There’s a lot more to Sparky’s Trading Co’s new look than black-and-gold paint. The funky clothing boutique (which relocated from San Francisco a few years ago) is changing its name and refining its focus. Adios, Sparky’s. Hellooo, Revolver. When I wandered in on Sunday, I found a smaller, well-edited cache of new clothing lines (which I never thumbed through much anyway) up front, while the rest of the shop had recommitted itself to a large and fastidiously organized collection of mid-century vintage clothing. Immaculate clothes for men and women are selected by Sparky’s/Revolver owner Das, a stylehound with a South London accent and a contagious attitude. He’s sweet. He’s zero-pressure. He has a thing for ’60s department store background music. You need to meet him.Redecorated with "Hollywood Regency" flair (gilded golden objects dripping with pear-drop glass and cherubs … a little goes a long way and somehow it works), the store holds more pristine suits, opulent coats, skinny ties with gorgeous motifs and hand-beaded party dresses than ever. And they’re affordable. I paid $25 for a man’s dress shirt, $75 for a sharkskin sport coat and $135 for said hand-beaded party dress, all about 45 years old and made from gorgeous American textiles. (You’ll pay that much or more for a new version, drab and mass-manufactured in China, at any department store today.)Keep the local economy rolling and say hi to Revolver at 3507 Central NE (Nob Hill, next to Elsa Ross). It’s swell, to say the least.
Revamped Vintage At Revolver
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