Ray’s Ragtime

Extraordinary collection of mint 1940 and 1950’s (and much more) apparel and accessories. Hope it found and new home. The owner there (Ray?) was a priceless treasure too.
Any news on where it moved?

The rent downtown became so expensive here at this location downtown that Ray’s Ragtime had a large going-​out-​of-​business sale. The store is as empty as it could be now. It’s sad to see this neighborhood icon of over 30 years forced out, but I understand they have found a new location in the Hollywood neighborhood. Happy news indeed as this lets them stay alive to costume us all for another day!

Since I shop here all the time and have been for years, my initial impression has changed. Ray and his employees really are pretty great.
The vast array of treasures, sequined tanks, billowy dresses, scarves, gorgeous jewelry and every other accessory you can imagine can be found here.
I do wish more of the incredible inventory was accessible as much of the really great gowns are hanging from the ceiling. It’s actually a pretty great way to maximize the amount of inventory.
However, Ray and his staff do know exactly what’s hanging up there and if you are looking for something specific, ask. They’ll know if they have what you’re after and they’ll be happy to help you find what you’re after. I’ve also found that the prices are quite reasonable.
Besides the clothing and accessories, you can find other odds ‘n ends. Glassware, knick knacks and even wigs.
If you’re on the prowl for quality vintage, you must visit Ray’s Ragtime.
ADDENDUM: If you find yourself in need of alterations on something you buy at Ray’s or even something you bring in on your own, see Meghan. She is typically there on the weekends and she does beautiful work at a very reasonable charge. Plus she is a delight to work with. I am super pleased with the work she did for me on a fluffy tulle skirt. Many thanks!
2015 — Review # 52

I stopped by this place during my last trip to portland. My girlfriend and I were doing a spot of vintage shopping, and when we passed by this eclectic wonderland, we simply had to step inside.
We both got fantastic finds, her a scarf, and myself a phenomenal fur-​lined trench coat (for only $ 38!).
Upon leaving, and only a block away, the top button popped off my jacket, and remembering the «no returns» sign, immediately thought I had been swindled. However, when I marched back and asked if they would repair the fallen button the very pleasant girl manning the counter gladly reattached it and reinforced all the other buttons as well, free of charge, while I chatted with Ray.
I came away with not only one of my best ever purchases, but having experienced exceptional service as well.
This place has everything you could ever need, and many things you would never need, just stepping inside is an experience worth having.
I feel as though many people enter a place like this expecting the fawning, sycophantic service of a sales person at a large retail store, and are disappointed. Personally, I prefer the attitude at Rays, at no point was I being «sold» anything, were that employees acting phoney, or was I being mislead. Instead, they answered all my questions and stood by the quality of their products: that is where service really counts.

Excellent service and neatly organized very packed shop. Ray is a peach. He put an item up on eBay and when I saw it, and asked if I could come pick it up to avoid shipping, he readily agreed. I’ve never had that happen so easily in my 16yrs of occasional auction shopping. Super experience and friendly staff that went out of their way to make my day a little easier. I’ll be returning to spend more time poking through his collections.

I came in with some friends from out of town who love vintage.
No one greeted us and when we wandered around the only time a staff member talked to me was to make sure I wasn’t taking pictures with my phone. I definitely wasn’t, as I already felt that I should probably not write this place a review because I didn’t think I’d have anything positive to say and I hate writing negative reviews.
There was a confederate flag hanging in the window, which personally made me and my friends feel uncomfortable and unwelcome.
I don’t think this place is really ready for business. I think it’s more like the owner has some weird interests and they want a storage unit that they can display occasionally to others. And not all others. Very specific others. And those others probably don’t include me or people like me if you catch my drift.

Fun place to check out and the guys working were friendly and chill. Found a sweet letterman jacket and bargained for it for less because of rip.

I stopped by Ray’s just a few days shy of Halloween specifically for some last-​minute costuming. They had quite a fun and extensive selection, and I found myself being constantly distracted by all sorts of other things I wanted to buy for myself. The kind woman at the counter was beyond helpful in my quest to find some necessary items for my «Zoltar» costume, and when I have lots more time on my hands I plan to swing back in to have a deeper look. You could literally spend almost an entire day in this place.

Let me say that this place is the definition of digging for buried treasure. They have just about everything you could ever think to want. The selection is huge.
That being said, I did not care for it. So much stuff that it was everywhere (hanging from the walls, the ceiling, stacks on the floor, on benches, in cases, on racks) and quite overwhelming. It’s in places like these that I find I’m looking at everything but not really looking at anything at the same time (if that makes sense).

This place has tons of cool stuff.
Rayon dresses, costumes, jewelry etc. great place.

