Rebekka Adams, owner of the South Austin women’s vintage shop Bloomers and Frocks, said her business came about by “really kind of happenstance.” But, in a way, she has been training for the role her whole life. As a child, Adams sold vintage costume jewelry alongside her grandmother at Michigan flea markets. In college, she managed the country’s highest-volume Claire’s store, which sells jewelry and accessories. She then went on to work in economic development, including with the Austin Independent Business Alliance. When Adams came across what she called a “crazy” estate sale—at which a “lady was getting rid of everything super cheap because she thought it was all haunted”—she was primed to go into business. Adams began selling estate sale finds on the e-commerce site Etsy, eventually moving into a booth at the back of an antique store on Burnet Road. In 2016, she opened a stand-alone brick-and-mortar shop on South First Street, eventually expanding to take over the whole space. “I always say that the vintage goddesses bring me the vintage clothes,” Adams said of how she sources her inventory, most of which she buys from the public. Bloomers and Frocks sells clothing from the 1920s through ‘80s, with a focus on pieces that gravitate toward “the prettier end of daywear,” Adams said, Casual pieces can be trickier to find than formalwear, Adams said, which is typically better preserved and less worn. Pieces from the ‘40s are especially elusive because women would wear them until they fell apart. “Material was scarce,” Adams said. However, pre-World War II-era clothes were also built to last. “If you look at the construction of vintage clothes, they generally allowed more room at the seams so you could let [them] out or take [them] in, so you can alter things as you gain weight and lose weight,” Adams said. When sourcing items, Adams looks for affordability, wearability—choosing breathable fabrics such as silk, cotton and linen that customers can wear during Texas summers—and all sizes. “I don’t want a woman to ever be able to walk into my store and say, ‘There’s nothing for me here,’” Adams said. Focusing on her customers’ experience has boded well for Adams. Today, she sells her vintage finds on Etsy, Instagram and from her storefront, and her staff is up to five people. “I have my 10-year plan,” she said. “I want my vintage empire.”