We recently connected with Dr. Lisa S. Thompson and have shared our conversation below.
Dr. Lisa S., thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
Part 1 ~ Before The Modern Classic Society
I’ve always been a curious person, love to read and research things that are interesting and intriguing to me. I wanted to be an archaeologist, an interest that developed in elementary school after learning and studying about the famous archaeologists Louis and Mary Leakey. I was also the kind of kid that loved changing my room around, decorating, shopping, fashion and admiring well dressed women. So with these intrinsic instincts and mind set, I was inevitably drawn to the world of vintage “things” in all forms of domesticity by the time I was in high school.
I can remember going to all types of resale shops finding all kinds of vintage treasures from clothing/accessories to housewares and furniture. I love shopping and putting things together creating authentic and fabulous looks with high end vintage pieces. It became my style, always with a modern but classic look. Family, friends and strangers began to notice my style and always asked where did you find that, how do you find these things? Answer, I’m just good at it. I have an eye for beautiful things, colors, textures and styles. I’m good at putting things together. I also have a really good memory. I can recall my clothing and textile collection is in my head and when I find new things I can automatically associate or imagine it with something already in the collections. This is also when the who, when, where, what and why questions start about the women who owned and/or wore the clothes. The clothes often tell stories which come with a lot of emotion and can be mind boggling depending upon where I find them. Most often in thrift/resale stores, estate sale, personal donation or oddly, an abandoned / vacant house with a closet full of clothes !
Part 2~ The creation of The Modern Classic Society
The vibe that sparked the inspiration and creation of The Modern Classic Society, a nonprofit 501(3)c was my desire to look and feel like a real woman who commanded her own style. Since high school, I have had an innate flair for fashion / interior design and have always shopped at estate sales and thrift stores. What once was a weekend hobby has manifested into a business opportunity as a result of compliments and inquiries from friends, family and strangers in regards to my style in clothing and home furnishings.
“Our lives come in different styles”, and I have personally decided to welcome a lifestyle that embrace three elements that give me a sense of pleasure; RePurpose or ReFashion (create & try something new), ReUse or ReStyle (thinking permanent not disposable) and ReCycle (give back & share). Originally, I envisioned buying and reselling iconic, classic and timeless clothing pieces / accessories until I discovered the stories about the women who once owned them. The stories of all sorts and types were indicative of the women I often wondered about, they were modern and classic. They were my inspiration for The Modern Classic Society thus giving me the name !
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I consider myself a “Renaissance Woman” as I’ve also been told by some. As I said previously, I am curious and intrigued by people, and more importantly how they live or have lived their life. I’ve been told I’m a lot like my Jamaican grandmother, she was domesticated but business savvy as well, loved fashion and style and estate sale shopping. She believed that ” Dress mattered” and dressing properly was not a matter of choice, it was expected. My grandmother, “Sylvie” along with her two sisters (Cislyn & Evelyn) were master seamstresses and had an innate sense of fashion and style. Mrs. Sylvia Thompson was a well known and respected dressmaker and business woman in Mandeville Jamaica for over 30 years (c. 1940s-1960s). She was known to have designed/constructed custom made dresses from fashion magazine pictures, using women’s measurements only (no formal fitting), made her own patterns and purchased fine fabrics from Kingston, Jamaica. Her entrepreneurial skills were also keen in buying land and houses to generate income as well as leave property to her children. Mrs. Thompson, my grandmother, was a woman way ahead of her time !
I’ve experienced many insightful personal encounters throughout my life that have been impactful and have opened the door to many opportunities allowing for my interests and curiosity to flourish, thus resulting in a “Renaissance Women!” I like to think of myself also as an aspiring modern day Zora Neale Hurston, a folklorist, historian and storyteller. The Modern Classic Society is the result of my love and personal interest in people, history, fashion, vintage clothing. My “collectors eye” imagines how women once lived and I’m able to tell their life stories through the clothes they wore. I once thought about the retail part of selling vintage clothing but found much more satisfaction in being a private collector who often gets the benefit of wearing many of the fabulous vintage pieces !
The Modern Classic Society is a nonprofit 501(3)c historical and fashion community that proudly celebrates St. Louis women from all walks of life by displaying and expressing their history through fashion, dress, and style. The Modern Classic Society’s private historic costume collection is a “Little Museum” highlighting fashion history by remembering the past, embracing the present and contributing to the future of fashion and style.
