Greta H.S. Timothy was in for a big surprise when she hit up downtown Phoenix for some shopping on a recent trip to the area’s finest vintage shops. She was so shocked, in fact, she cried out.
No one heard it, of course. Timothy is the latest in a new wave of apparitions to hit the downtown Phoenix scene. Populating (and haunting) restaurants, apartment complexes and shops, ghosts like Timothy have been getting quite the scare themselves, thanks to the duds found in some vintage stores.
“Hey, those are my clothes!” Timothy exclaimed.
She pointed out a sequined shift dress found at Antique Sugar Vintage.
“I wore that on a trip to New York in the 1920s,” Timothy said. “Boy, was that wild! Something straight out of ‘The Great Gatsby,’ I’m telling you.”
Timothy expressed discontent at the item’s selling price.
“The tag said $30,” she said. “$30? For that dazzling piece of sparkly, fringed fabric? I rubbed elbows with the rich and famous in that dress! It’s worth at least $100.”
Also on display was Timothy’s engagement ring, a vintage, two-carat diamond going for $20.
“The ring was better than the guy, you know what I’m saying?” Timothy said. “Still, I was a bit shocked to see my treasured clothing and accessories on display. At first I was annoyed, but now I only hope the future wearers of these pieces can do them justice.”
With vintage shops gaining attention and prevalence in the downtown area, ghosts are beginning to wonder if these new, “hip” fashionistas are just following a trend or are actually going to stick to the ghost fashion style.
“With all these young folk picking all my old styles, I need to stay ahead of the trend. Recently I’ve been trending toward a minimalistic approach that features simply a blank white sheet,” said Ella Weems, a resident of Pioneer and Military Memorial Park.
Samuel Inking, who was a passenger on the Titanic, recently found a pair of his sea-salt-washed denim jeans at Black N Blue. When asked about the new pricing of his jeans at $100, Inking was spooked.
“I remember when I bought those things for a nickel. This inflation would give me a heart attack,” Inking said. “I mean, if I had a heart.”
