If social media was around in the ’60s, Jessica Rogers would be running a far-out fashion account.
Rogers, a 2016 LSU creative writing alumna, is the mind behind Shick Chick Vintage, a small business specializing in authentic 1950s-1990s fashion.
“With clothing, I have always wanted to stand out from the norm,” Rogers said. “I like having one-of-a-kind pieces. It feeds, like, a weird adrenaline.”
Rogers grew up wearing school uniforms every weekday, but once she started college, she began adopting her own style: ’60s and ’70s psychedelic rock and roll with a little bit of glamour.
She became a frequent shopper at Time Warp, where she now works as a store manager. Through her job at Baton Rouge’s vintage clothing boutique, Rogers has learned a lot about clothes.
“I’ve been doing it long enough now that it’s like I can just touch a garment and know whether or not it’s vintage,” Rogers said.
She regularly reads about vintage clothes and designers. She researches popular patterns and styles throughout the decades. By looking at zippers, brand tags, materials and garment construction, Rogers can identify the time period of fashion pieces.
Rogers started collecting vintage clothes as a hobby, but it quickly developed into more. After the pandemic started, Rogers decided to clean out her closet and began selling clothes online. People liked her style, and she soon found herself shopping for extra pieces to sell. She started Shick Chick Vintage as a virtual storefront.
“For Shick Chick, I just had a very clear vision of what I wanted it to be,” Rogers said. “Things that I really love are space age vintage. I love opulence. I love bold color, print, and then I also like a little bit of rock and roll. For my page, I didn’t want anything to stray away from that.”
Roger curates her Instagram with old magazine clippings, scenes from classic movies, and of course, her best fashion finds. Over the years, she’s taken home a Peter Max scarf, several cottage core floral Gunne Sax dresses, and a 1960s black and white striped leather trench coat.
She’s always on the lookout for anything that’s silver metallic — if it looks like it’s from the 1968 science fiction film “Barbarella,” she’s going to buy it and post it to her page.
Rogers spends a lot of her time searching through eBay, estate sales and Goodwill bins for vintage clothes.
“It’s fun for me to look through things and be, like, ‘Wow somebody made this by hand?’ and if it’s, you know, crazy or ridiculous, I’m like, ‘Why would they make this?’” Rogers said with a laugh.
For her, digging through old clothes never gets old. And sharing her finds with others makes it even more exciting.
“It’s really cool being able to put vintage online and having it be kind of universal,” Rogers said. “I’ve sold stuff to people in Australia, Japan, all over the world.”
Rogers looks forward to seeing Shick Chick Vintage grow as her own collection of original pieces grows right along with it.
“I don’t buy anything new, ever,” Rogers said. “All of the clothes that I own and wear are vintage at this point. I encourage other people to do the same. I think that the quantity is there, the quality is there. If it’s going to be almost a one-of-a-kind thing that you can have, as well, it just makes it a little bit more personal and special.”
Jessica Rogers found this rare 1950s handbag, which is made from woven metal and adds a bit of space age vintage to any collection.
