I stumbled upon Most Everything Vintage in early January. I was scheduled to meet up with Harriet Anati (owner of Tulle on Lace), at Compass Coffee in Vancouver, WA, to discuss featuring her on my blog in February. Since Harriet was running fashionably late, I decided to stand outside and wait for her. I was pacing back and forth, when the display in a nearby storefront window caught my eye. I have to describe what happened next like this…Do you remember the opening credits of A Christmas Story, when Ralphie and his friends are glued to the Higbee’s department store window? That was seriously me, until Alisa invited me inside.
Upon entering Most Everything Vintage, I found it difficult to contain my excitement and wonder. I knew immediately I’d stumbled upon something special. I’d finally found the vintage boutique of my dreams!! Until I found Most Everything Vintage , I didn’t think a boutique filled with items from my favorite eras in history existed. It was a lot for me process!
Over the next few months, trips to Most Everything Vintage became part of my weekend routine. It’s still hard for me to wrap my head around owning pieces of fashion history. I can’t count how many times I’ve said a piece “belongs in the Costume Institute at the MET ” before purchasing it and taking it home.
This month I’m so excited to introduce you to the owner of my favorite vintage boutique, Alisa Powell Tetreault! I can’t begin to tell you how much I’ve enjoyed getting to know her over the past few months. I always look forward to our conversations about new pieces she’s found, garments she’s enhancing or projects she has planned in the months to come. Her passion for her business and vintage is truly inspiring.
Tells us about yourself
I grew up in the small town of Scappoose,Oregon, with my parents and three brothers. The best way to describe my parents is to say my mother is a combination of Martha Stewart and Laura Ingles and my father is McGyver. My father was an architect by trade. He built our house, barns and tree houses. We lived on three and a half acres, raised our own animals and grew our own fruits and vegetables. My mother was a nurse but when she wasn’t working she cooked everything from scratch, painted and sewed. My mother was an amazing seamstress, she sewed all of our clothes growing up. We spent much of my childhood years in fabric stores looking in pattern books and finding the perfect fabrics. My mother always said that your fingers will tell you of good quality fabrics. This is a skill I still use today when searching for and buying garments for our vintage shop.
What inspires you?
When it comes to clothing, I am more of a remodeler. I allow the garment to speak to me in hopes that what I do honors the person who created it along with the one who wore it. Every piece has a story to tell and I love that I get to be a part of that story. Maybe I get a little too sentimental about it but the joy I feel when a client comes out of a dressing room with the look of pure joy on their face makes me so happy. When someone loves how they look, they stand taller, smile more and carry themselves with a new confidence. Specialty pieces are so much fun for me to make. When making head pieces it is usually the jewelry piece that inspires the creation. One of my goals is to throw as little away as possible and recycle what I can. I take pants that are too short and turn them into knickerbockers and then the leftovers become bow ties for gentleman and doggies. Every once in a while we get a wool or Pendleton shirt in that is unwearable so I turn it into santa hats or bow ties. When it comes to everything else in the shop, we have taken on the idea that our shop is ‘An adoption agency for things’ as we wait for the right person to come in and give a vintage item a new chapter in life. We work hard to wash, mend, clean, polish and present each piece. I am a lover of classic t.v. and movies. The fashion, especially 30’s and 40’s is stunning. Everything was tailored to fit perfectly. Consumerism hadn’t hit yet. People had fewer clothing pieces and accessories but what they had was made of quality goods, made to fit and made to last. What a different world we live in now where most items are created to be disposed of and replaced. The pride factor, both of the buyer and maker, is very rare to find. And when it comes to designing for our local Couve Couture Fashion Show, it usually takes one garment that inspires a whole collection. I have been dreaming up my next collection to go down the runway April ’19 for over 7 years. As my husband goes on tour with his band this May, I will have three weeks to start creating. So excited to start playing with pieces!
What inspired you to own your business and open Most Everything Vintage?
The realization of “why am I continuing to do for others when I know what I can do for myself.” I chose to take my knowledge of management and marketing to create a business for myself. In October of 2010 we began looking for business spaces in downtown Vancouver, at this time the market still hadn’t recovered and there were lots of empty spots to choose from. We were either going to open a Bistro or Vintage and Antique shop. Since we couldn’t afford the start-up costs for a bistro – vintage shop it was!
You’re a very busy lady! I can’t fully list everything you do…but between running your shop, buying inventory and scheduling/ planning photo shoots. How do you find time for yourself?
This is where I fail miserably! I love what I do but my business can run my life. I need to find some balance and hoping that I can concentrate more on that this year. I am so determined to be the best Vintage Boutique in SW Washington and even compete with the best in Portland. This determination pushes me from morning to night. From ironing, sewing, social media posting, shop displays to bookkeeping, marketing and the list goes on. Thankfully I have a loving and understanding husband of 24 years. He is busy as well pushing forward with his band and recording/producing life. I’m always thankful when we can go out treasure hunting together. It’s fun to go out and shop but it’s a lot of work getting the items ready for the shop. As I type this I am about to put another load of laundry in from our buying trip yesterday. When we first opened the business, Facebook was an incredible resource to build a business. So different today. Social media changes constantly on how it works and who can see what you are posting. Viewers are also changing. I have just a few seconds to catch someone’s eye in hopes they like what have to offer. Attention and loyalty has changed over the years as well as society doing more and more of their buying on-line. I have always felt that vintage is very personal. It needs to be touched and tried on to make sure it is just ‘perfect.’ Hopefully this thought will continue through the years.
What tip would you give to other females who hope to own their own business one day?
If you have passion for what you do and the product or service you offer, you can be successful. It is very hard work but if you love what you do, it doesn’t feel like work. Make sure you have a good business plan and are prepared to spend the next 5 years giving it all you have. Make sure that those around you understand this as well.
If you could spend the day with one female who made history, who would she be and why? What questions would you have for her?
This is a tough question but since I am surrounded by classic fashion I would have to say Coco Chanel. When it comes to fashion designers before mass production and imported clothing, there were few female designers. I would ask her what it was like to be a female designer in a profession that was held by men. What ‘little black dress’ was her favorite.
How did she find balance in her world of building her name/brand, creating and having a life outside of that.
Thank you to Alisa for being the AGNF Fierce Female of the Month! I’m so thankful to have found you and your boutique!
Be sure to follow Alisa and Most Everything Vintage on Instagram @mosteverything and stop by her website to learn about fashion through the ages!
Thank you to Lizzie Harrell Photography for the stunning photos!! I can’t thank you enough for your support.