When I hear people complaining about rude employees in vintage stores, I take it with a grain of salt. I’ve worked in vintage retail myself, and there’s something about vintage shopping that makes some otherwise well-​mannered adults act like spoiled children. They loudly hypothesize that a carefully curated, lovingly restored, half-​century-​old couture garment could be obtained «cheaper at Goodwill,» or squeeze themselves into a one-​of-​a-​kind, museum-​quality piece just to take silly pictures of themselves (now that we have cell phone cameras and Facebook, I can only imagine that this behavior has escalated exponentially).
That said, I can say with confidence that I have never had a worse retail experience than I did the first time I visited Ray’s. The staff chatted amongst themselves and did their best to ignore me as long as they could while I stood at the counter directly in front of them, trying to make eye contact. They were also eating pungent takeout (smelled like Panda Express) mere inches away from some 1930s gowns that were behind the counter. When they leisurely finished their conversation and one of the women reluctantly turned her attention toward me, she was surly and made no effort to conceal her displeasure that I was interrupting her by wanting to try on a few items. The petulant teenagers working at the mall are more courteous and professional than the staff I encountered at Ray’s. I walked in cheerful and friendly, excited about the store (I was pretty dazzled by their incredible array of rare items hanging on the walls), and ready to spend money, but was treated like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, trying to shop in Beverly Hills in hooker boots. I can handle snooty or unfriendly service, and I try to give people the benefit of a doubt (working in retail and dealing with the public really sucks sometimes, and would make anyone grouchy! and sometimes people just have a bad day), but my experience was so outrageously over-​the-​top I vowed never to return.
A good friend of mine who has shopped at Ray’s for years was surprised when she heard about my experience there. She convinced me to give Ray’s another shot, and when I went back there with her, the staff (and Ray himself) were all as sweet, friendly, and helpful as can be. But my bad experience at Ray’s was memorable enough to make me not want to spend my money there.
This was a few years ago, so perhaps since then the staff has changed, or has had better training. I’d like to think that things have improved, and I encourage you to not take my word for it and see for yourself. Ray has one of the biggest selections of rare midcentury (and earlier) items in town, but I’d rather shop elsewhere.

Ray’s he is on the Rag all the Time… OH where does one begin… ok with Ray.
He should NOT be in retail… he has the worst customer skills and his staff God forbid if you bother their holy sanctuary of over over and way over priced clothing… well they will look at you like your going to… well you know where.
The store is CRAMMED full of clothing… yes some great picks BUT… only if your a tweeker with a waist of 22 or Karen Carpenter (for us old Queens)…you will NOT be able to squeezed between the fixtures… well unless you have Crisco hips… then maybe… I don’t think they even launder their items.
But come on… why the high high oh… did I say HIGH prices… I think they try to get the people that our staying downtown and our visiting Portland… PDX does have a great reputation of vintage shopping… BUT Ray’s is NOT the place to discover Portland vintage… look up Unilocal and look at other vintage shops their is 3 I know that are downtown and have GREAT service and GREAT prices.
PLEASE DONT LET THIS BE YOUR ONLY SHOP YOU SHOP FOR VINTAGE IN PDX.
Look up

Over the years I have bought great pieces here. Usually I go right for the more expensive stuff — which — by LA or NY standards — is not expensive at all so I load up as I go to a lot of nice events in LA and NY. But I digress. as someone who loves my vintage and knows what I like I am sad to say I am done shopping here. The owner is so rude and unpleasant that I felt harried and hesitant to try anything on and decided against looking further after a few rude comments from him telling me (and the shop guy who was helping me) that I couldn’t try on a dress because it was «VERY small and would be likely ruined» — there are ways to be pleasant and still get your point across but this person was gruff, uncouth, tacky and rude. He sat next to me yapping input about every item I looked at and made the experience painful and unpleasant. Guess what old man? I know how to shop and I know what size I am (25 — hardly a pig).
Portland has a ton of great vintage spots with just as good and better stuff than this place — and I don’t need to have someone with a large pole to help me view the items I am interested in in those stores (unlike Rays) since they are within reach.
Ray should stay out of the shop. His staff is awesome and helpful. He wrecks it.

Wow. Just wow. This place is an institution, in my understanding at least, I think it’s been around for ever. We walked in and I was feeling pretty hungry and crabby, so I just managed to do a once around and leave.
This totally strikes me as the type of place that you would have to come back to and commit to searching through because there is a never ending amount of stuff.
The eras of vintage that are here are not really my type, my friends found some great stuff but it just wasn’t my style.
The staff were super friendly and it was totally packed with everything you could ever imagine. Check it out for sure, you never know what you might find.

