Shopgirl

Some might say that right now is not a great time to open a small business. The same people might say that 23 is a tad young to be a first-time business owner. Ada Egloff feels differently. This past Friday, the 23-year-old opened a vintage store called Oma Vintage in Philadelphia's Northern Liberties neighborhood. Egloff's lightning-fast journey from recent college grad to young business owner might even make you a little jealous.

Working in Egloff's favor are several factors: one, she has great style, in an enviable, native New Yorker kind of way. Two, she's qualified: a healthy interest in clothing at a young age was nurtured by New York's extensive vintage resources and fancy Conde-Nast internships.

After graduation from Barnard College, Egloff moved to Philadelphia. The move was semi-impulsive: her lease was up and she wanted to try something new: something different than New York's hustle and grind. She started doing some freelance web editing, a job she describes as "super-freelance," meaning she could do it anywhere, anytime. This left her with a winning combination: "time and money." This led to "a lot of shopping." Apparently, one of Philadelphia's secret fortes is cheap, plentiful secondhand clothing. "There was great stuff that no one was really looking at, especially in the more rural areas, because everyone was looking for new stuff." Soon she had a surplus of pieces, and started to think of selling vintage. Also advantageous: Egloff is the girlfriend of a very handy boyfriend (who helped her renovate the space for Oma Vintage) who has his own freelance photography business. Egloff bought great, cheap, vintage clothes; her boyfriend took great, appealing pictures of her wearing these clothes, and an Etsy store was born. Though Etsy.com is best known for handmade items like crocheted tea cozies and obscure yarns, it also allows users to sell vintage clothes. When the Etsy store took off, Egloff decided to try a real-world version.

Opening a store had always been in the back of her mind, she says, but she credits the city of Philadelphia for making it happen. "Everything is so much cheaper here, I just thought: Here's a great way that I can do this thing that I love, without a lot of money." In New York, she says, she can't imagining doing what she's doing until she's "at least 30."

Oma Vintage is housed in a former toy store, beautifully fixed up by Egloff and a crew of DIY-minded friends. Expect to see well-curated vintage hand-picked by a girl with a great eye, including a pair of sky blue Sonia Rykiel high-waisted trousers, some vintage Pierre Cardin and shelves of perfectly worn leather pumps. For now, the store will be manned by Egloff herself, who cites honesty as the best policy when it comes to advising her customers, and explains the importance of having "good music playing at a volume where you can't hear a pin drop" in order to create an inviting atmosphere.

And how has opening Oma changed Egloff's shopping style? Does shopping for a living take a toll on the thrill of buying stuff? "I don't even go shopping for myself anymore," she says. "I care less about how I dress now." Really? This is hard to believe. Aren't there any items that are too good not be absorbed into Egloff's personal collection? "Well," she admits, there was one "really amazing neon floral Balenciaga jumpsuit" that she had to have. "It's from two seasons ago when everything was super electric and multi-colored neon. I wore it to the opening." While it's too bad the jumpsuit's not for sale, it's also sort of nice to know that even motivated young entrepreneurs have weaknesses.

www.omavintage.com

Photograph by Michael Persico