Business & Tech
Devil City Brings Rockabilly Retro Patriotism to the Delmar Loop
You can't buy Devil City's baboon, but you can buy American made retro and rockabilly clothes.
It’s hard to walk past a rockabilly clad mannequin holding a taxidermied baboon on a leash.
Inside Devil City, the Delmar Loop’s newest eclectic apparel shop located at 6301 Delmar, a two headed calf watches over the dressing rooms while a mounted zebra head guards the fedoras. Skulls share space with cheerful vintage advertisements. The antique wood dressing room doors were once the lavatory doors at the old St. Louis library while everything from a wooden carousel panel to old oil cans cover the rest of the walls.
None of that is for sale, though that doesn’t stop people from trying. Deborah Fink, the store owner, said every week she gets at least 3 offers for the baboon in the window. “I tell them $2000. I really don’t want to sell it.”
What she does sell is a collection of rockabilly and retro inspired clothing, nearly all made in the United States and featuring some of the oldest American owned brands such as Red Wing Shoes, Pendleton and Ben Davis.
Fink’s husband Brad owns , a tattoo parlor nearby on Delmar. The family also owns two tattoo parlors in New York called Fun City and Daredevil. They combined the names of their New York shops to come up with Devil City in St. Louis.
She said she’s always wanted to go into business with her husband, but the time had to be right. When a spot opened up on the Delmar Loop, they saw it as a perfect opportunity to open a store together.
Before opening the shop, Fink worked in the fashion industry for over 15 years. The St. Louis native started at Edison Brothers.
“By 21 I was travelling to Los Angeles and New York as a buyer. I loved it. I couldn’t believe I could have a career like that and love it so much,” said Fink. She went on to work for Brown Shoe then later helped the start-up company Dry Ice expand their chain to 35 retail outlets. She then worked for Macy’s as a buyer and did product development for major retailers such as Kohl’s and Sears.
“I have a lot of experience in the field, and I personally know the companies we have in our store. They make products we have faith in, and they’re made in the U.S.A.,” said Fink.
The clothes at Devil City aren’t cheap, but the incredibly durable, solidly made garments give the impression of walking into an upscale vintage shop. The men’s work shirts, feminine dresses and heavy jeans give the clothing a timeless appeal.
Natalie Stichling, a Fontbonne University Fashion Merchandising Major who is interning at Devil City, said she could imagine any item for sale at Devil City showing up in 20 years at a future vintage shop looking just as good as it did when new.
“You can wear the dresses some place like Beggar’s Carnivale, but nothing in here is a costume. It’s all real clothes you can wear in real life. Well, except the baby wear,” said Stichling.
The small, carefully selected line of baby and toddler clothes near the front of the store includes Johnny Cash t-shirts and prison uniform onesies as well as Devil City originals. “People love to dress their kids up. They go crazy over the baby stuff. I remember one of our first meetings where Deborah was showing the merchandise. We saw dresses and agreed yes, those were cute, but then she pulled out the baby stuff and every single one of us went awww... Even the guys.”
Devil City is hosting a grand opening party with live music, food, drinks and giveaways on Friday, July 8 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.