Come and play at Nellie J's

Photo Niis Bue

Raenell Sullivent offers vintage clothing and accessories and a whole lot more at her store, Nellie J's in Castle Rock.

Tuesday, July 20, 2004 7:21 AM PDT

By Niis Bue

CASTLE ROCK --- Raenell Sullivent calls the mezzanine "Nellie's playhouse .. but it's a place just for us big kids."

Her store is Nellie J's at 41 Cowlitz St. W. and the upstairs houses tastefully arranged racks of vintage and newer prom and other evening dresses, square dance outfits and even a couple of wedding gowns for people to try on. Even the hangers look nice.

There's a short, fancy black dress with white hem and puffy sleeves of the style that "the kids call salsa dresses," Sullivent said. Throw in several evening gowns from Loretta Young's collection --- called Forever Young --- one of them of peach net completely lined with taffeta and trimmed with a taffeta ribbon. It carries a Gloria Swanson tag.

"I've had a '50s wedding and the proms" since opening in May, she said.

When Sullivent, 61, takes a dress from the rack, she hugs it to herself like she's in love and admits it's not always easy to part with the items she sells. In some cases, there are shoes to match.

She also sells a variety of vintage purses, many of them collectibles, including one from the 1950s, hand-made in British Hong Kong, featuring woven cellophane straw with butterscotch lucite top and handles. It's priced at $69.95, some $50 under book. "Everything in the store is priced below book," Sullivent said. "I want people to be able to afford something that's probably going to be displayed on a shelf."

There are a few hats for men at Nellie J's but not much else, Sullivent said: "It's mostly for us girls."

"I love hats and purses, and everyone loves shoes," she said, looking over the main floor. A range of items from the 1930s to the present are displayed there in addition to hats and shoes. Included are fuzzy dice, rhinestone jewelry and other vintage pieces --- necklaces and bracelets --- as well as "the goofy kind," Sullivent said.

"Goofy" chili pepper necklaces of big wooden beads, along with parrots and designs featuring teachers and schoolhouses and pencils, are in her large collection. She has about 1,000 pieces of costume jewelry on display, but her collection totals 3,000 pieces, Sullivent said.

Family members add their goods to the inventory: daughter Winnie Moore, beaded clothing; daughter Roianne Payne, a variety of handcrafted items; son David Sullivent, specially designed hunting knives; son Don Sullivent, hand-etched glass; and daughter-in-law Diane Sullivent, scrapbook materials.

After living in Lubbock, Texas, for 15 years, there's still a hint of a drawl in Raenell Sullivent's speech. She and her husband, Wayne, moved to Texas in 1989 to be near their parents, but now they're back home with kids, grandkids and great-grandkids.

"There wasn't a whole lot left in Texas to keep me away from ... little bitty babies," she said.