1. A Vintage Trend Makes Its Difference In Newark
Clothes in the Past Lane is a charming and cozy store surrounded by coffee shops
and bookstores at the west end of Main Street. Inside are helpful and trendy employees,
chic vintage as well as the latest trends in clothing and accessories, and the store owner,
Sandi Patterson, who tends to her shop as well as contributes to several charities and
events.
Patterson graduated from the University of Delaware with a masters in counseling
and dedicated 25 years to helping battered women and children before deciding to delve
into a hobby she truly loves: anything and everything vintage. She sold herbal gardens in
vintage pots to stores on Main Street, then seized an opportunity to rent the newly opened
space where she now is located.
She bubbles over talking about opening day. Her husband and friends helped in
pulling everything together. They made curtains, painted and decorated. One friend,
Becky Herman, created the store’s logo. It includes a flower in the center, representing
the feminine, encircled by a tire for the masculine and the tail end of a ’57 Chevy to
signify an era.
Employees are mainly fashion merchandizing or apparel design majors and are
given the chance to work in all parts of the store to gain career experience and a chance to
show their creations in the front window displays.
"It's neat having that kind of exposure," says Kathleen Clark, a senior who has
worked there for more than a year. "It has given me the opportunity to see how a small
business runs.”

2. Clothes in the Past Lane participates in numerous charity and fundraising events,
such as the recent "Little Black Dress" fashion show presented with hosting restaurant
Café Gelato. Other charities Patterson supports are Dress for Success, which helps
disadvantaged women find clothing appropriate for interviews in order to get jobs; Shoes
To Share, which donates used and unsold shoes to third world countries; Tom's Shoes,
which donates one pair of shoes for each one bought; and the National Organization for
Women, which works to eradicate discrimination against women.
Like many stores recently, Patterson is making sure hers is reducing its carbon
footprint as much as possible, providing reusable bags made of unbleached canvas and,
she hopes in the near future, with soy ink.
"Everyone needs good karma" she says. And good karma she reaps.
One day, a woman walked into her store offering to sell her dresses that her
mother, who had worked as a seamstress for Oscar de la Renta, made her in the same
styles as the originals. Jumping at the chance, Patterson bought 17 dresses and used them
in the "Little Black Dress" fashion show, which benefited the American Cancer Society.
Her next project will be for cancer survivors, who will model the outfits.
“Sandi really cares about what she has in her store,” says Clark.
It is apparent that Patterson is concerned about more than her business, for she has
found a way to combine it with continual and significant charitable contributions in
Newark, and in other parts of the world.
She views her shop as “an evolutionary thing.” The mementos and clippings on a
cork board behind the register remind her of how she has evolved along with her store
during the past four years. She has happily expanded the warm little shop to include mens

3. clothing after requests from customers. She now has a Facebook page with the same
name as the store, hoping to reach farther into the community.
If not by the enthusiasm with which she greets each customer and builds lasting
relationships, one can see her dedication by the ring on her finger. One of her store’s first
orders was a group of large rings with “lucky” inscribed inside a design of four leaf
clovers and sweeping ribbons. As if by good omen, the ring reflects the steady, positive
course the store, as well as she, continues to travel.