Ray’s has been here forever and walking in the door it shows. They are loaded with stuff and even have items hanging up high on hangers on the walls. It’s really hard to navigate around other people in some areas of the store there’s such a large inventory. It’s also a little overwhelming. They’ve got tons of men and womens’ clothing, as well as tons of jewelry every which way you look.
I had my camera and was getting some pictures when I was told that they don’t approve of picture taking. This drives me bonkers personally. I mean, this place IS open to the public right? Even art museums allow pictures in designated areas. I told her I was doing a Unilocal review and thought pictures might help. She then said it was ok and informed me that sometimes designers come in to take pics to get ideas and that they did not approve of that behavior. Somehow I’m not believing that there are designers coming into this place to steal any intellectual property but hey, who knows?

The best gem ever! Aside of nice staff this place is amazing. If you are a fan of vintage and antiques then you will have to check this place out. I always make it a point to hit up the vintage boutiques, shops etc when I travel and thanks to Unilocal I bookmarked this place. We perused through here and I just about dies when my bf found the case with Bakelite! I was in Bakelite heaven and the prices are great. I scored on 3 bangles for under $ 90.
They also have a huge selection of mens, women’s clothing and accessories. Not to mention the housewares and such.

What a great store! I first popped into Rays Ragtime after moving into the neighborhood, and what else can i say: Rays Ragtime is a superbly chic little clothing boutique.
The best part of Ray’s store is the helpful staff. Their really knowledgeable, and their all super sexy. So be nice to them. if your rude, they’ll probably be rude right back.
Seriously, a big thank you to Robert and Rachael, and the super cute girl wearing the kitten outfit. Ya’ll have saved my Halloween with your great costume ideas and by staying open late. (Sorry, I didn’t catch the rest of your names).
If your ever looking for great vintage clothing, or need ideas for a unique costume, Ray’s Ragtime is definitely your place.
PS. Shopper review ladies, grow a pair. Ask nicely for help looking at the things up high. People living in Portland are way too sensitive.
–Bobby R.

First few visits I was afraid to speak to anyone and left empty handed though throughly entertained by the time I spent sifting through their large collection.
Then I went in with a purpose to find a dress and went straight to a busily chatting associate who paid thorough attention to me once I let her know what I was shopping for. She pulled some dresses down in my size and sent me to the dressing room. One of the dresses was already ripped when I took it in. When I did the right thing and showed it to the sales girl she did everything but outright blame me for the rip. I’m honest so I don’t hold it against her, but a bit more tact would have been nice. Again I left without buying anything.
I always go back since it is such a great place to browse and is the perfect place for party/​costume attire. But their accesories are by far the best deal I’ve gotten. I found a vintage sweater clip and a charm bracelet for under $ 20 here and got to choose from a super large selection of each. Where many stores have just one of each on hand I was happy to have a choice to choose from.
So after that rambling I will go back here, but will also be prepared to have someone waiting on me that I have to drag around. Just don’t let them get to you and you’ll be happy with what you find.

Do not shop here.
I was recently on a short trip to Portland and I made a list of vintage places to visit, since I usually have great luck finding super cute dresses when I’m away from home.
At first, Ray’s looked pretty neat. When I got inside, I saw that there were a lot of dresses exactly my style hanging up high out of reach – but no ladder to look up there (Chelsea’s in Cleveland has rad ladders and a huge selection).
After perusing the 70’s-present stuff at on the floor, I spotted a dress up high with my waist size on it, so I asked who I presume to be Ray to get it down for me. He grilled me on my size and said too many people «blow out» his inventory trying on the wrong size. I assured him that I have lots of vintage and that I know my waist size. He didn’t care and whipped out a measuring tape to measure me, because he didn’t believe me!
After feeling totally violated, I told him I wasn’t going to waste his time (should have said MY time) and left immediately, still in shock. I’m so mad at myself for letting him measure me. My boyfriend commented on how they tried really hard not to sell anything to us and really, just alienate his customers.
Props to the other employees for eating smelly takeout right on the counter and not saying anything to us too.
Thanks for nearly ruining my one day in Portland.

Ray’s Ragtime has some great vintage jewelry and interesting stuff but I just don’t enjoy shopping here. First, the owner and some of the salespeople are not particularly welcoming. They block the aisles and don’t offer to move when you want to walk by, don’t offer to show you things in the jewelry case unless you ask them, and don’t put much effort in offering their assistance. Second, I agree with the other post that the good stuff hanging from the ceiling is a pain — I can’t see what they have, and they don’t seem to care to show me. Third, the junk blocking the way to the dressing room was annoying.
I did have one saleswoman recently who was helpful once I wanted to buy something. Sadly, I realized the knit suit I bought had a terrible cigarette smell and mothball residue once I got it home and put it in the dryer with a Dryel cloth. Maybe they don’t clean the items first?