Rachel’s Place Vintage Clothing & Accessories | 2124 Pine St., Detroit • 313-964-9008 • Open noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Rachel Leggs, the proprietor of Rachel’s Place Vintage Clothing & Accessories, is as interesting as her shop. Full of personality, style, and sass, she’s quick to punctuate our discussion with a snap in the air. “Girl, this is the real shit. The good shit. Everything in here nice; I don’t sell anything that isn’t the real deal,” she says with a smile. She’s telling the truth, too: The two-story shop contains a veritable history lesson on Detroit retail stores, with high-end fashions from now-closed stores like Jacobson’s and the downtown Hudson’s. Stacked on shelves and in trunks are vintage bags, including original Gucci and Louis Vuitton pieces. But don’t think Rachel’s Place is out of your price range — nothing in the store costs more than $200, and Leggs is willing to bargain with people who purchase multiple items (or fall in love with one in particular). Many of the pieces are priced in the $20-$40 range, and Leggs is there to make people feel and look good, not leave empty-handed. “My customer is every girl,” she says. “Any girl can come here, regardless of size, color, whatever.”
Situated on a side street across I-75 from the rest of Corktown, Rachel’s Place is the walk-up brownstone where Leggs, who immediately feels like an old girlfriend, presides over her treasures. Trained in textiles and fibers, Leggs first became a stylist before she opened her store in 2008. Leggs will personally style outfits for you for any occasion. In fact, she received a call while we were there, with a request to provide clothes for a movie set. If you call ahead and give her your approximate sizes, Leggs will have pre-styled outfits waiting for you to try on when you arrive.
Downstairs, racks are filled with mint-condition leather skirts, linen suits, and silk blouses from the ’70s. Upstairs houses the menswear, but Rachel’s Place really shines when you play dress-up with Leggs. She won’t tell you where she finds her amazing pieces or how she’s able to sell them at such incredible prices — her secret sources are part of her talent.
