A BCBG Max Azria Staffer Shares Her Vintage Ephemera Source

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Los Angeles has more stores than anyone could physically tackle, but somehow we always keep returning to the usual suspects. To break out of the rut, we've asked some local shopping and fashion gurus to provide their hidden retail gems—those unique stores around LA that we might not all know about. Cue the Beatles: We're about to get a little help from our friends.

As the dress buyer for BCBG Max Azria, Tasi Rippel works alongside the brand's in-house designers to plan and develop the dress assortments for more than 130 retail locations nationwide. When she's not charting the direction of BCBG Max Azria's upcoming season, she can also be spotted working the door at Summertramp, DTLA's all-summer-long water park extravaganza at Tony's Bar on 7th Street. But in her off time, you'll find her at Revival Furniture, a spot in Lincoln Heights where she spends hours rummaging.

"When I'm not looking through used clothing at St. Vincent's in Lincoln Heights on a Saturday morning, I'm usually across the street at Revival Furniture, my treasured source for early 20th century paper ephemera and vintage furniture. My home is filled with discarded wedding photographs, postcards, birthday cards and even naturalization certificates all dating prior to 1950. More than half of my collection comes from the $1 photo boxes at Revival. I've spent entire mornings standing and shuffling through black-and-white photos and reading correspondence between loved ones on the back of postcards dating back to the 1910s. When I'm not sorting through the photo box, I'm opening and closing the drawers on atomic desks, sitting on amazing pink tweed couches or gazing at the Bakelite jewelry in their case at the register. I know that when I go to Revival for postcards, there's a risk that I'll end up leaving with a 1920s vanity or new chest of drawers and I absolutely love that."