ZTrend's guide to shopping in New York featuring New York City's boutiques and artists.Discover New York City boutiques, sales and events, while reading ZTrend's featured reviews on the small shops that make NYC special. View all ZTrend Shopping Tours
  Search ZTrend
New York City boutique listings - Just added
Warm Boutique
181 Mott Street
New York, NY 10012
Eve Salon
55 West 8th Street
New York, NY 10011
Daika' Workshop - Online Only
43-01 21st Street
Long Island City, NY 11101
Kimono House
131 Thompson Street
New York, NY 10012
Trip Advisor Google Reviews Instagram


join our email list:


Follow us on Instagram



 

               
               
               
Madame Matovu
 

Madame Matovu

240 West 10th Street
New York, NY 10014
Between Bleeker and Hudson Streets
(212) 255-2811
West Village
 
 

Madame Matovu has been reviewed by ZTrend.
 
Madame Matovu
Click here to view a full map to Madame Matovu.

 

Madame Matovu is a small shop in Greenwich Village that offers distinctive vintage apparel and high-end accessories from around the world. The shop even features its own line of one-of-a-kind dresses made from vintage designer silk scarves.

 

* While ZTrend strives to write fact-based pieces about New York City's small boutiques, "splash visit" profiles may contain inaccuracies, as "splash visits" are merely the interpretation of the writer's first-hand experience and should not to be relied upon as fact.

 


“What does Madame Matovu mean?” one might inquire. In Hebrew, it translates to “what is the good for the lady”; in French, the translation is “a woman who has seen everything.” The meanings are oddly fitting for the small shop located in Greenwich Village, a veritable paradise brimming over with vintage finds collected from everywhere around the world.

Rosemary Wettenhall, the owner, opened Madame Matovu in 2007, after a long career in fashion as a merchandiser working with designers. She explains that love of vintage is in her blood, and that, back in Uganda, people don’t throw anything away — everything is considered useful. This inherited eye has helped Wettenhall to cull a wide-ranging private collection of beautiful things, from dolls to vases to apparel.

As a long-time resident of the West Village, Wettenhall has always wanted to open a neighborhood business. Her penchant for fashion and past experience working with designers played a role in opening the classic boutique. The shop is unique, with walls decorated by fashion memorabilia and elegantly-framed vintage fashion sketches. Here, one can expect to find high-end vintage pieces and couture, mostly from Europe. The collection also includes a fine variety of accessories, handbags, jewelry, gloves and hats.

Wettenhall’s favorite vintage period is the 1970s, when clothing was well-made with impeccable proportion, and the usage of prints on clothing formed a crucial part of the design. Her tastes and her affinity for beautiful things manifests in the meticulous care of every garment in her shop.

For the past five years, she has been designing a signature line of dresses under her own label, Madame Matovu. Each dress is one-of-a-kind and constructed from gorgeous vintage silk scarves. Some of the shorter tunic styles can be worn over jeans, whereas others can be worn alone. Wettenhall also rescues blemished vintage designs and painstakingly brings them back to life by revamping them into new pieces.

In Madame Matovu, customers are rewarded with Wettenhall’s attentiveness. Her patrons consist of fashion-forward vintage enthusiasts who trust her opinions as well as the merchandise she provides. For women who enjoy finding wholly unique treasures for a superb value, this boutique is perfect.

Edited by Rebecca Benison & Bonnie Chan
 
Last Update: 2021-10-19 09:52:12

 

See something out of date or missing?




               
  Click here to view a full map to Madame Matovu. Use Best Parking to find the nearest parking spot to Madame Matovu.          
               

 

 

 

 


ZTrend New York's exclusive guide & featured reviews about NYC artists & specialty boutiques.