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Centre Daily Times March 16 2005
Town once a fashion mecca
by Helen Bechdel for the CDT
"There was a time when people from State College came to Bellefonte to buy their clothes.
And there were so many nice shops in town that Judge Roy Wilkinson, I have heard, would recruit women for jobs at the courthouse by telling them they could shop during their lunch hours.
But one by one, the stores closed, their presence preserved only in living memory and library files.
The Katz Store was on South Allegheny Street, and Krauss' Dress Shop was on North Allegheny. The Lynn Shoppe stood where the Black Cat is now. I still wear a jacket I bought at Dazzle Me, a boutique that opened next door to the Lynne Shop. Across the street was Danks, which closed in 1994.
Traditional Clothier on West High Street, where State Farm Insurance is now, originally sold men's and women's clothing, but dropped the men's line to concentrate on its high-quality, classic women's wear. My last visit, to an almost empty store, was a sad one.
There were specialty shops, too, where you could have clothing made or altered. Pat Park ran the Sewing Room and Ruth Ann Wilson, the Nimble Needle. Rosemary St. Clair had a children's store, and Belle of the Ball rented complete bridal outfits.
The National Store and Levine's sold men's and boys' wear.
And then there was Murphy's. In its later years, it was more of an institution than an enterprise. Though not high style, the clothes there were well-made and affordable.
Though the shops are gone, you can still buy clothes in Bellefonte -- depending on what you're looking for. If it's a prom dress, an evening gown or a wedding gown, you can find it at Formalities. Their windows display gowns as elegant as the ones celebrities wear to the Academy Awards.
If it's standard sports wear, it will be at Dollar General, where there are stacks of sweatsuits and racks of pants and tops.
Then there is the Plaza Center Antique Gallery, where several dealers carry vintage wear. You can get a raccoon coat for $350 or a black lace slip and gown for $12.
Up the street at the FaithCentre Thrift Store, you can find all kinds of bargains, from tweed suits and camel's hair coats and cocktail outfits.
With the renewed interest in downtown Bellefonte, who knows: Maybe dress shops will return. In the meantime, I'm keeping my eye on the madras capris at Dollar General and a certain red silk jacket at FaithCentre."
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