Style File: Milk and Ice Vintage

Kate Thomas and Angie Gavin are denim-obsessed. "We. Love. Denim," Thomas says. The long-time friends opened Milk and Ice Vintage in Hampden in late 2014 to share their love of one-of-a-kind vintage clothing finds (denim included, of course) and, while the pair shares the space with Sturgis Antiques, it's the affordable, hand-picked clothes and accessories that really shine.

Besides the fashionable finds, the success of Milk and Ice Vintage thus far is due to the strong friendship between Gavin and Thomas. The two, who have known each other for 16 years, are so in sync that they often finish each others sentences (and did so during this interview). Find out more about the duo, their duds, and their digs.

Describe your boutique in one sentence.
Angie Gavin: A friendly, one-stop vintage and antiques shop.
Kate Thomas: Basically a whole family could come in here and each person could find something that they like.

If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
AG: Teleportation. I would use it to get the best deals and be buying more because that’s our favorite thing to do together. If we could teleport, man, we could be in Oregon very quickly to get some cool West Coast stuff.

Who is your style inspiration?
KT: Patti Smith.
AG: We’re both into menswear right now and she kind of encompasses that. She looks like a girl that just dresses a little bit masculine. We like that effortless style.

What is your favorite item in your collection?
AG: It’s a vintage Sak's Fifth Avenue 1940s velvet cloak. This is more regal and a little more formal, but this is also something I feel like you can dress in jeans with an oxford shirt and suspenders and you put this on and . . .
KT: . . . it takes you to the next level.

What’s the most embarrassing trend you used to love?
KT: We would probably incorporate anything that we used to wear into what we’re wearing now because I still think those styles are cool.

What our your guilty pleasures?
KT: I legitimately feel that I am not guilty of any of my pleasures. If anything, we love Broadway musicals and we do like to duet with each other—in the store, in the car, at our houses.
AG: Sometimes it's a little embarrassing because it'll be a dead day in [the shop] and we'll be singing our hearts out and we won't hear the door and someone will come in and we're just like, “Oh . . . hello!”

How did you get the name for your boutique?
AG: Milk and Ice is because we both grew up loving milk with ice, specifically with pasta. We found out that a lot of people don't like it, but we thought the name was just very us.

Do you have a go-to saying or motto?
AG and KT: "Work smarter not harder."
AG: It's kind of “dad-ish.”
KT: We really do work smarter, not harder, though. I mean, we work pretty damn hard.
AG: But we're learning.

No outfit is complete without . . .
KT: A jean jacket. All year round, it really completes an outfit.
AG: If you don’t wear it, at least have one in your car.

What are your current favorite and least favorite trends?
AG: We’re both kind of tomboys so when that starts to become popular, which we've been seeing lately, it's easier and very comfortable for us to embrace that.
KT: And it shows no limits for women. We don't have to wear dresses and stuff to feel confident. We can wear jeans and T-shirts and feel good. My least favorite: It's got to be a mini-backpack.
AG: Yes! A clutch is a much more chic way to have a small purse.

Our top picks:
Lumberjack plaid puffy vest ($21); Patty Boyd dress ($65); Bow pins ($5/each).

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