huge variety
Stitch Craft (133 Kentucky Street) – Small supply of fabrics and notions
Summer Cottage Antiques (153 Kentucky Street) – Nice selection of vintage buttons; some vintage textiles and trims
San Francisco, CA
Britex Fabrics (146 Geary Street) – the mother of all fabric stores; huge, 4 stories, amazing selection and incredibly expensive
Discount Fabrics (2 locations: 201 11th Street and 2315 Irving Street) – the location on 11th is their main store and has the largest selection. They have great prices and carry a wide range of fabrics including high-end wools and silks.
Fabric Outlet (2109 Mission Street) – is like a little sister to Discount Fabrics with not quite as much of the high-end fabrics but they carry a much bigger selection of notions. Their prices are great and they are always running sales. It pays to get on their mailing list.
Fabrix (101 Clement Street) – very similar to Discount Fabrics and Fabric Outlet but really small so their variety is limited; they do have amazing prices and the last time I was there they had a big selection of gorgeous wools and awesome lace and beaded trims.
Mendel’s/Far-Out Fabrics (1556 Haight Street) – love the fun fur; this store is true to its name
Peapod Fabrics (1314 18th Avenue) – looking forward to visiting this new find
Satin Moon (32 Clement Street) – they’ve been around since 1972 and know all there is to know about silks and special occasion fabrics. If you’re making your own wedding dress, this is the place you’ll find the fabric. They are much nicer than the people at Britex and have better prices but expect to drop a chunk of change; the quality of the goods they carry does not come cheap.
San Rafael, CA
Dharma Trading Company (1604 4th Street) – specializes in dyes and dyeable fabrics; great selection and customer service
Santa Rosa, CA
Village Sewing Center (210 Coddingtown Mall) – primarily a sewing machine store, they also have a large selection of fabric
Sebastopol, CA
The Legacy (781 Gravenstein Highway South) – a non-profit retail sewing and craft thrift store. They carry fabric, yarn, embroidery supplies, hand-made gift items and more. Sometimes you can find great stuff
New York City, NY
M & J Trimming (1008 Avenue of the Americas)
Didn’t see your favorite? Email me and I’ll add it!
sarah@sarahbeata.net
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