Review: Think Pink Vintage

Think Pink VintageThink Pink Vintage 4 Star Review

Yelp! Review of the Day

If you have a daughter (wife/girlfriend/best friend/sister/are female) and you haven’t been here, go. Put down the tablet, pick up the car keys, and have a girl’s day out.  Think Pink Vintage is a place of white gloves and lacy lingerie, sparkling ankle bracelets and lovely place settings tucked just down the way from Dino’s, John D, and the Emory. Its ambiance mixes the essence of tea parties with the refinement of an earlier era with none of the saccharine white washing.

Run by a Detroiter with intimate knowledge of the city and a passion for it, the store has a changing array of vintage items, handmade goods purloined from romantic artists and crafters, and those little touches you never knew you needed. Case in point: the string of white fairy lights, each adorned by a rosette. I need these for a bathroom, a reading room, maybe my work office. They speak of femininity without being frightening or threatening, just oozing charm.

An eclectic array of things are for sale. I showed up on their first day of business and on repeat visits, discover the stock changes and the variety continues to grow as the business matures. The central rack has fake fur stoles, vintage slips, lovely handmade skirts, and a pink (of course) 60s style dress that looks like it walked its way out of Mad Men on a glamorous actress. 80s plastic charms, like the ubiquitous record player and tennis racquet, decorate a metallic tree by the front desk. Retro can be chic and the beau and I had a blast comparing what we found to our childhood memories.

Some of the vintage comes from Audrey Hepburn and silver screen glam: the big bracelets with glittering rhinestones, the lovely pearl strands, the wrist-high gloves in white, pink, and lilac. Alas, too small for me, but definitely mine were they a touch less fitted. Other elements are for the rose gardener and English countryside, like pretty plates with modern decoration on a table or the glamorous translucent golden umbrella with flowers on the shaft. I nearly bought the thing outright. I need it to waltz down Detroit’s streets, humming a tune or chirping “Good morning” to the regulars. It’s the Park Shelton building in object form, really.

Surprises are wonderful, and they are especially precious (in the good form of the word) in the back room set aside for the little girl in us all. Pretty dresses are one thing, but the selection of housewares to brighten a room and the children’s sized goods are all adorable. Too cute to bear in some ways. My friend and my cousin who just had daughters now have a guaranteed store for their presents once the girls are past drooling. For the tea time set, it’s an essential foray in the Detroit metro area.

It should be on the way given the prices. Jewelry comes in at very fair prices, and the clothing and the housewares are a real steal. If only I had more room!

The little touches make this store delightful and I hope it thrives in Ferndale. Handstamped cards with “merci” (French for thank you) accompany each purchase. Purchases are wrapped in tissue paper and placed into pink gift bags, for a lovely touch. Think Pink has a loyalty program; for every $20 spent, a stamp is added to a card, and when the card is filled out, a discount is applied to your next purchase.

Besides, the owner is a gem of a woman with children of her own, a keen eye for good things, and versatile in what she stocks. I love supporting local business and this one’s quality is right up there. I get plenty of compliments on the jewelry I find. I hate sharing sometimes, but this secret’s out for the Yelp community.

As a note, if you can’t find parking in front of the Macole building, go to the Ferndale public library and its adjacent lot. Then you can sneak in the backside of the building. Her store front does not have street frontage; it’s in the building on the first floor right behind the computer supply place and the salon.

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