Sweet Tater
Issue #34
NoLita boutique specializes in modern twists on vintage originals
By Petra J. Canan
Published: December 1st, 2007 | 2:47pm
When Sofia Coppola, Kirsten Dunst, or Liv Tyler want good vintage, they go to Sweet Tater. The store’s owners, Christina Kornilakis and Sarah Gregory, set up shop in an abandoned Laundromat in 2004 and have since carved out their niche as the go-to place for ’50s through ’80s reincarnated gems.
Seeking out details such as pin tucking and epaulettes, the duo scores its wares during drives along the East Coast in their 1992 Volvo or during trips to Italy and Greece, where their aunts direct them to hidden treasures. After a year of success of selling altered classics, in 2005, Sweet Tater launched its own house line of vintage-inspired designs.
Sweet Tater’s philosophy is based on the Greek motto, “ena kai kalo,” which means “one, but a good one.” Inspired by playing in their aunts’ closets as little girls, Kornilakis, a former social worker, says Sweet Tater is inspired by quality over quantity. “Our aunts always looked so chic, and they didn’t have a lot of stuff,” she says. “Our motto is having a few great things that are classics — things that you’ll wear again and again and make work differently all the time.”
Gregory, 34, says Sweet Tater draws inspiration from women such as Lauren Hutton, who epitomized the ’70s high-waisted jeans look. They’re also into ‘50s dresses that are nipped at the waist and empire shapes. “Everything is kind of centered around the waist or the high waist, so I think that’s why we are really drawn to those periods,” she says.
The duo’s respect for its Mediterranean heritage — Kornilakis is Greek, and Gregory, Italian — comes through in the clean lines of their tunics and trousers as well as their palette of navy, black, and earth tones. One of Sweet Tater’s most popular items is a Greek cotton shirtdress, known to customers as “the magic dress,” named after a group of friends with varying body types all left the store with the same dress.
Gregory says they examine the details of fabrics, like silk or cotton, to use with vintage shapes, like houndstooth and wool for menswear-inspired pieces, while revamping popular items, like the Greek cotton shirtdress, known among customers as “the magic dress.”
“One of the benefits of a vintage shirt or a pair of jeans is that it’s so soft and broken in” Kornilakis says. “We really want to reproduce that and we’ll try and go back to the look and the feel.”
Sweet Tater is located at 280 Mulberry Street in New York. Visit sweettater.net for more information.
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