For every grown person who still loves playing dress up, Swellegant carries a large array of vintage clothing to choose from at its tightly packed, bright-blue brick-and-mortar shop. Categorized by theme, style and color, you can mix and match ensemble pieces, as well as find some of the most random, outlandish garments ever constructed for a human body. But it’s not all garish and out-of-vogue stuff; there’s still plenty of contemporary wardrobe items, T-shirts, jewelry and accessories to wear in your day to day, plus tchotchkes, hats and even wigs to make you feel as if you walked out of The Women (the George Cukor one, not the shitty Meg Ryan remake). Owner/retro-fashion maven Nicole Bernstein has carefully collected and sold vintage clothing from her Newport Beach store since 1997, making Swellegant a welcome break from the plethora of bougie, on-trend boutiques around town. Best part: You’ll usually find her gleefully sitting behind the counter with her flaming-red, Lucy Ricardo hair.
3409 Newport Blvd., Newport Beach, (949) 673-3604; www.facebook.com/SwellegantVintage.
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