Consignment clothier gears up for costume ‘season’
Whenever someone makes their way into Deborah Fulcon’s consignment clothing store at 3900 Clairmont Ave. — whether it’s for the first time or the hundredth — she said they tend to be delighted.
“It is visually so engaging. There’s so many things that pique your curiosity and imagination,” she said, including vintage clothes from the ’40s to the ’70s, in addition to newer clothes from the ’80s to modern styles for those with a more contemporary flair.
The cozy space is filled with old-school odds and ends decorating the walls, two friendly store cats and upbeat music for its shoppers.
“From day one, I wanted [it] to be a happy and inviting space,” Fulton said. Since then, the store has become a Birmingham gem.
This May, Zoe’s in Forest Park celebrated 20 years of business, and each year, interest for the shop peaks during the month of October for Halloween, so they do “a huge floor change going into Halloween.”
“I think it has more and more become an opportunity for adults to use their imagination and create costumes for a lot of playful expressions, which is right in line with what Zoe’s is about,” Fulcon said.
Fulcon said she has always been a thrifter and when she saw the storefront for sale in Forest Park, she knew she could turn it into a cute and fun clothing shop.
At first, the vintage department was small, she said, but gradually clothing items began to show up in the form of donations at her back door. Eventually, it became the “premier place of vintage clothes in Birmingham,” she said.
“That was at the same time [vintage clothing] started to be more popular out in the market place,” Fulcon said. “As Halloween came along, you began to see people pick up pieces from [Zoe’s] and make their own costumes.”
Soon, her mind started turning and she went to a costume convention to get a series of Halloween vendors for costume kits, accessories and other themed items from wigs and petticoats to funky gloves and spider tights.
Since then, Birmingham locals have been specifically coming to her shop for costume shopping, which she loves. When Fulcon opened Zoe’s in Forest Park, she chose the name to reflect what her store would become.
“The name Zoe’s kind of piqued my interest, and I looked it up and Zoe is the creative spirit of life,” she said, referring to the Greek form of the word. “That’s what I want this business to be, the opportunity for people to be creative in their expression of what they wear.”
Zoe’s is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and closed on Monday and Sunday. Get more information on Facebook @zoeshopbham.