Take a Step Back in Time at The Underground Attic

by Brittany Rohrssen, Oneonta NY

Entrance to the store

Oneonta has quite a few thrift stores in town including Shakedown Street, and the Salvation Army among other clothing stores like McLaughlin’s and Maxwell’s, but none of these stores are quite as original as The Underground Attic. Located on Main Street, above Root's Brewing Company, this quaint vintage thrift store is a little known gem of Oneonta. The store is owned and operated by SUNY Oneonta alumni Elizabeth Raphaelson. Elizabeth opened the store in January of 2014. She started selling vintage pieces of clothing and other nik naks on the popular webstore, Etsy in 2010 and originally bought the loft space in Oneonta as a storage unit for her merchandise. Shortly after renting out the space she decided to begin selling her items out of the loft as well as on Etsy. With a few coats of paint and some seriously beautiful décor, The Underground Attic was born.

Owner, Elizabeth Raphaelson, graduated from Oneonta in 2014 as a fashion major but she spent her first two years of college studying music at Potsdam. After graduating college, she began collecting vintage clothes from all over the world. She’s traveled all across the country and has acquired pieces from as early as the late 1890’s. I spoke to two employees in the store, Spencer Sherry, 21, and Melissa Darling, 19. They both commented on how amazing Elizabeth was to work with. Sherry said, “shes 23 so its like hanging out with a friend. She's very happy and generous and carefree.” Sherry and Raphaelson actually had been friends since high school and he is responsible for helping her open the store and has worked their alongside her ever since.

Some of the clothes on display.

Display set

This store is unlike the other thrift shops in town because Elizabeth offers her customers clothing and items that cannot be found anywhere else. In the store, it’s not uncommon to find items like 1920’s flapper dress, old military uniforms, old fur coats, civil war clothing, more hats than you can count, purses, and jewelry. The cost of these beautiful pieces range anywhere from $10-$500. Sherry comments, “its vintage, more of a boutique and its historical and Elizabeth knows the history behind every item.”

I got a chance to speak to Spencer and Melissa individually and I asked them what their favorite part about working in the store was. Both had a hard time picking just one aspect of the laid back job that they enjoyed the most. Melissa came to the conclusion, “my favorite part of working here is the atmosphere, its so relaxed.” Spencer said something along the same lines by saying, “such cool people come into the store, they have such distinct, interesting personalities. There’s a certain couple that always comes and brings old fashion magazines to discuss the clothing in the magazine with Elizabeth.” The store is not yet well-known but they have a lot of repeat customers that now know the employees and Elizabeth on a first-name basis. Melissa and Spencer both showed me their favorite pieces in the store. Melissa’s was a slinky, black cocktail dress lined with faux fur at the top from the 1960’s and Spencer’s favorite is a large, red, beautifully embroidered opera coat from 1900.

1900 Opera Coat

1960's cocktail dress

Walking into this store is truly like taking a step back in time. Elizabeth has done an amazing job of turning a bland loft into a beautifully decorated vintage shop unlike any other. Be sure to stop by and take a look at the amazing pieces she's carefully selected.