The Surprise Shop has been in business in Towson since the 1960s. I did not visit until today. They have household items and clothing. There were some very nice canister sets, some punch bowls and a great assortment of glass, china, books and jewelry. They do not sell furniture. Most of the items were very reasonably priced with ‘red star’ items 50% off. This is certainly a place I will keep in mind when looking for decorative items or want something useful for the kitchen.
I was not pleasantly surpirsed by the clothes, most were of the polyester/acrylic variety and seemed old rather than vintage. There were exceptions – a pink Albert Nippon jacket that had probably once been part of a suit. It was gorgeous even though the buttons had been moved or the jacket was missing half of them. They had several items in my favorite winter fabric – black velvet. Mostly dresses too dressy for me but good quality. The biggest surprise was the number of wedding gowns. All well protected and marked at $99.95. One pretty dress, with sleeves I am sure were made to resemble Princess Diana’s wedding gown, had a note pinned to it with the helpful hint that a seamstress could make the gown strapless.
I’ll stop back on occasion but I don’t think it will become a favorite.
Surprise Shop (run by Trinity Episcopal Church) 122 Allegheny Ave, Towson, MD
www.surpriseshop.org
Tags: Surpirse Shop, wedding gowns
