About Us
Dionne Figgins- Owner
I have only ever known clothes to be “vintage.” I grew up in the 80s, when Washington, DC was still the chocolate city, and when my mother, a working woman, was at work, I was under the loving care of my Aunt Geneva and Aunt Sudie. They had the kind of house that always smelled like baked chicken and perfume, with plastic covering their couch, most likely from the 1960s. I would watch tv shows in their rooms, which varied from Chip and Dales: Rescue Ranger to I Love Lucy, and when no one was looking, I would play in their costume jewelry, perfume, and shoes. The clothes I knew would never fit (until many years later), but the jewelry was my favorite. I’ve always loved a long string of pearls or colorful beads, wearing them across my body with my arm through, instead of around my neck. And shoes, oh glorious shoes, like a pair of 1960s peep toe suede pumps you can see me wearing in a photo from 1986, too big for my foot, but I still SLAYED!
When I wasn’t at my Aunts house, I was at ballet class, under the instruction of the ever stylish Doris Jones, my 70 year old ballet teacher. She always wore button down cotton shirts and slacks, with comfortable tie up flats, that I didn’t even know was a style profile until I saw photos of Audrey Hepburn. In her house, I also had my first experiences with costumes; tulle and satin and silk, and fittings where your bottom was in the way of her pin. I didn’t know then that I was being introduced to my second favorite thing about performance art: Costume Design! This was the beginning of a life full of wardrobe fittings, and I simply loved getting dressed up in all those fancy clothes, and having someone, often my very own mother, make those outfits fit me perfectly.
In 2009, I began shopping at Couture du Jour, and met its previous owner, my friend and mentor in vintage and business, Christine Fellows. She had curated a beautiful collection of vintage clothing, and fortunate for me, I had a Broadway salary with which to splurge. We spent hours talking fashion, history, and politics, and I found my second closet. In between gigs, I would use the sewing skills acquired from my mother doing repair work for Christine, and in 2019, I became manager of Couture du Jour. It was during this time that I learned the ends and outs of running the business, with Christine mentoring me on the do’s and dont’s of being a shop owner. Little did I know that she was going to ask me to take over the store. I gladly accepted the challenge, and the rest is history.
In addition to being the new owner of Couture du Jour, I have over 20 years of professional experience as a dancer, singer, actress, and choreogragher and am the co-founder of a non-profit organization called Broadway Serves, whose mission is to connect theatre professionals to community service opportunities. My goal for the store is to create a safe space for people to live out their fashion dreams, regardless of their race, gender, size, or economic background. My motto is “Build your wardrobe and your community.” I am grateful to the Hell’s Kitchen community and of course, my Broadway community, for the out pouring of support, especially during the Pandemic of 2020, and I hope to continue peddling vintage for many years to come.
Christine Fellows- Founder
In the 1970’s, my mother Georgina would take me to the Loehmann’s in North Miami Beach, the “real” Loehmann’s. The floors were concrete, the racks stacked & the dressing room; a huge communal made by hanging curtains. Everything was high end, single items w/ designer labels removed. It was not much different from Vintage shopping in that there’s only one and it either works or it doesn’t. My sister hated it but me? I thought it was magical. Georgina would hold something up and say, “Do you know how Mommy can tell it’s a Halston?” She would then show me the details, which sang out whose hand had crafted it. This is how I learned to look for more than labels.
As a teen in the midst of the Preppy in Madras/Pretty in Pink 80’s, I was exposed to Vintage early. They still called it “used clothing,” where it shared space with an Army/Navy store and yes, everything really was $2. With our complete rejection of prep & those prices, we could experiment like mad. We were too young to understand what we had at our mercy were wee bits of 20th century history. We were simply punk rock girls looking to slice that gown into a mini-dress in under 10 seconds, no need for hemming. It looks better w/ Doc Martens that way. This is how I learned to be an individual.
At Uni I took a Sociology class about fashion, history and economics. Without that ignition, I wouldn’t be here today. I realized this went much deeper than mere taste, with most of us entirely unaware of our true motivations. During college and even for a few years after, I worked side jobs in commission sales at luxury department stores. So, it doesn’t seem completely insane to leave a secure banking job & at 29, open my 1st shop, Miss Kitty’s Consignment in Honolulu, HI. Now I had access to large amounts of well-made clothing. I figured to sell it well, I should know who, what, when, where and why. I revisited Georgina and ordered WWD. This is how I learned to be curious.
Selling Miss Kitty’s and moving to New York City was the plan. Bloomingdale’s hired me as a commission salesperson and I happily rolled along for a while. Then, I got bored. Suddenly my Bloomie’s job became a self-imposed internship. I knew another shop was incubating. What do all the many different types of people found in NYC want and how do I anticipate that? This is how I learned to be an astute listener.
Couture du Jour began as a Vintage clothing show only operation in early 2006. With baby step after baby step, it grew into a store by mid ’07. Our Fine Vintage Clothing and Luxury Goods are just that. 25 years or older, superior quality, mint condition, cleaned and repaired, ready to wear from hat to peep toe. This is how I became a proprietress.