When covering a city as creative and diverse as Costa Mesa, the stream of stories seems endless. For every one Costa Mesan we feature, we receive good word of a half dozen more. Interviewees refer friends and colleagues and our inbox overflows with endorsements. But sometimes, every once in a while, we stumble upon an unexpected gem of our own accord – and then down the research rabbit hole we go.
Riddle us this: If you were on your way to an interview – say, a perfectly respectable meeting with the Realtors at Village Green – and you discovered their next-door neighbor was a dog in a spacesuit called ‘Sputnik,’ well, what would you do?
We hope you now know us well enough, dear reader, that you’d expect we’d get to the bottom of this Costa Mesa mystery – and so we have.
The dog, the spacesuit – and all the timeless treasures tucked away behind the frosted glass door at 2121 Placentia Avenue, Unit C – belong to the owner and operator of Sputnik’s Vintage Costumes and Curiosities, one Taylor Hamby.
If her names sounds familiar, it should. She’s the Web Editor over at the OC Weekly and writes about the happenings in Orange County on a fairly regular basis. But in her spare time, she is the purveyor of fine vintage collectibles and rare, historic fashion via her “by appointment only” hideaway in Westside Costa Mesa.
If you’re into local vintage clothing, the steampunk scene, ren-faire cosplay, rockability – or you get really “method” about, say, a visit to Medieval Times – then you’ve likely crossed paths with Hamby, who seems to have somehow touched them all.
Trendsetting Time Machine: Sputnik’s Vintage in Westside Costa Mesa
Photo: Brandy Young
Like a mid-century muse born seven decades too late, Hamby’s presence seemed somehow out of sync with the modern world. Elegant and dramatic, she ushered us into Sputnik’s with the graciousness of our grandparents’ generation, yet still swathed in Millennial savvy.
“Sputnik is my dog, so all of this is named after her,” Hamby began with a flourish of her well-manicured hand. “But of course, the name also fits with the vintage aspect of what I do. I was raised by my elderly aunt and uncle – my uncle being a retired engineer at McDonnell Douglas – and that experience instilled in me an interest in space travel and a love of ‘antiquing.’
“These days, I consider myself a historian. With Sputnik’s, I have created a safe space for vintage clothing and relics of the past. My mission is to preserve history. It isn’t an easy job, because things grow increasingly fragile. A lot of these items are wounded birds, victims of time. So when I find them, I put in the effort to restitch things, add buttons, restore them to their former glory.
“I guess you could say Sputnik’s is part museum, part glamour parlor. Because in a sweatpants-and-jeans world, we’re choosing to add back a pop of color and a dose of the glamour of yesteryear.”
Hamby does some of the restoration work herself, but leaves the more complicated alterations to a neighboring business, Coleen’s Alterations, located adjacent to Sputnik’s in the same building.
“Coleen’s a wonderful resource and a dear friend, “said Hamby. “I love that she’s right next door and I can just walk a garment over there. If I don’t have the time or skills to do the restoration myself, I outsource it to her.”
Old-World Glamour, Lovingly Preserved (at Sputnik’s Vintage, Costa Mesa)
Photos: Brandy Young
Hamby doesn’t just accrue ritzy regalia, she trades in it, too. Sputnik’s is a by-appointment, shopping experience for those looking to wear some well-preserved pieces of the past.
But Hamby didn’t initially intend to sell. It was more like a hobby that got out of hand… and then forced her hand.
“I am always on the hunt,” she explained. “I love digging for treasures and spend most of my nights and weekends doing it. You’ll find me at flea markets, estate sales, thrift stores. I’m like a drug-sniffing dog, only I sniff out vintage. I call it my ‘spidey sense’ and when it starts tingling, I’m like, ‘Oh! Something old is here. Where is it? Let me find it.’ It just comes naturally to me.”
But eventually, Hamby’s collection became so large, she needed to start culling her closet.
“If I didn’t want it anymore, or I found something worthwhile that didn’t fit me, I put it online for someone else’s enjoyment, instead,” she said. “I figured I could take the money from that sale and put it towards buying more for myself.
“So I started selling on Ebay in 2014. At that time I was more focused on Victorian-era and steampunk-style clothing. Some were authentic pieces, but most of it was costuming – modern-made clothing in wearable sizes, in the Victorian style.
“True Victorian is really hard to wear. First of all, those pieces are very fragile. Secondly, they are unbelievably tiny. People back then were the size of children. I’m pretty petite, and I can’t fit into most of it.”
Hamby eventually expanded her scope to include other eras of vintage fashion – and she’s since expanded to Etsy.
“Everything I sell on Etsy has to be truly vintage, so that was one huge difference,” said Hamby. “But it helped to focus me. Now I only sell on Ebay when I come across a great reproduction or costume piece. Otherwise, I am selling vintage to people all over the world on Etsy.
“I love it because I get to make people happy by sending vintage off to parts of the globe they’ve never been before. I always ask, ‘Please send me photos. I want to see how you style it.’ It’s so rewarding to see things come to life on my customers. I get orders from Japan, Spain, France, London – my clothes are more well-traveled than I am.”
Hamby Models Her Great-Grandmother’s Dress at Sputnik’s Vintage in Costa Mesa
Photos: Brandy Young
Like any true historian, Hamby is curious about the story behind each article of clothing.
