Quirky Karen Reminisces Over 50 Years of Reminiscence

Does the name Reminiscence ring a bell? Whether you’re a long-time New York resident, a visitor, or an NYU student who frequented the Village’s groovy hippie scene in the seventies, chances are you still treasure a tie-dyed shirt or denim skirt from Reminiscence’s original location at 175 MacDougal Street. In fact, if you came on the New York scene at any time in the past five decades, you may have stumbled upon this unique Manhattan source for fun affordable fashion.

Picture the scene. A beautiful early summer day, 1975. Seventh Avenue South is Hippie Central. Love and peace, people giving out flowers. A young woman is street-peddling rice prints from India. She’s wearing a unique, eye-catching denim jacket she embroidered while hitchhiking across America and Canada. A young entrepreneur who’s peddling his denim clothing sees her and asks her if she can make clothes like that for him. At that moment, a five-decades-and-counting business friendship was born.

The woman was Joan Bedor, and the man was Stewart Richer. Stewart had a denim warehouse in Chelsea, with 1000-pound bales of every shade of denim from baby blue to midnight. Joan had been in love with denim fabrics since she was a girl studying art in Highbridge, Bronx. She used to show her friends how to stone-wash denim with actual stones. They were a perfect match.

Joan started making denim skirts for Stewart, carrying armfuls of fabric around the city all that summer. After a few months of making and peddling clothes together, Stewart decided to open a store. He found a place for rent for $1,000 a month on MacDougal Street. He had saved up $3,000 to put into the business. Joan became his store manager, as well as co-creator.

In addition to designing and making denim clothing, they bought Army and Navy surplus clothing and dyed it, then sold it “super cheap” to customers that were lined up out the door throughout the late seventies and into the mid-eighties, when Stewart bought a new storefront on 74 Fifth Avenue, where it still stands.

The Reminiscence brand spread. In the eighties they sold wholesale clothing to stores throughout America, as well as to five Mitsubishi-owned Muji clothing locations in Japan. Their clothing was so unique and popular that Reminiscence won a Coty American Fashion Critics’ Special Award for unusual clothing in 1980.

Joan also put her creative talents to designing shopping bags for the store. The bag’s shape was inspired by a drawstring bag called “the banana bag” that she’d seen on a buying trip in Italy. For many springs and falls, she created unique art designs reflecting her travels and the fashion scene. Joan’s bags are featured in Shopping Bag Design 2: Creative Promotional Graphics by Judi Radice. Joan recalls, “People used to carry them around New York. Now people collect them... People come in and say ,‘I still have a Reminiscence bag!’”

As the decades roll by, Reminiscence is always deliberately behind the times. There’s something mysterious about the store that can camouflage it from passersby. But once you stumble across it and enter the time portal that’s set a few feet back from the sidewalk, you never forget it. Joan said, “People come from all over. When they visit New York, they have memories of when they shopped here when they were NYU students. People like to come back—it’s old New York.”

But if vintage hippie clothing is not your bag (sorry), you might be a tech bro or bra drawn in to get your duds for Burning Man. Rodney Rufo has been creating the store’s window displays for 35 years. For his most recent display, mounted in March, he said, “I wanted to bring some color because it’s been so gloomy in the city.” Rodney designs seasonal displays for Christmas and Halloween, and he designs a special Burning Man window in July, for the late August event. It’s a busy time for the store, when Manhattanites plan their annual pilgrimage to the desert.

Reminiscence is strictly old-school. No website. No telephone. Hand-written receipts in triplicate. There’s something very peaceful about the vibe in the store. Joan maintains the peace and love vibe deliberately. Unless you’re a shoplifter—she will spot you instantly due to her growing-up-in-the-Bronx street radar! In that case, no quarter will be given.

This story marks the seventh anniversary of this column about the quirky clothes, places, and people in New York. For a lark, check out my first Karen’s Quirky Style column, featuring Leopard-prints a-leaping! For me, it brings back memories of wonderful friends and a very spotty evening!

Thanks to all of you for reading, and my deep appreciation to the creative commenters who share remarks to add to the fun. RIP, Jeff. I will miss your contributions and friendship.

Style Notes

These vintage seventies shades from Reminiscence make me look exactly like my red-headed Aunt Lynne spiking the punch at her backyard wedding reception, circa 1977. The beaded jewelry and Reminiscence crocheted shawl add to the seventies vibe, with the foundational Donna Karan beaded tank and Dries Van Noten snakeskin boots laying the platform.

Karen Rempel is a New York-based writer, model, and artist. For past stories, see https://karenqs.nyc.