Stella Luna owner Crispian Underwood doesn’t mind being misidentified.“ The store’s name means ‘stars and moon,’” she explains, “but it also sounds like a woman’s name. So, even though they’ve known me for 20 years, many of my neighbours still call me Stella.” But this doesn’t bother Crispian. What’s important, she adds, is that her fashion boutique maintains the reputation for style and value it has earned since 1995, when it joined the vintage retail strip at the western end of Toronto’s Queen St. W.
On one hand, this is no musty thrift shop: owner Crispian Underwood hand-picks its women’s fashions, footwear and accessories from estate sales, movie productions and elsewhere. Thoughtfully organized according to colour, Stella Luna stock ranges from 1940s leather handbags to ‘70s silk scarves to denim skirts from the ‘90s. “I specialize in vintage stuff that looks like what’s on the runway today, and I really edit it,” Crispian says. “You can’t sell things when they are torn or stained. No matter how wonderful something is, if it’s not in decent shape, I have to pretend like I didn’t see it.”
