Geminola reimagined in Bedford Village

‘I don’t follow any trends or rules. I select everything myself for the store. If I love it, I buy it,’ said boutique proprietor Lorraine Kirke. LORRAINE KIRKE PHOTO

By JANE SIMS

Once a celebrated boutique in New York City’s West Village, Geminola has opened in Bedford Village, offering designer and proprietor Lorraine Kirke’s one-of-a-kind vintage dresses and antique treasures. 

Tucked away next to the Bedford Playhouse, the shop explodes with Kirke’s vibrant and eccentric style. 

“I buy vintage slips and dresses from the ‘30s and ‘40s and then I alter and hand-dye them at home,” said Kirke, who lives in Waccabuc. “When this little space became available in Bedford, I thought, I’ve been working for so long out of my basement, I may as well get out there.”

Decades before vintage clothing and upcycled fashion were trends, Kirke was transforming old textiles into whimsical dresses — never seen before and definitely not to be found anywhere else. Trained as an interior designer, Kirke envisioned the fabrics she was putting on the beds and the curtains in her home as the beginnings of great dresses.

“I started making clothes when my kids were small,” Kirke said. “I’d pick up a piece of fabric and think, this could be a good dress. Then I would make the dress, cut a piece of lace, velvet or tulle, and add it to the dress.”

Kirke opened Geminola at 41 Perry St., New York, in 2004, soon after she moved to New York with her husband, Bad Company drummer Simon Kirke, and their four children: the artist and actress Jemima Kirke; musician and actress Lola Kirke; musician and doula Domino Kirke-Badgley; and commercial photographer Greg Morris. 

Loyal following

An amalgamation of her children’s names, Geminola cultivated a loyal following during its 12-year run before it closed in 2016. The boutique received widespread recognition when Kirke’s designs were featured in the HBO show “Sex and the City.” The aquamarine tutu that Carrie Bradshaw wore in the series’ final episode came from the store. Kirke’s daughter, Jemima, wore Kirke’s designs on the HBO show “Girls.”

Like its West Village predecessor, Geminola in Bedford Village is filled with Kirke’s reworked and hand-dyed vintage dresses.

“We have dresses in colors for every occasion — parties, daywear, beachwear, you name it,” Kirke said. “Pregnant women like to shop here because many of the dresses are cut on the bias.”

Geminola carries Orphan Darling, Jemima’s vintage children’s clothing line, with sizes for infants to age 10, and Baby Spinster, Jemima’s line of “old and handmade T-shirts for the sophisticated materialist.”

“I also have linens, napkins — everything for the table — that I hand-dyed myself,” said Kirke, whose dying method is akin to cooking without a recipe. “I use old dyes and I add a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Sometimes it turns out beautiful, sometimes it turns out not so good.”

Almost everything on display in Geminola is for sale, including many of the treasures Kirke collected from “just everywhere” — vintage shoes, bags, hats and home items including lamps, wallpaper borders, cushions, bed covers and books. 

“I don’t follow any trends or rules,” Kirke said. “I select everything myself for the store. If I love it, I buy it.”

Interior design, too

Kirke is also a celebrated interior designer and the author of “Would You Like to See the House?” published by Rizzoli in 2016. 

“I have very ‘out there’ decorating taste,” said Kirke, who just completed an interior design project for a client in Western Connecticut.  “When I do someone’s house, I never measure anything. I tell them, ‘If you love it, we’ll find a place for it.’ That’s how I work.”

“It’s the same with my work here at Geminola,” she added. “I help women tap into their personal style, and I know what’s going to work for them. I always encourage my customers to wear what they love and what makes them feel good.”

Geminola is located at 633 Old Post Road, Bedford.