FiftyOne:FiftyOne

The first time I ever saw Tina was in college, she came into our figure drawing class (where we would mostly use charcoal to draw) and I remember thinking to myself…..”who is this girl wearing deisel jeans just to get charcoal all over them!” Is it not a wonder Tina found herself smack dab in the middle of the Philly fashion world?? Tina Nguyen, 27, a fellow Moore College of Art and Design alum, grew up, not too far away in Jersey, but has had her roots firmly planted in the Philadelphia fashion scene for quite some time. Soon after graduating from school she found herself working at Echo Chic. And that soon lead her down a path into being part of opening Topstitch Boutique, as their first ever employee. She is now curator, manger, and part of production complete with her own studio space, while finding the time to do freelance fashion styling, including two one five magazine’s first print issue.

Topstitch is nothing like any other boutique in Old City. The store is complete with Women’s, Men’s and Baby clothes, a gallery and a fashion design studio. As Tina reminisces on how she got into fashion design/styling, she explains, “well, most of the girls [in Philly] started from having no money, so you get stylish and the way you are from working with what you have…and getting creative.” Their clothes are all vintage or handmade, and all priced under $200, so they can aptly accommodate us who have to deal with a tighter, more form fitting budget. “The girl who shops here is definitely looking for something different that nobody else can find. [A girl] who is willing to take risks” with her fashion choices. They carry a ton of different local Philly designers, “we’ve got people from Ohio to Cali to London…it’s really more about supporting independent designers,” no matter where they’re based. Topstitch has as much of a focus on accessories as they do clothing and what girl doesn’t LOVE the little extras?! Nguyen explains, “we are so accessory heavy because all of us know that you can hook up a tee shirt in eight different ways with, y’know, the right accessories!”

So, on my visit to Topstitch I decided to put Tina to the test. If she was going to sell me on how important my necklace and shoe choices were, I was gonna need some hands on convincing. I picked out three different items from the shop and had her work her MAGIC!!! Check the pics after the jump.

The first, strapless bubble dress by Love Illuminati (by Katra Longsdorf), $180:

A vintage Bongo dress, sale $15:

and finally a vintage Diane Gilman skirt, sale $35:

Awesome, Tina! Thanks for the style hook up! I had a great time!!

To experience this for yourself, and get styled by one of Philly’s best, go down to Topstitch Boutique, 311 Market St. 2nd Floor.

Below are more photos of my trip to Topstitch.

Baby Clothes:

Boots and Bags:

Accessories:

Fleathers:

Fresh Melt Water:

Jewelry:

Topstitch Storefront:

Editor: minor format updates