Playclothes Vintage Fashions

Across the way, look for Playclothes Vintage Fashions — and understand that on this street, vintage clothing isn't a hobby, it's an industry. Playclothes is where Hollywood's costume designers come to dress the past. When a show needs a 1940s suit or a 1960s cocktail dress that reads as real on camera, buyers come to shops exactly like this one, and Playclothes is among the most respected of them.

Run by Wanda Soileau, the store fills a big space in the heart of Burbank's antique row with clothing, accessories, and home furnishings organized by era — from the 1920s all the way to the 2000s — each rack tagged with a little history. That curation is the whole value. Costume designers famously shopped stores like this to dress the series “Mad Men,” and pieces from Playclothes have ended up on the likes of Julia Roberts, George Clooney, and Taylor Swift.

Here's the detail that tells you how seriously they take it. Soileau has talked about putting an actress in a period girdle and stockings — not for the camera, but so she'd feel like a woman of that era instead of moving like someone in modern clothes. That's the difference between a costume and a disguise, and it's why this unassuming Burbank storefront matters to productions shooting all over Los Angeles.

Look at how the windows are staged — the neighborhood consistently calls this the prettiest curation on the boulevard. And remember, you're two miles from the studios; the same racks that dress a period drama are open to you. Vintage here isn't costume-party kitsch. It's the working wardrobe of an industry that turns the past into something you can watch on screen. When you're ready, we'll continue toward a store where every single day is Halloween.