Currently, The Modern Classic Society facilitates, participates and engages in presenting historic fashion shows, exhibits and speaking events. We also provide reference materials and access to the historic costume collection, as well as, collaborating with local schools K-12, institutions of higher learning, libraries, theater groups, museums and a wide range of charitable community organizations.
The Modern Classic Society Biggest Achievement ……
The Modern Classic Society was recently selected by the Lambert Art & Culture Program and just installed an exhibit at St. Louis Lambert International Airport in St. Louis, Missouri. The two bay wall of windows display is located in the lower level of Terminal 1 near the baggage claim area.
The exhibit is titled “What once was, still is. Fashion meets time traveled.”
On display until late Fall 2024.
How’d you meet your business partner?
I met my friend Helen Douglas-Taylor and Creative Director for The Modern Classic Society in 2001 while attending Fontbonne University. We both were working on our Master degree in Human & Environmental Sciences / Family & Consumer Sciences (teacher education certification) aka “Home Economics.” We were one of the few minority women enrolled in the graduate program and both had young daughters that often came to class with us. Our then “struggle” we once called it is now acknowledged as our “purpose” which has brought us together in many ways to support and relish in the resilience we admired in each other. Our journey together has led us both into the public school education sector but also has allowed us to explore and collaborate our entrepreneur interests that support The Modern Classic Society. Helen and I truly exude the characteristics and qualities of what it means to be a modern and classic woman in 2024 ! Our own personal stories can be seen through our authentic dress and style, showing and telling it all!
A few words from my friend and business partner Helen Douglas-Taylor aka Ms. DT
Partnering with my friend, Dr. Lisa S. Thompson, is a natural extension and a full circle experience that brings my passion, experiences, education, my love for women, their history, their clothes, and an opportunity to preserve all its beauty.
Helen’s journey to The Creative Director of The Modern Classic Society. Born in Chicago in 1960 to a mother who demonstrated creativity, fashion and thriftiness. My earliest recognition was her making me a red dress from a curtain when I was three. That laid the foundation for repurpose and reuse. At the same time all the women in my family dressed to impress; everyday women looking like they belong in a magazine. With the backdrop of Chicago where fashion (colors, textures, hair, makeup & accessories) was as normal and natural as breathing fresh air. My love for clothes, beauty, creativity and uniqueness was birthed. My Barbie doll became my muse and the sewing machine became my instrument. I’ve lived a life nurturing my gifts and embracing my individuality.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I think of resilience as a state of mind, similar to mindfulness. Throughout my life, I’ve learned to practice it daily. So my journey thus far is a continual culmination of ongoing events (positive and negative) over time that have ultimately inspired and led me to establishing The Modern Classic Society and believing in its purpose. To be honest, my resilience and the resilience of many others (mostly older women) who often told me “fake it to you make it” or better yet “anything worthwhile doing, is worthwhile doing right, or don’t touch it mon!” spoken by my Jamaican father throughout my life, replay in my mind often ! Learning to be resilient helped me form a mindset of determination and a can-do attitude, if you can, I can too ! So to have established myself as a notable private collector with an impressive basement historical clothing and textile collection, is an achievement I am proud of ! It’s that “collectors eye” that I’ve innately developed that pushes my resilience and gives purpose to what I do, especially when I question myself about having a basement filled with clothing and textiles! Every piece that I collect is representative or connected to someone or something intellectual or purposeful. I don’t just buy clothes because they look good, it’s much deeper than that. I want to learn about the clothing and furthermore, what is the story about the woman who wore the clothes. This is where my curiosity and love of history kicks in! Whether I get the information through an oral story from a family, researching the designer/ brand label or just visually looking at the clothing, a story begins to be told ! The condition of the clothing can tell you a lot about the woman, for example if it has been repaired many times, armpit sweat stains, excessive wear or clothes with price tags still attached. These are the stories that come with the clothes and it’s also comforting for families when they donate and share their personal stories. They thank me for doing something worthwhile and sharing a piece of their history with others and not selling the clothes. The Modern Classic Society is small compared to larger more established clothing and textile museums but my resilience and mindset support the purpose I serve in the fashion community as a private collector.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://themodernclassicsociety.com
- Instagram: @themodernclassicsociety
- Facebook: @themodernclassicsociety
- Other: email: [email protected]
Image Credits
JWD Photography