Every so often, you stumble upon a vintage item without planning to and find a gem.
This coat, for example. This ruby red, beautiful vintage coat made by Rogers in the Square, is quite the gem!
Cody and I visited my Auntie Michele recently to share wedding photos and catch up and she pulled this coat out of her closet, explaining how a co-worker gave it to her but she never wore it (she's a big purple fan, not so much red) but she thought of me and figured it was better in my closet than hers!
She was right! I gawked at the rich redness of it and the precious collar. It moves so beautifully and is wonderfully warm and cozy. It's a long coat, not a length I'd pick, but man, is it a lovely coat!
I also love the history that we know from the coat. I couldn't find much info online, but the tag says it's from/by Rogers in the Square and that it was located in Fitchburg, MA - a town within an hour from where I grew up!
The limited info I did find however was from a recent obituary (a 93-year-old woman died this past December and used to be a salesperson at "the former Rogers in the Square." She was born in 1917) and old copies of the Fitchburg Sentinel. One from 1946 shows an advertisement with Rogers' hours (9:00am to 5:30pm daily, in case you were wondering), while another from 1951 advertised for brides.
So not so much to be dug up on this store's history but lovely to think it was open in 1941 and perhaps for quite a few decades. Could this coat be that old? It certainly does have a bit of a 1940's style but I'm not sure. It might be newer than that.
Regardless, it's lovely. It's a bit small for me, perhaps 1 or 2 sizes too small (I actually think it's a coat made for juniors and not adults), but I gave myself a little project and moved the buttons closer to the edge of the coat so that I could button it up successfully as they were originally set quite far in. It kind of messes with how the buttons line up when the coat is buttoned, but oh well.
I love finding vintage items that were originally local to me. I once found a vintage fur in a thrift shop, originally made and sold in a well-known fur shop in Worcester, MA. My Bubbie even remembered it vividly when I showed her its label and could recall where it was located and what the store front looked like. She had never shopped there but definitely remembered it.
Have you accidentally discovered any gems that held local history?
