It all started when high school math teacher Kasita McCloud could no longer fit a "truckload" of fashion merchandise in her apartment. Now, McCloud owns and operates You're a Hanger, one of the Emory Village's newest additions and a clothing store where no two items are the same.
McCloud, a full-time accelerated mathematics teacher at the math-and-science-focused Benjamin E. Mays High School, began catering to students' sartorial needs long before the opening of her shop, located next door to Saba, a small pasta restaurant.
"It started when I would go shopping for myself at thrift stores," she said. "I have some students who I thought, 'This would look good on her, that would look good on her.'"
After buying one-of-a-kind pieces from a flea market seamstress and struggling to use her apartment as a surrogate boutique, McCloud realized that she needed more space.
Today, mannequins in exotic-print dresses adorn the outer windows of You're a Hanger. Pink, yellow and purple balloons billow from chalkboard signs reading "Easter Day Sale," a promotion that takes place on March 30. McCloud also advertises her permanent discount: the "$5 Rack" is just $3 for college students.
"It's just a way to say, 'thank you,' because I know they're on a budget," she said of her college customers.
Inside, garments reminiscent of every era, from Victorian to modern, line McCloud's racks. An eye-popping 1980s cobalt pantsuit hangs inches from a puffy-sleeved fairy tale prom gown on an adjacent display. Color-block shifts one might see on the set of "Mad Men" accompany floral knee-length sundresses that could have belonged to Grace Kelly or Marilyn Monroe.
At the center of the store, a mannequin donning an extravagant baroque-era gown sits perched atop a shelf of leather purses, totes and a mink fur scarf. The frilly skirts of the gilded dress drape over the display's collection of accessories.
Nakeda, a sophomore at Benjamin E. Mays and a student of McCloud's, emerged from a ruby-curtained dressing room holding a white satin blouse. She had asked her mother to take her to the store after her teacher told her about it.
"It's really unique," Nakeda said of You're a Hanger. "There are so many little treasures."
Her mother paid for the blouse, as well as an ornate button cap she found among a tray of broaches.
"I had to explain to her what a button cap is," Julie Boyle, a friend of McCloud's and the store's cashier du jour, said with a smile. "In the 80s, people could get these button caps and would buy them in sets to decorate the buttons on their shirts."
Nakeda's nickel-sized button cap, decorated with the black silhouette of a woman's profile, resembled an antique locket.
Boyle offered her a plastic egg from the Easter basket sitting on the cashier's desk. She cracked it open to find a little handwritten note reading "$3 off!"
Nakeda's small spree ended when she finished off the sugar cookies and glass of water Boyle gave her and said her goodbyes.
"[McCloud] is trying to target young people, a diverse group of shoppers," Boyle said. "Some things are prep, retro, vintage. We're trying to target prom shoppers and also people looking for clothes for theme parties on Emory's campus." She gestured toward a pair of bird-of-paradise print linen pants. As for McCloud's future range of customers, she hopes to bring menswear into the picture in just a few weeks .
"It's not like you're going to find three of the same thing," McCloud said. "The clothes I provide are one-of-a-kind."
You're a Hanger is open from Monday to Friday from 6 to 9 p.m. and 12 to 6 p.m. on Saturday,
– By Lydia O'Neal
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