Stepping into the Rag and Bone is like stepping into a time machine.

The vintage shop, 240 E. Calder Way, offers a trip through history with authentic clothing from years past. Displayed against the store's bright pink walls, red carpet and black trim, the merchandise is conveniently organized by decade. The walls boast corresponding magazine ads from each time period. With upbeat music of the '50s playing overhead, it's clear that this isn't just another downtown State College shop.

"I wanted it to be funky, eclectic and interesting, but also organized and clean," owner Shelley Banker said. "One of the things I always loved about vintage stores is there are treasures everywhere you look, but at the same time, I know it can be totally overwhelming, so I try my best to keep it neat."

Currently geared up for Halloween, the store offers a plethora of crisp, classic '50s clothes; go-go boots and dresses from the '60s; platform shoes and bold jewelry from the '70s disco era; and Flashdance-style '80s clothes, pumps and prom dresses that would make Molly Ringwald proud. Need a mullet wig? The Rag and Bone's got it.

Banker said opening a vintage store had always been in the back of her mind. After graduating from Penn State in 1993 with an advertising degree, she spent a year working in London for CNN and realized that the corporate world wasn't for her.

State College offered opportunity and familiarity.

"To be honest, when I was a senior and graduating, I couldn't wait to get out of State College. At that age, I wanted to live in a big city and travel, so I was really dying to leave," Banker said.

"After I did that for a while, I realized that State College is a really nice town, and it's familiar.

So when I decided to open a store, it was a safe place to do it because I knew the area and I thought it might fill a niche. With 40,000 students, there had to be a handful that would be into it," she added.

After spending 11 years across from the Schlow Centre Regional Library on Allen Street, the Rag and Bone is entering its second year on Calder Way and has become a much more prominent staple of the downtown shopping scene, Banker said.

"One thing I've found at my new location, with more people finding me, is maybe they're not really into vintage clothing, but they'll come in and look at the accessories, like a long vintage pendant necklace or a vintage purse," she said.

"At my old location, since it was hard to find, people who came in were seeking out vintage, whereas at my new location, they come in and maybe find something they'll wear with their regular clothes."

Aside from a variety of accessories including jewelry, purses and scarves, the Rag and Bone focuses on keeping prices lower than the average vintage store. Items in the store have an average price of $25 and hardly anything stretches over the $50 mark.

"I try really hard to keep my prices reasonable," Banker said. "I think it takes the fun out of it if you have to pay hundreds of dollars for a vintage dress, because part of the fun of the vintage shopping experience is that you're getting a really cute dress for under $100, at least in my store. People who have gone to vintage stores in bigger cities definitely notice that difference."
What differentiates Banker's vintage store from a thrift shop is that she purchases all items found in the store; they are not donated.

Banker frequently travels and buys wholesale, as well as from people who simply find great pieces while cleaning out their attics. Banker also cleans and repairs all items before placing them on the sales floor.

Nicola McCarthy, avid vintage shopper and former Rag and Bone employee, said Banker's attention to detail is what makes the store stand out.

"In most vintage stores, the clothes can be very expensive, or you have to do a lot of searching to find things that have been washed properly and not damaged," she said. "At Shelley's shop, she is very conscientious about washing and dry cleaning things. She carries well-priced, handpicked clothes. She has prided herself on that from the beginning."

Though all apparel at the Rag and Bone is true vintage, Banker is beginning to dabble in ordering new shoe lines that are vintage-inspired, simply because well-maintained vintage shoes are hard to come by.

Aside from the thrill of finding one-of-a-kind pieces, Banker said shopping vintage allows for a more original expression of personal style as well as higher quality.

"I think that it allows you to play with your style and experiment a little with expressing yourself through fashion that's unique. I really feel that a lot of vintage clothing is a really nice quality," she said.

"The way they made things and the fabrics that they used was done really well. I can't imagine that clothing made now will last for 60 years."

McCarthy, who currently works as a writer and editor for the Penn State Justice and Safety Institute, said a lot of modern clothing depends on stretch fabric to fit a wide range of customers. Vintage clothing, however, relies on structured lines and construction. For these reasons, she frequently chooses vintage over new.

"From working at the store, I have a vast collection of hats, handbags, gloves, coats, dresses -- everything. Now, I still prefer to buy vintage clothing, and I mix it in with more mainstream items for work," she said. "Probably 90 percent of my wardrobe is vintage."

As fashion seems to summon styles from the past more this season, Banker said more people are shopping for something different.

"It's definitely the age where it's the perfect time to play around with fashion," she said. "I find that people come in and they're going to a party or social, and instead of buying the same black dress as everyone else, they might buy a cool '60s cocktail dress."

Regardless of how vintage-crazed a shopper might be, the Rag and Bone has something to fit everyone's style.

"Every season there's something that's very vintage-inspired," Banker said. "It's very wearable in that way -- you don't have to be head-to-toe vintage and look crazy and stand out, even though that's awesome, but you can have a very beautiful tweed coat on from the '60s and look like something seen in Vogue."