Ruth’s Vintage Clothing

I’m not into wearing vintage clothing, but I love to look in the stores. I’m into the accessories. Specifically, I love vintage hats.
I went to Ruth’s last month looking for a Juliette cap. I didn’t find one that worked for me, but I found a pillbox hat with a veil that I bought for $ 12.
If you have anything decent to trade in, she’s quick about it. She took all 3 hats I brought in a few years ago.

Ruth’s is one of my favorite spots to stop into. For a tiny shop, they have an excellent variety of clothes. Loads of beautiful, delicate dresses. Everything is in good condition and if it’s not Ruth is really honest and will give you a deal. Highly recommended if you are interested in vintage clothing!

First of all Ruth’s has a above average selection of nice plus size fashions, including vintage lingerie. This place is organized clean and things are in great repair as she fixes things as she buys them. Broad selection andthe pricesare the most resonable I have every seen in a vintage shop.

Found some great pieces here! Will be back. The credit card machine wasn’t working at the time. Be sure to bring cash just in case! Ruth is very sweet and waits on you personally. Great experience!

Ruth’s Vintage is a small, well organized vintage clothing store. I shop all over the United States for vintage clothing and have been to hundreds of stores. I buy almost weekly, am not a retailer, just a collector, being most interested in pieces from 1950 – 64.
With any vintage clothing store, stock is usually rotating based on buying and current inventory. The day I happened upon Ruth’s, she had a very nice selection of 50’s-60’s clothing. And not the cheap stuff that you can find easily, which reflects Ruth’s good buying tastes. Folks who shop vintage regularly know the market is flooded with cheap stuff in off colors and unflattering designs.
While Ruth did have a large collection of 70’s and 80’s, it was some nicer stuff that wasn’t run of the mill. Ruth’s also had a very large selection of beautiful 40’s items, which are not typically found in the quantities she had in stock. Other important things about Ruth’s items is that she does repair on them, and never puts out stinky, dirty, musty, or moldy items. Items appear to be clean and in good repair.
And if there are any flaws, she discounts in a major way. Ruth’s prices were very reasonable and she had a bunch of 50’s deadstock items for bargain prices. If you are a local and can hit her store on the regular, I would absolutely recommend frequenting her store to see what she’s bringing in and out. The quality of what she kept in her store was far above the quality of some other places I have visited. If you are in from out of town, a quick trip will be worth your while. If the stock you are looking for is down when you happen to visit, the store is small and it won’t take you long to go through it and move on. If she’s got what you are looking for, you are likely in for a treat. And she herself is quite a treat as well. Full of history and knowledge, she is a delight to talk to. Cash only though, no cards, so do be prepared for that.

I always come in here when I’m in town. It isn’t my favorite, but I occasionally find good things, and I’m an avid enough vintage shopper that I always have to stop by just in case.
The owners (I think a mother-​daughter team) are really sweet and friendly, but it’s pretty small and the selection is pretty limited — more 70’s-80’s than 40’s-60’s which is more my era. The quality is a little hit and miss, but I usually feel like I’m digging through a lot of mediocre stuff to find anything good. The prices aren’t bad, but they’re not as good as Retro 101 down the street either.
The «dressing room» is just a screen in the back room that you can stand behind, and hook space is a little limited. There was also a dead inch-​long roach on the dressing room floor the last time in I was in which made me a little squeamish about trying things on. Still, I did find one great dress and will really enjoy it — once it’s been washed thoroughly.

Walking down Cherokee Street and you’re swamped with «vintage» clothing stores. Some of them have a lot of vintage that’s incredibly pricey. Some of them have things from when I was in high school that they call vintage, but clearly aren’t. Ruth’s is not like either. It’s moderately priced, the lady running the store knows about all her items, and the store isn’t overwhelming.
I love this store. If you tell her what you’re looking for, Ruth herself will even go pull things that miraculously fit you. I once got a 1950s ballgown for $ 15 because the zipper was stiff. She’s amazingly friendly and quite knowledgeable
The space is quite small and not the best kept, but it feels very neighborhood and local.
Nothing in there is «fake» vintage, which I also love.
The only reasons she is not five stars is because she doesn’t take debit/​credit AND her hours are not consistent.
Note that if you call her and ask her to open for you at a different date she will.

