Our Story
Nineteen Years on Mechanic Street
How a buyer with an eye for quality turned a “For Rent” sign into Pure Couture.
I
An Eye for Quality
Denise Jonasz loved fashion from an early age. She studied fashion merchandising at the Art Institute of Philadelphia, where she learned couture by poring over the pages of fashion magazines.
After graduating she worked as a buyer for a Canadian clothing company until it closed, and then moved into sales. All along she kept finding her way into consignment shops. She had a knack for it: one look at a garment and she could tell whether it was well made.
“Why don't you just do this?”
II
A Shop of Her Own
Denise was a regular at Nifty Thrifties, an earlier Haddonfield consignment shop. In 2007 its owner, Carol Berger, asked her the question that started everything. Soon after, Denise spotted a “For Rent” sign on Mechanic Street.
Back then Mechanic Street was a much quieter part of town, and the landlord doubted she could draw shoppers there. Denise was sure she could, and she opened Pure Couture.
The name came from her then-husband, Lou. In 2010, with a loan from Lou's father, who believed in the business from the start, Denise bought the building.
III
The Shop Today
Pure Couture sells high-end women's clothing, accessories and jewelry, both designer and vintage, in sizes 0 to 20. Some pieces arrive new with tags and others have been cared for over decades, but every one meets Denise's standard for quality. She often knows the history behind a piece, and out of respect for her consignors she keeps those details private.
Denise enjoys helping clients find their style and pieces they feel beautiful in, and she's just as happy to let people browse on their own. Most new customers find the shop through word of mouth or referrals, or simply by walking past.
“I want people to feel like they are shopping in my closet.”
IV
Estate Work
Estate clean-outs began in the shop's first year. A man who was settling a relative's estate asked Denise to look through the house, which was overwhelming in its size. She picked out thirteen items she could sell, and he asked her to take on the whole job.
She sold all thirteen pieces. Then she spent three weeks working through the house before and after her hours at the shop, and that job started her estate business.
Most estate clients come to Denise after losing someone. She goes through wardrobes that took a lifetime to build, and she handles them with care and discretion. Many of those clients are still her friends. Her estate work was once featured in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
V
Nineteen Years In
Denise's own style mixes new couture with vintage, and she's usually wearing a bit of both. After nineteen years on Mechanic Street, Pure Couture is still her passion. It's a shop full of older pieces, and customers often say the room has good energy.
“This is the way to shop. It's fun.”