Of a Kind's Claire Mazur on Her Secret, Genius Vintage Tailor

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

New York City has more stores than anyone could physically tackle, but somehow we always keep returning to the usual suspects. To break out of the rut, we've asked some of the city's shopping and fashion gurus to provide their hidden retail gems—those unique stores around our fantastic island (and beyond) that we might not all know about. Cue The Beatles: We're about to get a little help from our friends.

Today's subject is Claire Mazur, co-founder of Of a Kind, the first shopping site powered entirely through Tumblr. Each week, Mazur and her business partner Erica Cerulo sell a one-of-a-kind item created exclusively for their site by an up-and-coming designer like Mandy Coon, Mary Meyer, or Veda. Needless to say, someone with such a keen eye has to have high standards for tailoring, and so it's not a surprise that Mazur managed to find a gaggle of down-to-business ladies who do the task better than anyone else. Here's the catch: The shop is on the second floor of an apartment building on the Upper West Side.

"I love Silhouettes and Profiles, a tailor hidden away on the second floor of an apartment building on 71st and Broadway and run by a group of charming but no-nonsense women. They are known especially for their ability to deal with delicate vintage pieces. They're incredibly talented and meticulous, and I've asked them to do some ridiculous things and they never flinch. It's always good for entertaining people-watching as well. Last time I was there, I ran into stylist Annabel Tollman trying on a series of amazing vintage dresses from the 20s and 30s that she'd scored on eBay, while WWD editor Bobbi Queen looked on and gave the occasional input on hemlines and the like."—Yale Breslin
· Silhouettes and Profiles [Official Site]
· Of a Kind [Official Site]