This was one of my favorite stops on my first vintage shopping tour. I liked that it was small and I wasn’t overwhelmed with where to start. I liked that it felt personal and the woman behind the counter, filling in for the owner, was as friendly as could be.
It was also fun just looking through the clothing racks before they really were vintage… and not just a re-​run of the stuff I wore in high school.
I didn’t buy anything, but I will definitely pop back in to browse next time I’m on Cherokee St.

I’m not claiming to be an expert on vintage clothing by any means, but when I think of ‘vintage’ a place like Ruth’s immediately comes to mind.
It’s located on a quiet section of Cherokee street, and when you walk in, it’s like walking into a time warp. A few racks of clothes, most of which were in surprisingly good condition, filled the tiny store.
But what I loved about this place was that most, if not all, of the clothes were very obviously from a time period well before I was born. 60’s. 70’s. Old stuff. And I LOVED looking through the racks at everything.
I didn’t find anything for myself, but I enjoyed looking through the clothes anyway. And Ruth is SUCH a sweet old woman. I just want to give her a huge hug and let her bake me cookies and tell me stories about her childhood.
Not sure if I would come back; I’m terrible at vintage shopping. But it’s certainly an experience.

Lots of great accessories and some nice clothes. I like that there were even some clothes that weren’t perfect and offered with AS IS pricing – it’s great to have the option to try to get creative fixing something up. I got a gorgeous 40s evening gown that definitely has some issues, but for $ 15…if it turns out as I plan, it’ll be back to looking like the $ 300 dress it should have been. Very friendly and helpful and just an enjoyable place to browse around in general! Oh, and it’s cash or check only! fyi.

I strolled into Ruth’s one day while looking to kill some time. It’s a small space, but has a lot crammed in. Definitely a lot of 1960s and 70s clothing. Though the men seemed to have a slightly better selection than the women. Also some accessories, hats, shoes, etc. Most stuff was very reasonably priced.
I tried on a pair of 80s looking ankle boots and decided I didn’t like them and started to put them back. The woman behind the counter, who I can only surmise was Ruth herself, commented «Aren’t those shoes just great? Everyone loves them, but no one can fit into them.» (I’m a size 6) So me being the total sucker I am suddenly had to have them. So kudos to Ruth for pegging me and making a sale. But shame on me for buying those darn boots because I really do not like them!

The proprietress was fun to chat with and very sweet. Almost all of the items in the store are actually vintage, with a much higher percentage of 50s and 60s clothing than most stores. The downside is that some of the items aren’t in great condition — however, the prices are all very fair, and some are even surprisingly low. And even the items with problems could easily be brought back to life by someone with basic sewing skills.
I got a beautiful 50s button-​down print top, a bright striped skirt and jacket set (all in great condition), and several cards of vintage buttons for about $ 30. There were lots of other items I loved but were the wrong size — she seemed to have a good selection of larger-​sized clothing.
The biggest con: no credit cards. Come prepared, or you’ll have to waste time shlepping about ¾ of a mile roundtrip to the nearby gas station ATM.

Super nice lady runs it, Decent prices, good selection. One of the better places to go on antique row.

Mind you, from the outside, this place doesn’t look like much. But while my cousin and I were strolling around Benton Park one toasty afternoon, we decided we desperately needed (1) air conditioning and (2) a good laugh at whatever this store had inside… we got both… and I walked out with some pretty great stuff.
This place sells everything. I mean it, if there’s a type of clothes, shoes, random hat, costume to make for a party, you are looking for, Ruth will have it. Don’t see it, just ask her, she’ll guide you to it. Oh yes, Ruth herself will guide you to it… Ruth is awesome. If for no other reason, stop in and get a funky shirt just to support Ruth…
This is certainly one of my favorite vintage shops in St. Louis… great selection and great owner… who wouldn’t want to shop there?