At Paper Doll Vintage Boutique, a first find might join an everyday outfit or become the reason for a special-occasion look. Both possibilities matter to founder Dominique Maciejka, whose shop arranges clothing and accessories by decade.
“Paper Doll Vintage Boutique has its roots from me shopping thrift stores and garage sales with my mom as a kid,” Maciejka wrote in an email interview with Debjo’s Boutique. “I was always artsy and quirky, and I gravitated towards colorful and unique clothes.”
Finding clothes became a business
“I started selling clothes on eBay throughout middle school and high school, when eBay first came out,” she wrote. “While getting my art degree in Chicago, I consigned to local vintage stores in the area.”
“After I returned to New York, I took a class at the library on how to write a business plan and start a business,” Maciejka wrote. Paper Doll opened in 2012, according to her account. The storefront also changed how she found its clothes.
“I used to mostly get items from thrift stores and garage sales, and now having a brick and mortar, I mostly obtain things from personal appointments,” she wrote.
“I love hearing the history and stories behind the clothing directly from the owners,” Maciejka wrote. “I love a good story, background or history, and learning from past generations.”
An older piece can join a current outfit
“For anyone just trying vintage clothing or accessories, the advice I would give is to have fun with it,” Maciejka wrote. “You can mix it with modern items, upcycled things, and make them your own style without feeling like it looks like a costume.”
For an everyday outfit, a useful starting point is one piece alongside clothes you already own. Compare its shape and color with something familiar, then ask about its condition and fit.
The shop’s accessories give that experiment another place to go. A first visit can be about trying combinations rather than arriving with an entire period look in mind.
A statement piece can lead the outfit
Maciejka also points to “many stand out pieces that make one of a kind looks.” Special occasions are a reason to give those pieces their own search, with the rest of the outfit built around the find.
That gives a special-occasion visit a different starting point: Choose the piece you want to build the outfit around. Try it with the shoes or accessories you expect to wear, and check whether you can sit and move comfortably in the combination.
Follow what keeps catching your eye
“I think everyone discovers their own favorite area in the shop,” Maciejka wrote. “We are organized by decade, and everyone gravitates towards different decades.”
“I try to only carry and curate things that define each decade, but what speaks to each individual will be unique,” she wrote. That makes the arrangement a way to compare eras while following your own preferences.
Find Paper Doll at 106 Railroad Avenue in Sayville, or explore Paper Doll’s online collection. “Our website features our higher end items, which can be found at www.shoppaperdoll.com,” Maciejka wrote. Whether you are fitting a vintage piece into an existing wardrobe or planning a one-of-a-kind occasion look, the next step is to try the piece that keeps catching your eye.
This feature is based on a written interview with Dominique Maciejka. Photography by Ricky Teevee, who also did the carpentry for the shop’s space, according to the Paper Doll team.