Shop Cactus Flower Online!

Are you stuck inside, unable to make the trek outside to go shopping?

No Problem! Check our blog for items available for sale online!

Please contact cactusflowerclothing at gmail dot com for payment options, shipping details, and any other inquiries!

Thanks for looking!

Item #1: Vintage Ferragamo Pumps.

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Soft brown leather loafer pump, slightly worn on the bottoms, size 8.
Price is $25 plus shipping.

Item #2: Summer Time Casual Pumps


Cool, casual, white and blue heels with metal rope detail. Size 7.5 W.
Price: $20 plus shipping.

Item #3: The Black Bag



Classy 50s bag with gold lining. Slight scratches and dents on back side of bag.
Price: $30 plus shipping.

Item #4: The Blue Bag




Blue 40s bag with suede lining. Cute green arrow insignia on the inside.
Slight scratching near bottom of bag, otherwise in amazing condition!
Price: $30 plus shipping.

Item #5:  The Fancy Bag




50s clutch bag with metal strap.
It's a snazzy bag, but it's missing a few of the shiny gems along the top.
Price is $30 plus shipping.


Enjoy your shopping, remember we're open during the week from 11-7, on Friday and Saturday until 8, and on Sunday from 12-6:30. See you soon!

New Year's Evening Gowns

Hello, lovely Cactus Flower clientele!

If you seek an amazing N.Y.E.-worthy dress this December 31st, pop into our shop and check out the selection of evening wear and party dresses. We'll hook you up with a fancy little number that will make your evening grand.

Sara & Sophie are wearing (left) a gold sleeveless taffeta dress by Many Belles Down and (right) an open-back 50's-inspired dress by Ark & Co.

Photograph by : The amazing Rachel Ankney!

Fast Jack Mulqueen, 80s Knockoff Virtuoso

Upstairs at the Cactus Flower, we recently came across a lovely vintage Jack Mulqueen silk blouse.
After researching this designer out of sheer interest, we found him to be quite the character.

Here are a few tidbits, mostly from an archived People article dated November 9, 1981.

• Jack Mulqueen is known for unabashedly knocking off tons of high-end designers in the 80s.
  
• He would apparently straightforwardly offer designers royalties for copying their designs. If the designer refused to allow him to "bite their style", he would do it anyway. Without the royalties.
• By doing this, he got some big-name designers like Valentino, Mary McFadden & Zandra Rhodes to design under his label and sell for much lower prices (under $200!).
• He and his designers would search through Women's Wear Daily for runway photos that they could base their designs on. They would then have factories in South Korea make the garments and ship them back in a matter of days.
• Mulqueen: "I copy only shining stars like Kenzo, Ungaro, Yves Saint Laurent, Claude Montana and Giorgio Armani."
• Ellen Saltzman, corporate fashion director of Saks Fifth Avenue, who apparently carried a lot of Jack Mulqueen in the 80s, said, "He didn't get the name 'Fast Jack' for nothing. He seems to copy collections before they are created."
• Stores like Bloomingdales would carry both Mulqueen's knockoffs and the real thing.
• At the time this article was written, Mulqueen was living in a Sutton Place co-op across from his estranged wife, had an equestrian daughter, drove a $115,000 Ferrari Boxer and a $110,000 silver Rolls-Royce, and was negotiating to buy a Canadair Challenger aircraft for $7.5 million. He "gambled in Monte Carlo, shopped on Savile Row and dined at Maxim's".
  
• "I'm more extreme than most," Fast Jack concedes, "but like I tell Whitney about her horses: If you come in second, you might as well come in last."

Some Jack Mulqueen pieces:

Jack Mulqueen black silk pintuck ruffle pleat mini dress, Circa 1970s

Jack Mulqueen tag

1980s Mary McFadden for Jack Mulqueen silk peplum blouse

80s black cocktail dress

Jack Mulqueen 80s acid wash jean jacket

Valentino for Jack Mulqueen, for sale here

1980s silk blouse

Zandra Rhodes for Jack Mulqueen tag

As it turns out, according to this article, Mulqueen's career is started anew in 2000 with an exclusive sports wear line at Neiman Marcus/Bergdorf Goodman. The author, Eric Wilson, refers to him as "Fast Jack, the knockoff king of Seventh Avenue".

New! Betsey Johnson Tights at Cactus Flower

Tights: Betsey Johnson. Boots: Thrifted. Top and skirt: thrifted from the vintage section of Cactus Flower.

We just got several pairs of these amazing Betsey Johnson tights. Wear 'em under skirts, cutoff shorts or even dress down a cute floral number! When it gets cold, you can play around with layering different patterned tights. 

Not only are they lovely and well-made, they allow us to represent a wonderful designer who has been a big name in the fashion industry since the '60s.

Betsey Johnson in 2004. 

Some Background on Betsey:
Betsey Johnson, now in her sixties, got her start fresh out of college (Pratt Institute + Syracuse University) when she entered and won a guest editor contest at Mademoiselle magazine. She continued advancing in the fashion world and was a large part of the late sixties "youthquake" fashion movement and Warhol's factory scene, along with colleagues like Edie Sedgewick and Lou Reed. She was actually married to The Velvet Underground's John Cale, but divorced him almost immediately.

Edie Sedgewick wearing Betsey Johnson, late 70s

She opened her own boutique on the Upper East Side of NYC in 1969, after a brief stent as the in-house designer at a Manhattan boutique, Paraphernalia. In the '70s she ran the rockinest of rock n' roll fashion labels, Alley Cat!

Betsey in the late 60s, Paraphernalia days. 

A Betsey Johnson for Alley Cat label from the 1970s.

She started her own line in 1978. She is known for coming out at the end of her fashion shows to do cartwheels on the runway.

Her penthouse in NYC, which she designed and then sold for $3.6 million. Whoa.. 1,660 square foot of pink!

A Betsey Johnson label from the 1980s. 

Next to the Betsey Johnson Legwear, you'll also find tights and knee-highs from French Curve and Free People. 

Come into the Cactus and explore our accessories! 

Wine, Women, Song & Fashion

On Thursday, October 21 we participated in a benefit fashion show for My Sister's Closet, a local second-hand store that specializes in affordable professional attire for women.

We had four girls from our shop modeling four different outfits, including a vintage 40s dress from upstairs, and two new items from Many Belles Down. The event was sponsored by The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce.