Like a pair of New-World explorers, Annie Schisler and Douglas Valeri spend much of their days – when not in their store – on the hunt for unique treasures to bring home to Pawtucket.
The owners of Top Shelf Vintage Co. on Exchange Street, which opened in 2019, curate handpicked items of late 20th-century vintage clothing ranging from the 1950s through the ’90s, spanning from disco to streetwear.
Schisler fills most of the sourcing role, constantly scouring ads for regional estate sales, flea market swaps and visiting other thrift stores throughout Rhode Island.
“I do the digging,” she said.
Schisler has noticed a renaissance of nostalgia, particularly during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. She feels it comes from the comfort you get from rediscovering an old pair of Converse sneakers or a Dickies beanie you may have worn in high school.
“It’s part of that escapism,” she said. “They come to represent a snapshot in your life.”
Before opening the brick-and-mortar store, the couple had two decades of experience in the vintage clothing space, selling online and at pop-up events up and down the East Coast.
You won’t find any formal suits or gowns, but you could score a Pabst Blue Ribbon T-shirt, Market Basket trucker hat, suede coat, tropical button-down, Boston Celtics Starter jacket or a Domino’s pizza Noid doll.
With windows and walls splayed with pop art posters and vintage signs, the color-coordinated clothing racks are a welcome aesthetic touch that help customers whittle down preferences.
Unlike many secondhand shops that can become dumping grounds with cash registers or “boutiques” on the other end of the spectrum with prices higher than a corporate clothing store, Top Shelf has carved out a niche by emphasizing curation.
The store also stands out for its social media game. Schisler said for a time they would hire models to promote their clothing but now find it easier and more genuine to tap friends and even willing customers to be featured in photos posted to Instagram.
“After all, they are the ones who are going to be wearing the clothes,” she said.
Top Shelf has also established a popular buy, sell and trade policy, paying out 30% cash or 45% store credit for whatever they deem an item is worth.
But like with most small businesses, general inflation has made increasing prices almost a necessity to stay afloat. The couple has worked to find the balance between keeping the doors open and holding price points at a place acceptable to their mostly working-class constituency.
“We are in Pawtucket,” Schisler said. “So, we never want to be [priced] like Boston or even Providence.”
Though Top Shelf still gets about 30% of revenue from online sales, Schisler said the company is committed to the in-person experience.
“People want to come in and try things on so they can feel it,” she said. “You want to get a sense of how it looks on you. That’s part of the thrill of the buy.”
Top Shelf Vintage is open Thursday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
OWNERS: Annie Schisler and Douglas Valeri
TYPE OF BUSINESS: Thrift store
LOCATION: 35 Exchange St., Pawtucket
EMPLOYEES: Two
YEAR FOUNDED: 2019
ANNUAL REVENUE: WND
