Veronika T. Sorrow doesn’t need to live in the ‘80s, but she still thinks it’s a cool place to visit.
The longtime proprietor of MeowMeowz!, a retro ‘80s thrift shop in East Pasadena, has been hit hard by the Coronavirus pandemic and is bravely struggling, in true rock and roll style, to keep her doors open.
Her show must go on.
“I used to spend weekends with my Mom on Melrose Avenue back in the ‘80s, and going to all those thrift stores in LA,” she recalled in an interview Thursday, “and that was always so much fun. That was really the inspiration for this store.”
Sorrow, a musician herself, began selling retro ‘80s stuff in 2002, and finally opened her store in 2009. Until you-know-what happened, the store had been going strong since she began.
“Every day,” she said, ‘Someone would come in and say, ‘I live around the corner, and I had no idea this place was here!’”
Now she needs them to come back.
As one would imagine, the store sells a wide range of ‘80s and rock ‘n’ roll-themed ‘bilia, from racks and racks of your favorite band t-shirts, to leather jackets, and vintage clothes and buttons, to help you walk out of the place looking like Oingo Boingo meets The Clash at Duran Duran’s house.
There are also display cases full of retro sunglasses and kitschy costume jewelry. I’m sure you can find a few skinny ties in the mix as well.
“We really have everything here,” said the plucky proprietor. “Except refrigerators. We’re not that kind of thrift store.”
But it might be yours.
MeowMeowz! is at 2423 East Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, CA. (626) 798-MWMWZ.
