Ciao Ciao Folks,
Keesean, here. I thought I'd use this avenue to talk/think through things bubbling about in my head. I will share some fashion history, stories from the archive and more. This blog will be a window into the wild world of Moore Vintage Archive.
To start, I want to introduce myself. I'm Keesean - vintage dealer, poet and artist currently based in Philadelphia. I've been buying and selling vintage clothes since high school - what can I say? The bug just bit. I remember, in high school, working in Hala Vintage, a small vintage shop in Jersey City which has since closed its doors.
I remember the smell, the colors, the layers of mesh and tulle jutting into each walk way, making you feel as light as the fabric. It was a dream and I wished more than anything to make it my own reality. Spoiler alert: I opened my very first street-level retail concept on Philadelphia's historic Fabric Row in November 2022. But it's been a long road filled with many past lives. After college, I spent many years in New York as an editorial/advertising fashion stylist and journalist.
I even did kids! Here's a campaign I styled for Versace Young
This was one of my first published articles in print. I interview Thom Browne for Metal Magazine
So much of that time fueled my obsession with the archive. Every fashion story has a historical reference, and the more specific/nuanced/obscure/ornate the reference the more impactful the resulting image. Through my time working in New York, LA, and in Europe I was always taught to look intensely and critically at the past because it is undeniably a gold mine of ideas.
My writing work is equally obsessed with the past. My poems often evoke ancestors and converse with and speak through ghosts. For me, the past is where the answers can be found because, as cliché as it sounds, the past is present and, quite frankly, humans are naturally incredibly forgetful. To truly work at understanding the past, to get as close to truth as possible, is to embrace the present and dream realistically about the future.
I've taken all this experience and consolidated it into my ideal vintage shopping experience. Inside my shop you can find awe-inspiring vintage clothing and antique furniture, vintage jewelry and ceramics by local makers, and rare ephemera and vintage books!
As I said before, it has been a journey. I'm so happy with this chapter of the story.