The Story of Catherine Simms

In 1985, I began a Bridal and Special occasion store, named Catherine Simms in the Chicagoland area. This store, far exceeded my expectations and in time, we found ourselves selling literally thousands of prom and special occasion dresses. During the time I owned the store, we had hundreds of fashion shows and I was in sparkly, lacy heaven! It was a dream job, and I loved every minute of it. But after 7 years, came children, and more life (my husband took over his dad’s company) so I sold my store in the 1990s. Not long after, I began to work with young people. Using my fashion show skills I began to create large dance productions events for kids and teenagers. We took teens to many countries and danced around the world (literally) putting on productions and training young people that there is a big world out there. Of course I had to raise money for my dreams, and began to sell old photos in 2000s. For almost 20 years I have sold old photos mostly majoring on 1920s fashions and beautiful images and sold photos all over the world. Always with an eye on beauty and fashion, I loved it! After 2009, it was time to move on from teenagers, but the photos stayed with me, and I created a place on Etsy as well as eBay known for selling vintage photos.
In 2018 for our 40th anniversary, my hubby and I decided to have a big party. Great Gatsby was the theme and instead of dressing in the fringy flapper, I decided to do sequins, deco, and full on Gatsby. It was beyond fun, and I was suddenly hooked on a new passion (or an old one) 1980s/90s Vintage clothing and fashion. Remembering that that era was strong on the same styling as the Art Deco and flapper fashion, I couldn’t get enough and began to hunt all around for more of the sequin goodies, thrilled that I knew many of the designers, knew their fit, and once again found that all things can become new again!
We are near the eve of 2020, so I am sure Great Gatsby parties will be the rage. So I have a division in the store, named Party like the 1920s! Fashions that will make you stand out and go back to an age of food, jazz, and fun!
1980s is also a fun fashion trend today, so you will see some classic 1980s styles, with some of my favorite designers that I remember buying the first time they came around.
Also Vintage fashion is just good common sense. The quality of items that I sold in 1980 were of much higher quality than those of today. They were also sized differently. So you will need to not depend on the tag size and learn to know your own measurements. Plus you will be doing your part to help our environment and repurposing beautiful items.

So here is to the fashions of yesterday brought back for you today. I have been in customer service and retail for so many years, that I want you to have a good transaction! If there are any problems at all, please do not hesitate to let me know so that I can cheerfully work it out with you and that you will be happy! Which is frankly why I do this to begin with!!
Thanks for checking us out!
Cathi