![]() Did I want to be smart? Sweet? Assertive? Blase´? My wardrobe was eclectic to reflect my changing moods and identity experiments. I could be a 40s secretary, a 50s sock-hopper, a 60s go-go girl, a 70s bohemian. Vintage was about trying on different characters for me then. I’d rummage through barrels of clothes, pulling out satin pajamas, silk kimonos, 40s peplum jackets, old military uniforms, acrylic sweaters adorned with ribbons. The Ragstock Warehouse was a bit further away on Washington Avenue (when Washington was filled mostly with empty warehouses rather than today’s colossal condos). The Tatters location in Uptown was often graced by visits from his Purple Highness. Tatters opened a record shop and vintage store further down on Cedar. ![]() Just blocks from Augsburg was a funky store called Intermezzo with rubber duckies, vintage clothing, and odd apartment furnishings. The Minneapolis vintage scene has always been great, but in my memory it was a wonderland then. I learned how to be an independent, curious, confident young woman then, and part of what inspired my urban and personal exploration was the fantasy Minneapolis depicted in Purple Rain. I’d check out nearly every free concert and local festival. I walked along the Mississippi almost daily, and to the old Dinkytown (before it became a sea of student housing) on a weekly basis. I would also go on urban explorations alone, walking in the early morning from Augsburg College in the Cedar Riverside neighborhood to Nicollet Mall in downtown. We would visit the Chain of Lakes in the wee hours of the morning (usually Lake Calhoun), whispering and giggling, feeling transgressive. The neighborhood around First Avenue had more character then with its dive bars like Moby Dicks, or nearby Shinders with its comic books and enormous magazine section. The 1980s Minneapolis of my memory has a lavender glow. The multi-colored lights flashed, the beat pounded, and I would dance with friends, feeling like we were somewhere. I’d scan the dark edges of the club, hoping to see Prince for the first 10 minutes I was there, and then I’d forget all about celebrity sighting. I’d go dancing with friends at First Avenue. When I arrived in Minneapolis in Fall 1985 for college, I was so excited to explore the city. When I saw the film Purple Rain (movies came later than soundtrack albums to rural North Dakota), I was fascinated with the urban scenes – First Avenue, Lake Minnetonka (actually, Cedar Lake playing the role of Lake Minnetonka), and the Crystal Court of IDS Center. I remember dancing with abandon to “Let’s Go Crazy” in a peach-colored lace tea-length dress (a retro 1950s-style). I won the Purple Rain album at my high school senior prom. ![]() I’ve been thinking about this quote all weekend, as I binge-listen to Purple Rain and favorite songs like “7” and “Raspberry Beret” (the kind you find in a secondhand store). I listen and remember how Prince and the 1980s Minneapolis scene rocked me through my young adulthood. We don’t cry because we knew them, we cry because they helped us know ourselves.” “Thinking about how we mourn artists we’ve never met.
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