“Every piece I touch has me asking questions,” said Hamby. “I think, ‘Who owned this? Who was this fabulous, stylish woman or gentleman?’ If clothes could talk.”
Sometimes they can, like the case of the vintage Emma Domb ballgown passed down to Hamby by her great-grandmother. It was a sort of an early-life ‘gateway garment’ and served as Hamby’s entré into the world of vintage.
“My great-grandmother was a ballroom dancer,” shared Hamby. “This was one of her gowns. Unfortunately, it’s the only one we have, the rest were lost. I never got to meet her. She passed long before I was born. But wearing this dress makes me feel like I get to keep a little piece of her with me. I wore this to my winter formal when I was 15 years old. I was definitely the most over-dressed person at the dance, but that experience was just setting the tone for the rest of my life.”
Other outfits don’t come with an anecdote from the owner’s side, but Hamby is well-versed in the history of the designers who created them. A vintage, Mr. Blackwell dress from the 1960s is among her most prized possessions.
“It’s very Morticia Addams, don’t you think?” she asked. “I’m a spiderweb nut and I feel like Vampira or Elvira whenever I wear it. I wore this to a rockabilly music festival in Vegas and I could barely walk through the casino. Every five feet, someone was stopping me to take a photo or ask me about the dress.
“All I really know about this piece – other than the fact it’s freaking amazing – is that the spiderwebs make it extra special. There’s a lot of girls out there that lust after a good spiderweb design. You can add one to two hundred dollars, easy, if it has spiderwebs.”
Not all of Hamby’s favorites evoke creepy-crawlies. Some are much more proper, tucked and tailored.
“This is a 1940s, Lilli Ann suit,” she said, hanger in hand. “It’s very famous, very desirable with a classic 1940s silhouette. Lilli Ann is a San Francisco-based designer and he named the brand after his wife. They are known for top-of-the-line, high-quality lady’s suits and coats.
“Just look at this structure, this construction. When you put it on, it flares out and stays out. Clothing designers from the 40s and 50s looked at the female form as a work of art. Each piece of clothing was tailored to accentuate the shape of a woman’s body.
“Of course you would match this with your gloves, your shoes, your bag, maybe a hat. It was an ensemble and people took great care in their appearance, back then.”
Mr. Blackwell, Hamby and Lilli Ann… at Sputnik’s Vintage, Costa Mesa
Photo: Brandy Young
Hamby’s appreciation for fine, clothier craftsmanship hints are her greater worldview around issues like disposability.
“These days, there’s this whole phenomenon called ‘planned obsolescence’ that you see at places like Target and Walmart,” said Hamby. “When you pick up an electric fan, you figure, “Okay. I’ll give this five years, if I’m lucky, then I’ll just toss it and buy another fan.’
“But look at that Westinghouse fan up there,” she continued with a wave of her hand towards a shelf of collectibles across the room. “It was built in 1913 and still works like a charm. That’s because it was literally built to last. Companies used to believe that if they built the best, most durable product possible, they’d have a customer for life. If something went wrong with my Westinghouse, I would take it to the local repairman and he’d fix it right up for me.”
Fans and Fashion: Celebrating ‘Hand-Crafted’ and ‘Built-To-Last’ at Sputnik’s Vintage
Photos: Brandy Young
“But somewhere along the way, we stopped celebrating things that were durable,” said Hamby. “Our clothes are so disposable, they fade after two washes. I have pieces of clothing I bought from Nordstrom five years ago that are already falling apart. Meanwhile, this garment I’m wearing is from the 40s and it’s still as beautiful as ever.”
She gestured to her novelty-print, asymmetrical, dress-and-jacket ensemble as an example.
“My dress is handmade and all held together with hooks and eyes, no zippers. And it’s not like this was a high-end, haute-couture piece. That’s just how people made things. It was all about the details. There’s even a little weight in the hem at the back of my jacket to make sure it sits properly along my back.
“As you can see, once you get a taste for this kind of quality, it can be difficult to accept cheaply-made clothes. I try not to hoard all the things, but truthfully, it’s hard not to.”
Photo: Brandy Young
Hamby’s not alone in her appreciation of the vintage life. There’s a thriving scene here in Southern California that’s made us something of an envy to the rest of the world.
“I am so fortunate to live here,” said Hamby. “From San Diego, all the way up to Los Angeles, and everywhere in between – we are a huge community. This area is a hotbed of activity. A lot of my international customers tell me they’re jealous that I get to live in California, jealous of how easy it is to find great pieces.
“As for Costa Mesa, well there’s a lot of originality here. I’ve got Costa Mesa pride – it’s just a really cool place. It has all that rich, ‘goat hill’ history, and just think of all the businesses that have either started here or called this place ‘home’ at one point in time. You’ve got OC Weekly, Taco Mesa, The LAB, The Camp – Hurley right down the street from us – Detroit Bar, now The Wayfarer. I chose Costa Mesa because I just wanted to be in good company.
“I don’t know what it is about this city, but it definitely attracts some interesting people. Creative people. Innovative people. People who just kind of seem to get it, you know?”
Yes. We definitely do. ♥
