Chapel Street vintage superstore owner Margaret Prendergast’s ‘life dream’ in limbo
At 73 years old Margaret Prendergast made her lifelong dream a reality when she opened a vintage emporium on Chapel St. But, after just 18 months her lease is up. Can the “custodian of past craftsmanships” find another location?
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A woman’s “life dream” to home beautiful clothing from by-gone eras is in limbo as she searches for a new home for her Prahran vintage emporium.
Margaret Prendergast, 75, followed her dreams 18 months ago when she opened Ball and Chain, a second-hand vintage store on Chapel St.
“I had intended to do it 20 years ago but life gets in the way and interrupts us,” Mrs Prendergast said.
“Women of my generation I think allow ourselves to be immobilised by various things.
“I thought if I don’t do it now it wouldn’t be done and then I would be disappointed in myself.”
But that dream hangs in the balance because Ball and Chain’s lease is about to expire, and Mrs Prendergast is searching for a new home for her vintage superstore.
“The landlord wanted a long lease and at 75 it would be imprudent of me to do so — that would be tempting fate,” Mrs Prendergast said.
“I am hoping I will be able to continue trading but not on this scale probably, because I have to recognise that the years take their toll.”
Mrs Prendergast considers herself a “custodian of past craftsmanships” and began her vintage collection more than 20 years ago as friends and family, who knew Margaret’s hope of one day opening a store, gifted her their items.
Her love of vintage millinery and textiles developed from her mother who was a prominent Melbourne dressmaker from Dandenong during the 1920s through to the 1950s.
Immersed in the lavish world of fashion, Mrs Prendergast found her flair.
She said many of the items she sold could add “theatre and romance” to someone’s wardrobe, and therefore their life.
“I think we need to reawaken ourselves and find the romance of our inner life,” she said.
“Fortunately we are living in a gender fluid age where the women can buy men’s hats and jackets and the men can wear women’s shirts or jackets too.”
Her focus on keeping, rather than replacing, also lends itself to running a vintage store.
“I’ve always had a sustainability focus and I think that’s a result of my pioneering forebears where you didn’t waste things you repurposed, restore, resurrect, reuse, and so I have come through that family culture,” she said.
“Each day, we should ask what did I do help sustain the planet today?”
“There is a lot of things I keep that remind me of happy things and happy times.”
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But it's the people of Chapel St that have made the biggest impact on her.
“It has been one of the greatest privileges of my life to have been in daily contact with the full gamut of the community here.
“It warms my heart — that’s community living.”
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